Here's one example:
In August 1974 my new wife and I were on our way to Colorado from Illinois avoiding the Interstates – when we got within sight of Pikes Peak, I pulled our 1971 Fiat 850 Spider onto the shoulder to get out for a picture. When I went to start the car after the picture, it wouldn’t start, just the starter clicked but no turning of the engine. I assumed the starter went bad so with my wife not having any experience with popping the clutch to start it, I had her push – when I popped the clutch, the tires just squeaked, no engine motion. So I got to taking a better look at it and determined the alternator was seized. On the Fiat 850, the alternator was driven by a belt off the crankshaft pulley – the alternator pulley was double grooved and had a second belt that drove the water pump and radiator fan that sat to the right of the engine. So if I just pulled the belt off the alternator, I’d loose the water pump. Fortunately I had a good tool kit and was able to get the nut off the alternator shaft and removed the pulley. Lucky for me the alternator pulley was keyed to the shaft with a woodruff key, which I removed. I had some STP in a bottle with me so lubed up the pulley and put it back on the shaft without the key and put the belts back on. The engine started with no trouble, the battery was fully charged. Off we went the 20 or so miles to Colorado Springs and were fortunate to find a Fiat dealer who had a rebuilt alternator and a new pulley – the pulley now had a big oversize shaft hole but it did the job. We were back on the road before dark; the little Fiat got us into the Rockies for a memorable honeymoon the next two weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment