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1986 Mercruiser 37L 170 charging system

H

hunter864

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"I, Like so many others have l

"I, Like so many others have lost the charging system on this engine. I know that there is a commercially available alternator conversion kit, but I do not think that it will work due to the size of the engine compartment. All of the pictures that I have seen either show the alternator mounted really high or very low in conjuction with a new pulley attached to the balancer. I already have a new marine alternator. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to mount this while using the original pulley? My boat is a 1986 Wellcraft 192 American. Thanks in advance for any help.
Jim"
 
"I didn't want to fork out

"I didn't want to fork out the $300+ for the kit so I made an alternator mounting bracket out of metal I already had. Cost me nothing and works awesome. It obviously is going to take a little room so if a prefab bracket doesn't put it where you want it, think about making one if you have the ability. I have my alternator sitting on the lower left side of the engine using the existing pulleys on the harmonic balancer and power steering pump."
 
"Yes. There is an existing pul

"Yes. There is an existing pulley on the balancer. What I have come up with so far, is to utilize two of the bolts on the water pump housing to support an "L" bracket and attach the alternator to this. This would allow for lateral movement to tension the belt instead of the traditional vertical movement. This does work, but I do not think that it is ideal. This results in the weight of the alternator being supported by the aluminum block.
Does anyone have any other options?"
 
"<[img]"http://www.marineengin

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"The bracket was $12.99 @ pep

"The bracket was $12.99 @ pep boys,it is for a 83 small block chevy,comes with upper and lower mount.I had to weld my own brackets off of it but it worked out really slick and works great.The belt is a 42" belt,alternator has a built in VR.
My over flow coolant tank use to be mounted here but is now mounted in the rear of the boat.
Total cost when I was done$142.98 with the 55 amp alternator."
 
"The weight of the alternator

"The weight of the alternator in that spot should not be a problem. I have mine mounted in the same spot. The big key to making it work is having enough belt tension. If it does not tighten enough, you will ruin belts constantly when the alternator is under load."
 
Thank you to all for the help.

Thank you to all for the help.
There are some great photos that I am sure will help someone else down the road. With the help of a friend of mine I was able to fabricate a really simple bracket system out of 3/16 x 2" steel angle iron and 3/16 x 1" flat stock. I opted not to utilize my first idea due to my concerns with the 5/16 bolts supporting the weight ofthe alternator. I will post photos as soon as I can.
Jim
 
ok next crazy question regaurd

ok next crazy question regaurding this application. first. if one does put a 1 wire alternator on.. what do i do with the existing stuff that doesnt work.. just leave it there?? also where does the 1 wire from the alternator go?? direct to the batterY??.. and finally will the same set up work if the unit has power steering already on it.. sorry but im new to this.. thank you for any help.. Bob
 
"I made the switch to a one-wi

"I made the switch to a one-wire, belt-driven alt. Connect the one post on the back of the alt to the red (Batt +) wire you remove from the water-cooled VR. I also removed the w/c rv from the block and connected the hose with a nipple. Disconnect the two yellow wires from the flywheel alt and just tape each of them separately in a safe place. Mine did not have power steering but as long as you can configure both the alt and the pump to operate from the same belt you should be good to go. Cheers. JW in Dixie"
 
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