Loose bolt on cooling fan?

[mlrailguy]

Went to tighten the fan belt today and noticed the whole pulley and cooling fan in doghouse move in and out about 1/8". Is this normal?

[Leatherneck]

Negative, should not be any back and forth movement. Only movement is the pulley rotating.

[mlrailguy]

may be some of the funny noises I've been hearing. I did change alt. pulley setup earlier this spring, maybe I didn't shim pulley right.

[mlrailguy]

So, what keeps the shaft locked in place? I've been trying to research this and batting zero so far?

[sideshow]

Too me is sounds like the alternator housing is worn out (where the bearings ride). Unless the bearings are obviously falling apart or you are not following the rule of 10 shims total on the pulley side, the squeeze of the shaft from the 21mm nut/36mm nut is enough.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

https://www.jbugs.com/product/9197.html

"Product Description
This alternator or generator pulley shim kit from EMPI comes with 10 steel shims. The shims are used to increase or decrease the alternator belt tension by narrowing or widening the V-channel of the pulley. The shims are used on all Type 1 & 3 engines. They fit 1954 to 1977 Standard Beetle, 1971 to 1979 Super Beetle, 1956 to 1974 Karmann Ghia, 1955 to 1971 Type 2 Bus, 1973 to 1974 Thing, and 1962 to 1973 Type 3 (Notchback, Squareback, Fastback) models."

[mlrailguy]

Got the front of alternator off, wondering if I can shim the bearing. I did replace it ( front bearing ) last year. Could I have pushed it on too far, or maybe not far enough?

[sideshow]

I don't think that shaft was designed with thrust shims in mind.
One of my pet theories is one could take a large diameter generator (6v or 12v) and modify it to fit as the cast iron of days ago seems better that the crap sold today. Of course, when that happened to me I just scrounged up a good used alternator and went with that

[Leatherneck]

I would start taking it apart till you find the loose or worn part.

[mlrailguy]

Well, I found what looked like maybe a spacer between armature and front bearing was worn? Made another and pressed it all back together. Seems to be fine, and it definitly quit making all that racket. I did notice that every time I started tightening down the outer pulley, is when I would get the slop. I took the spacers out from behind inner pulley, it now lines up good too.

[chuckput]

I took the spacers out from behind inner pulley, it now lines up good too.

Are you talking about the shims used to adjust the v-belt tension? The extras are usually stored behind the "hat" between the outer pulley and the nut.

[mlrailguy]

No, these have the notch in them for the key, used to align top and bottom pulleys.

[Lotrat]

Hows the fan look? The center is known to break.

fan.JPG

[sideshow]

Yikes, lack of shims on the fan hub can lead to a blow out possibly that clunking. I have lost a great welded balanced fan before by forgetting to tighten that 36mm nut, it made the double-d key way round.

[mlrailguy]

Well, I discovered the alt. wasn't charging anyway. Got a rebuilt one from O'reilleys. Just got it back on yesterday, and still need to reconnect carb linkage, and fire it up. I had gotten pulley from CB Performance (billit). I can only get 6 shims stored with 1 for tension. Outer half must be thicker than stock pulley.