Oh Jeeeze,.. I got Car trouble...

[Brock Samson]

 The Road Runners' Alt went out last week, 'n I finally  got around to fixing it,.. no big deal right?..
WRONG! I hooked it all up (and it ain't the first time I've replaced an Alt, I've done at least a half Doz. over the years..)
So, anyhow, I hook it all up and the wire to the Regulator fries... 
and now the water pump where the bolt goes through the Power Steering Bracket is leaking, and the bolt feels all mushy like it's corroded an sheet... 

[Ghoste]

Strat, you should have sold that lump when the prices were high.  Actually I'm kidding, I'm glad you still have the car and I hope these are the last problems you ever have with it.

[Neal_J]

I feel your pain, my brother.   My alternator quit and the car died Saturday morning in traffic in the middle of a 6 lane intersection.   God l love old cars!

[mauve66]

and people were going by honking thinking, damn worthless pile, go get a Prius............................. damn greenies..........

[Mefirst]

Dave***

I had the same problem with a leaking waterpump bolt. Clean up the threads with a tap and then apply a lump of silicone on the bolt threads and put the bolt back, but dont tighten the bolt to tight, just enough.

/Tom

[Neal_J]

Dave:

Two additional thoughts on your saga:

First, as I recall, there are three bolts securing the alternator/bracket (two short & one long).  Did you, perhaps, install one of the short bolts in the hole for the longer bolt?

Second, I've always replaced the alternator & regulator as a pair.  I cant' tell you why other than my dad said its always a good idea.  Did you just swap out the alternator & not the regulator?

Best, Neal

PS -  My new alternator & regulator go in tongiht.  Gotta get ready for Mopar Alley...

[Ranger Max]

.

[dpm68]

I cant' tell you why other than my dad said its always a good idea.

:iagree:with dad.

[Brock Samson]

 oh yeah, "Alt. and Reg. as a pair"?.. Check...  'n nope,  not the wrong bolt. 
   A couple of the plugs were pretty BLACK i'm thinking that perhaps that todays unleaded gas plus the 104+ octain booster i've been adding every third or fourth tank wasn't probably a good thing, but on the bright side the Alt. lasted since 1971 and that's gotta be some sort of record...   
i have put a littel under 300 miles on the BSG since i got her three years ago this month.. every couple weeks i attempt to blow the carbon out... but she's definitly in need of some attention...
  She was due for a refitment in Nov. of '97 but that's been defered due to a severly reduced budget. I'm gonna due the whole tune-up thing and spring for a new water pump too... she could use a few mos. in dry-dock being refitted. Five items on the car don't date from '71.
 

   

[TheGhost]

Sounds like it's just gonna be a big problem car.  You should just send it to me.  I'll take it off your hands, free of charge, even.

[terrible one]

Sorry to hijack, but Dave, please PM me or e-mail me about that seat.

[Brock Samson]

sure Uno Terror,.. BTW: I freed up some space in my PM box, amazing how fast it fills up... 

[Ghoste]

You're a popular guy.

[PocketThunder]

You're a popular guy.

He has two accounts here and PM's himself.      

[BIRD67]

Man, It seems like everybody is having car trouble lately! The Firebird's Power Steering pump just crapped the bed, we drove it around and every two days it needed to be filled back up with PS fluid.. My stepdad and I took off the pump and sure enough, it was leaking! Not just a little leak, but it coated the entire front subframe with Power Steering fluid! Now the pump is downstairs, I have been tinkering with it here and there, but once my stepdad gets home on friday (business trip from here to North carolina to West Virginia) we will hope to have it back on the road.. What really bugs me is that this is Earth week, and I really wanted to annoy some enviormentalists here in our community by laying down some rubber..

[Brock Samson]

  O.K.  here's what ya' do,..

 

find an earthday celebration park briefly outside and put alittle oil on the exhaust manifolds..
make sure there's plenty of steering fluid in the res. so it can drip and leave a nice puddle under the car,.. maybe even leave a trail as you find some prie to park next to,.. make sure to rev loudly the motor alot and learch around the parking lot and park really really close to the Prissie's drivers' door so they can't get in,.. then leave emptying the ash tray on the ground as you do,.. toss your empty beer can,.. or, better yet torpedo of colt 45 toward the garbage can, making sure you come within a few inches without actually making the deposit,..

your welcome..

[Brock Samson]

 the BSG now need a distrib,..  the Vac Advance is Inop...

but the car runs alot better even though the water pump leaks badly, and the second bolt down thru the steeering pump bracket is still frozen solid and wont turn,.. any advice on how to free it up?.. 
i'm thinkin heat... and/or a breaker bar, but I'd hate to strip the bolt off in the block.. 

[mauve66]

use a bunch of  PB rust Blaster, best thing i have found, warm motor up then use a piece of dry ice (most grocery stores have some in a cooler somewhere) on the head/shaft of the bolt (if you can reach it) the sudden temp change should do the trick

make sure you hold the dry ice in a rag and wear leather gloves or you'll be sorry

[Neal_J]

My thought was to apply several coats of penetrating oil a fews times a day for several days followed by a long hunk of pipe over the ratchet as a breaker bar.  But Mauve's solution sounds way cooler.

Neal

[mauve66]

trying not to snap off the bolt head from the torque of the pipe breaker bar

[WingCharger]

Hey mauve, good idea to shock the bolt.
The only thing I can think of is possible cracking from the sudden temperature change in places around the bolt.

[mauve66]

i think th3e dry ice would melt before the block got cold enough to do anything plus he's still gonna try to hold it with his fingers just to see what we're talking about..............

[Brock Samson]

 Feeling i'm out of my depth now,..
I've taken it to my buddy at his shop... since stuff unexpected keeps happening i'm feeling in this case it'll be worth the expense to let a real mechanic deal in a location where's there's room and tools i sure don't want to hear a crack and have a bolt head come off in my rachet...   
More later...