Finally had time and tools today to swap the alternator in i got off sie at the NW meet. Got the wheel off, arch liner out and started loosening bolts. The bottom one came out fine, and the top was a pain in the ass to loosen but i loosened it as far as it would go.

..and here is the problem. The engine mount is in the way. The bolt is too long. The head of the bolt was pressed up against the engine mount and wouldnt shift any further. The other end of the bolt was still bolted in. The threads were still biting. No amount of wobbling would release it. Is this normal or has some clown used the wrong bolt?

This is a photo of the troublesome bolt!

Afraid it's a daft Fiat design. If you can, support the n-gin and loosen the three mount bolts onto the block, wedge something in the gap to get some clearance (1/4" should suffice) then remove the offending bolt.

When you get it out, chop 1/4" off the end and it'll go back in fine with the mount bolted up properly.

I've had alternators on and off my two Cinqs in the last week and found that if I kept turning that damn bolt it eventually 'jacked' itself clear of the engine mount. I cut 5mm off the end before refitting it to avoid further hassles. I was about to open the engine mount bolts but luckily they came out without having to do this. Use a normal open ended spanner and not an Allen key as it won't do the trick.

it got the point where it was touching the mount and i didnt want to try unwinding it further through fear of knackering up the bit the bolt screws into.

Would a trolley jack on the sump by alreet for supporting it whilst the mount is off? Can you have a look at my other thread, see if you think i should change the mount, ta!

Hi,
Only if you put a nice flat piece of wood between jack and sump to evenly distrubute the load, the wood needs to be slightly bigger than the base of the sump, if you just use the jack you will bend the sump.....

Thanks
Paul T

makes sense, ive always thought of sumps of being solid lumps. but then looking at where mines distorted from hitting the road/speed bumps its not that strong!

Its only thin sheet steel....around 1 maybe 2mm at most!
I remodelled mine using a hammer after it gained a huge dent in it!

shhh i know this now. Il jack it up on pillows

Oooer...Hope you havent bent it!

nah, ive no space/tools to work on the car in staffs. Its got a small dent from a speedbump tho