WaryDriver

Three belts (PS, AC, and alternator) are off the car because the alternator belt broke on a trip so i removed them all to replace with new ones I have. The alternator's top adjusting lock bolt loosened up fairly easily. However, bottom mounting bolt first stripped the insides of my 14mm socket then using another 14mm socket I stripped the nut really bad. It hasn't been taken off in 15 years. I hosed it with PB Blaster before the stripping began with the socket wrench. I did not take a picture, but it is stripped badly in that the corners of the nut have been mutilated. The 14 mm socket just turns around the nut now. Had used a hammer against the socket wrench and thought hitting it was loosening the nut. But instead it was stripping the nut.


Another thing that happened was that I stripped both the AC tensioner pulley center nut and mounting bolt. I know youre supposed to leave the long adjusting bolt down and loosen the pulley center nut first but it stripped. I figured Id remove the two mounting bolts to trash the tensioner and replace with one from the junkyard. Well, the first tensioner mounting bolt started stripping with the open end of a 12mm wrench. You cannot get the box end of a wrench in there because the pulley is in the way and the pulley center nut is stripped badly.



Most important for fixing is the alternator's bottom mounting nut this weekend. I need to fix, but I do not have to fix the AC bolts right now. I have to have a running car so the alternator bolt is priority. What should I try doing? I tried using vice grips its not releasing though just more and more stripping. It's a pretty highly torqued bolt thats been on there for so long. Should go buy some kind of torch? What exact tools and method would you use to get this alternator mounting nut off? And the AC tension center nut and/or mounting bolt off too.

ezone

Whoa, that's an awful lot of ruined fasteners!
Sounds like you should throw away all of your wrenches, they are rounding off fasteners.
(use 6 point socket or wrench on stuck fasteners first, not 12 point wrenches or open end wrenches!)

(I've actually taken a bad wrench out of a lubies (oil change kid) hand and thrown it away for him, he was rounding off oil drainplugs and had no clue that it's a problem. )


I'd probably start in with heat, then a grinder, a cutoff wheel, and plan on replacing whatever I have to to get it apart. Up to and including the alt, it's mount bracket, and bolts..

..and get some quality wrenches that won't ruin bolt heads!

WaryDriver

Amazingly I was missing a 14 mm wrench out of the 2 wrench sets I have. So stupidly I tried using a creasent wrench and stripped that AC pulley bolt horribily. The alternator bolt i tried removing using a 14 socket and stripped I didnt see that happening! Nut was on there good I was moving the engine up and down trying to loosen.

BUT I got all the stripped bolts removed this morning! Iced, torched, hosed more PB Blaster. Then socket set for stripped bolts actually worked! http://www.irwin.com/tools/screw-bol...-extractor-set

ezone

Cool stuff there!