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For years I have been running what I thought was a Mustang 5.0 serpentine alternator bracket, but the 3G swap never quite matched up with the well-documented clearance issues online. For reference, I run the small case 3G with 7" between upper and lower mount bolts.
A little history: Last year, one of my junkyard 3G alternators that I had run for years failed miserably on a trip. Two Autozone lifetime 3G alternators then tested bad right out of the box so I gave up on those and spent $300 on a brand new Powermaster 3G alternator rated at 200 amps. Overkill yes, but like many of us I like overkill.
Enter fitment problems...
The upper mounting ear never quite lined up with the upper bolt hole (on the tensioner). As stated I do not and never have had the clearance problem on the lower bracket itself. After some head scratching on this with my dad years ago - on the $30 junkyard alternators (my runner and my spare), I remedied this by notching a little out of the upper alternator mounting ear. Fit like a dream.
Same problem with the Powermaster unit. Same solution - a gentle notch to the alternator ear and bolted it right up or so I thought. I've been running this for 6-8 months now and lately there's been a hideous squeak (not one I'm willing to deal with... thought it was the throwout bearing originally). Well apparently my notching wasn't quite as accurate and I hadn't noticed that the pulley wasn't sitting exactly square and in-line with the rest of the pulleys. 1000 or so miles of running like this and it seems I've damaged the alternator pulley bearing. With the belt off, spinning the pulley by hand I can hear it squeaking.
So... a word to the wise, not all early Ford serpentine brackets are created equal and the upper mount tab on the tensioner sits too far forward on some of them. Do not "fix" this by notching your alternator mount tab... go get the correct bracket to start with if your 3G swap isn't as straightforward as what's documented on numerous Fox Body Mustang sites. Maybe I'm the only one who "rednecked" his way out of this, but maybe not.
Sometimes you learn the hard way. This is an admission of my errors and a public service announcement to anybody who may hit something similar. Attached is a picture of what was necessary in my situation, that sent me down yet another expensive learning path. Note that its unbolted top and bottom so its sitting way far out, but you can see my trimming to the upper alternator ear. I am now looking for the correct Mustang bracket and will likely buy another (bad ass) Powermaster unit to replace my now noisy existing unit. Or I may cheap out and pick up a couple more junkyard units.
With that I think it's time for a beer; not going to even think about this for a week or so as I've got out of town obligations (Vegas, baby).
-Tony
A little history: Last year, one of my junkyard 3G alternators that I had run for years failed miserably on a trip. Two Autozone lifetime 3G alternators then tested bad right out of the box so I gave up on those and spent $300 on a brand new Powermaster 3G alternator rated at 200 amps. Overkill yes, but like many of us I like overkill.
Enter fitment problems...
The upper mounting ear never quite lined up with the upper bolt hole (on the tensioner). As stated I do not and never have had the clearance problem on the lower bracket itself. After some head scratching on this with my dad years ago - on the $30 junkyard alternators (my runner and my spare), I remedied this by notching a little out of the upper alternator mounting ear. Fit like a dream.
Same problem with the Powermaster unit. Same solution - a gentle notch to the alternator ear and bolted it right up or so I thought. I've been running this for 6-8 months now and lately there's been a hideous squeak (not one I'm willing to deal with... thought it was the throwout bearing originally). Well apparently my notching wasn't quite as accurate and I hadn't noticed that the pulley wasn't sitting exactly square and in-line with the rest of the pulleys. 1000 or so miles of running like this and it seems I've damaged the alternator pulley bearing. With the belt off, spinning the pulley by hand I can hear it squeaking.
So... a word to the wise, not all early Ford serpentine brackets are created equal and the upper mount tab on the tensioner sits too far forward on some of them. Do not "fix" this by notching your alternator mount tab... go get the correct bracket to start with if your 3G swap isn't as straightforward as what's documented on numerous Fox Body Mustang sites. Maybe I'm the only one who "rednecked" his way out of this, but maybe not.
Sometimes you learn the hard way. This is an admission of my errors and a public service announcement to anybody who may hit something similar. Attached is a picture of what was necessary in my situation, that sent me down yet another expensive learning path. Note that its unbolted top and bottom so its sitting way far out, but you can see my trimming to the upper alternator ear. I am now looking for the correct Mustang bracket and will likely buy another (bad ass) Powermaster unit to replace my now noisy existing unit. Or I may cheap out and pick up a couple more junkyard units.
With that I think it's time for a beer; not going to even think about this for a week or so as I've got out of town obligations (Vegas, baby).
-Tony
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