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K series alternator brackets


Mechanical Moz

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Did the upper bracket change from EU2 to EU3?

 I'm replacing my EU2 VVC engine with an EU3 one, I used the alternator brackets from the EU2 engine as the EU3 one came with an AC compressor.   On the bench the EU3 alternator fitted OK but in the car the number 1 primary from the Powerspeed exhaust fouls the alternator.

If the EU3 bracket is different is it a standard Rover part I can find at a breakers as I can't find anything on the Caterham parts site?

 

 

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Top bracket YLU101430. Certainly used on Freelander and various others. Plenty on eBay. Bottom adjuster arm YLX100141. Used on many K Series without air conditioning. Got a used one if you can't find one elsewhere. Yours is probably the same already but some of the very early EU2 cars used an early Metro alternator arrangement. This certainly had a different lower adjust arm that was more of a flat slotted plate and possibly had a different top bracket too which might explain your differences.
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Thanks.  A quick Google of YLU101430 brings up images that look a lot like the EU2 bracket I have installed, although dimensionally it could be different.  I'll have to check the part number of the EU2 bracket, the bottom arm is all the same I think.  

It just seems that the alternator is sitting too high & away from the block to clear the primary, although the EU2 alternator had lots of clearance on the same brackets.  I guess the EU3 alternator is larger and therefore perhaps they changed the bracket to reposition it.

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The eu3 should use the same brackets as far as I remember especially as they are both vvc. Can't remember if it's any bigger but the exciter and feedback plug so stick out and I have seen pictures of them hard up against powerspeed exhausts.

I would just change the exciter wire to a ring terminal and tape the feedback wire out of the way and fit the old alternator.

Whats up with the eu2 vvc engine?

Cheers, Simon 

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It should run fine. It's a feedback for the ecu to compensate for electrical load that a 7 just doesn't have. The alternator will work fine as it's how all Lotus eu3 K cars we're wired. 

Is the old head dead then? Valve piston interaction?

And more interesting for me, is the block and crank ok? ;)

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Thanks, in that case I think I'll go down that route and fit the original alternator.

It was the rear exhaust pulley that came off so four bent inlet valves.  I haven't stripped it yet to see if there's damage to the seats or guides too.  Some time in the future I'd like to have it ported and rebuilt with solid cams now that I have the 160 bottom end.

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To conclude, I had the correct brakcet all along so I went with fitting the EU2 (Magnetti Marelli) alternator.  The terminals are at roughly the 7 o'clock position when viewed from the rear, which puts them as far away from the primary as they could be.  With the terminal type and arrangement on the EU2 alternator it's possible to route the loom up from underneath the alternator which keeps it away from the primary.

Sorry Simon I missed your comment about the block and crank previously.  The block from the original engine I managed to ruin https://www.lotus7.club/forum/techtalk/liner-heights-took-far-too-much-block, the crank from the EU3 engine had some kind of marking axially across on the journals, it may just need polishing as it's not scoring but the original crank looked much better in comparison.

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