I recently tore off the
alternator ground post of my new
balmar alternator at 13ft/lbs of force (see attached). Initially I thought what the hell, but I think there is a lesson to be had here for future
boat work
First off I am not a fan of mechanical stuff, I’d be much more comfortable diagnosing issues from a computer.
But I am hardly a rookie in this area. I’ve all but rebuilt an e46 S54
motor, doing everything from the timing chain tensioner guide to the rod bearings and quite a few things in between. If anyone is familiar with the car, you know how mechanically complex the
motor is.
However, with that car everything is spelled out for you; tightening torque, tightening angle, everything. Having taught myself how to
work on cars from this motor, I expected everything to be the same.
It has pretty quickly become apparent to me that there is quite a bit more “grey” area when working on the
boat. There seems to be quite a bit more leeway on the installs; a lot more “make sure it’s tight” rather than “tighten to 30ft/lbs and then 90 degrees”. If that’s more a result of working on German cars than cars in general I don’t know.
So my question is, how do people approach working on their boats? Is “snug it down” the
rule of thumb? I am fine with 99% of the improvisation work, but that last 1% left unspecified has consistently made me uncomfortable.
To drive home how neurotic I am here, I had purchased a laser alignment tool to make sure the belt was inch perfect and had disconnected the alternator to move it. My belt is now perfectly aligned but now the alternator needs some work 🙃