S1 / Rover Alternator case breaking apart

[Scottd]

I went to tighten the new alternator belt then noticed this -



Seems to work ok, the breaks are -by the looks of it- a few years old at least.

Any ideas what would cause this?

[campbell]

Vibration? Think mine did the same. Time for a fresh one.

[Stu160]

My 160 used to break them all the time!
Combination of cheap alternators, and a knackered grearbox mount, going metal to metal under load.
You could run it till it causes a problem, but sods law, it will let you down when you really need the car.
I would only fit a genuine part, or upgrade to an S2 , not hard to de , and i think they are far better.

Stu

[Scottd]

Vibration? Think mine did the same. Time for a fresh one.

You could be right, I noticed after my DIY HGF+ a few weeks back the engine was vibrating a lot less, i.e. it was probably vibrating more than it should before.

My 160 used to break them all the time!
Combination of cheap alternators, and a knackered grearbox mount, going metal to metal under load.
You could run it till it causes a problem, but sods law, it will let you down when you really need the car.
I would only fit a genuine part, or upgrade to an S2 , not hard to de , and i think they are far better.

Stu

I think the 160 probably put strain on everything
I will have a look at the gearbox mount, I can't remember where that is but I shall find it.
I saw a WOSP LMB467 - S2 Lotus Elise replacement Alternator on eBay at about 130 delivered which is better than I thought. I was expecting 200+. The good thing is at least it's a slightly different alternator, so hopefully it's 'improved', so I'll pick up that one at 130 and do it in the next week or two.

Cheers guys,

scott

[robin]

Note to fit the S2 alternator you need to do some wiring mods - nothing too complex, but the connectors are different.

Note also that the genuine S2 alternator might be a more robust part, but a chinese pattern part will be prone to fail just the same as the chinese pattern part for S1 alternator is; I had exactly the same failure on my S2 alternator recently (it was a pattern part, I believe). I think the best solution is to buy the real thing from Bosch ... Eliseparts have these:

http://www.eliseparts.com/products/show ... nditioned/

Note also the chat about heat management from the exhaust. The S2 has a better heatshield arrangement on its exhaust manifold - not easy to retrofit to the S1 without also adopting the S2 manifold and downpipe, but next time the manifold or flexi cracks it's well worth a look at changing (or changing to the piper 4:2:1 downpipe).

Cheers,
Robin

PS Gearbox mount is under the airbox on the passenger side of the car.

[campbell]

My S1 has the S2 manifold and downpipe setup courtesy of Iddon Consulting, and I reckon the 2nd alternator has already lasted longer than the first for that reason.

[Scottd]

My S1 has the S2 manifold and downpipe setup courtesy of Iddon Consulting

I too have the same set-up for the exact same reason


I ordered this alternator, a lot cheaper than Elise Parts, it's brand new and specifically for the S1 (they do the S2 one even cheaper still!).

http://www.amp-starters.co.uk/search.as ... &submit=GO
WOSP LMB467S1 - S1 Lotus Elise replacement Alternator based on a modified S2 Bosch Alternator.
173.20 free delivery

Cheers
Scott

[Stephen]

My standard Elise and my S160 both did this at the beginning of the year. I put it down to a combination of heat coupled with the water being in from the engine vent causing the alternator to size then break when the engine tried to turn it.
Robin what's the heat shield fix?

S

[Scottd]

....Robin what's the heat shield fix?

S

Good question

[campbell]

A big dish of Nimbus, I think...

[robin]

If you use either the S2 (6-stud) manifold & downpipe OR the Piper 4:2:1 manifold then it comes with screw holes for attaching a pre-formed heatshield (item 19 in this picture):

http://www.deroure.com/diagrams.asp?TBL ... 0&ST=&SC=0

Note there is also a lower heatshield (bent bit of alloy, in fact) which is item 34 in the same picture.

The lower one bolts to the chassis cross member to protect the coolant pipe, the upper one bolts to the manifold.

Note this may not be so easy to retrofit to the early S1 with up-and-over coolant pipe (probably OK, though).

Cheers,
Robin

[woody]

I've had a cracked casing in the past on what I suspect was a pattern part. I now have the heat shielding from an MG TF in place + an additional bit of fancy stuff around the lower part of the manifold. Seems pretty effective, cabin temps are down and there's a lot less manifold heat with the rear window removed.