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Re-Carbed

Posted 2/4/2016 9:03 PM (#721710)
Subject: Frustrated by small monkey-metal bolts

Member

Posts: 67

The technical bits of my Metro seem to be secured together by the smallest bolts possible for the job and those - or what they are bolted into - seem to be made of monkey metal, as we used to call it. Before I took ownership someone had already stripped the thread of one of the distributor cap bolts. Later I found a stripped thread between one of the carb bolts into the inlet manifold and the latest is a rounded off 10mm bolt in the right hand alternator pivot. Someone has obviously tried to cure the screeching alternator belt previously as there was a small rachet and socket rusted onto the end of the alternator adjuster bolt! This bolt is quite inaccessible and needs to move to allow me to adjust the belt - anyone else had this?

DotMatrix

Posted 2/4/2016 9:41 PM (#721711 - in reply to #721710)
Subject: RE: Frustrated by small monkey-metal bolts

Expert

Posts: 4458
2000

Location: Jelling, Denmark

I have had the distributor thread being stripped problem multiple times yes

also have several helicoils in my a-series race engine

Re-Carbed

Posted 3/4/2016 1:30 PM (#721721 - in reply to #721710)
Subject: RE: Frustrated by small monkey-metal bolts

Member

Posts: 67

Re-Carbed - 2/4/2016 9:03 PM

The technical bits of my Metro seem to be secured together by the smallest bolts possible for the job and those - or what they are bolted into - seem to be made of monkey metal, as we used to call it. Before I took ownership someone had already stripped the thread of one of the distributor cap bolts. Later I found a stripped thread between one of the carb bolts into the inlet manifold and the latest is a rounded off 10mm bolt in the right hand alternator pivot. Someone has obviously tried to cure the screeching alternator belt previously as there was a small rachet and socket rusted onto the end of the alternator adjuster bolt! This bolt is quite inaccessible and needs to move to allow me to adjust the belt - anyone else had this?

UPDATE -- Removed the plastic splash guard from the inner wing - this time trouble with monkey plastic screws that wouldn't come out and one had to be drilled!. Loosened the clamp bolt and lower pivot bolt behind. Loosened the left hand upper pivot bolt - the upper right one is rounded and inaccessible. The solution? The alternator flange is on the outside of the bracket and the screw head bears against it so rotating the alternator anticlockwise should free it a bit. Few light taps with a 2lb hammer via a lump of wood on the frame close to the pivot and it allowed just enough movement for me to adjust the belt properly and tighten everything up. Replaced the plastic screws with greased metal ones and all's well for now - unless the alternator needs replacing in future. Went for a long test drive and it ran really well - got home and found that I'd failed to re-connect the yellow vacuum line to the air input flap switch so didn't learn anything about whether my mixture is right. Figured that if it ran better with a leak then I'm too rich so backed off my mixture screw 1/2 turn. Let's see how it goes.

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