Alternator bushing woes!

Ramrodfunk

I've just replaced my alternator bushings again. The poly's only lasted six months and they crumbled.
What is the best solution?
What are people using?
Are solid alloy (Yosifab) or other solid solutions ok?
Cheers

crawlvo

Not an answer, but I'm confused by solid bushings. Isn't the point of the bushings to absorb engine vibration, protecting the accessory? Wouldn't a solid or firmer poly bushing transfer all of that energy into the alternator, potentially shortening its lifespan?

Major Ledfoot

crawlvo They're rubber mounted to reduce NVH.

In The Grande Old Days of 140s and the like, the alts were solid mounted to the engine block via brackets. B8444S alts are bolted directly to the block. So, maybe not a vibration issue.

Yoshifab do sell solid alloy bushes. People have mixed results - some swear by them, others don't. Unfortunately most of the aftermarket rubber bushes around these days aren't as good as the original OE that lasted decades. Some folks use a mix of good rubber and solid ones, and keep a close eye on the belt tension.

Ramrodfunk

Major Ledfoot Today I had another 240 to take the bushings out of. Genuine Volvo rubber ones that are at least 12 years old, good but showing signs of old age.
I'm going to have replace them & the bushings from the donor car. So just weighing up my options.
The same poly bushings that failed on the alternator seem fine on the air con. & pwr steering.
Another question I have is, Where is the best position for the ALT, down on the drivers side near the oil filter or high on the passenger side like some 740/940's(?).
I'm toying with th idea of getting some nylon bar or delrin turned down to replace bushings whatever most suitable.

carnut222

Ramrodfunk I guess the alternator position will depend heavily on whether you have AC and/or power steering. If you have both, then you'd have to swap the alternator and PS pump locations to achieve a high-mounted engine inlet manifold alternator position. I think possibly Volvo's reasoning for moving things around on the 7-series might have been to do with heat - I think the PS pump is probably more heat-tolerant than the alternator, hence putting the PS pump on the hotter exhaust side of the engine. Other than maybe space contstraints on the exhaust side limiting the alternator size, that's the only reason I can see why they'd shift things around.

Ramrodfunk

carnut222 My long term plan is to switch to electric parts. Like, firstly, Electric assisted steering then air con and brakes.
That's why I'd like to change the position of the ALT but I'm going to start a new thread to discuss all of that.
Really not impressed by how quickly the poly ALT bushes detoriated. I'm really leaning towards getting some Delrin bushes made up. Don't know how I'll do it, I know the dimensions of the bushes but, how to make them.