Rennline alternator-strap problem

Formerly Steve Wilkinson · 05-01-2008, 06:29 AM

Anybody ever had problems fitting their Rennline stainless-steel alternator/blower-housing strap? Mine came with a 35mm Allen-head bolt for the closure, and I've had to call and ask Rennline for a 40mm bolt. Even with a pair of C-clamps trying to close the gap where the bolt and nut go, there's no way 35mm is enough. Anybody else run into this?

Rot 911 · 05-01-2008, 06:34 AM

Steve, even on the stock straps when you pull them out it is a pain in the butt trying to close the gap when reinstalling. I just went to the hardware store and bought a longer socket head bolt.

Wickd89 · 05-01-2008, 06:38 AM

I had a nut from Rennline that stripped and I asked for one to be sent out. good service, but they did charge me. Considering the cost for the strut bar, I thought charging over $8 for one nut was too high.
Filament size was fine..

bkreigsr · 10:08 AM

mine went in okay, after about a 2 hour struggle.
the strap has to be seated exactly in the raceway.
I must have dropped the stupid nut into no-man's-land at least a dozen times. Fishing it out was the time consuming part.

Bill K

JP911 · JP911's Garage

I couldn't use the bolt they provided either. I found a longer and equally shiny replacement at my local hardware store.

PCA7GGR · 05-01-2008, 04:42 PM

It took Rennline over a month and several emails to sort out the battery cradle for my Optima battery (wrong battery hold-downs). While their products are well designed and made, their after sale support leaves much to be desired.

wilke3169 · 05-01-2008, 06:04 PM

MIne actually has a cv bolt in it. The provided one rung off when I was trying to install it.

Formerly Steve Wilkinson · 05-01-2008, 07:25 PM

Actually, I found their after-sale support excellent, so maybe things have improved. Telephoned them this morning, got put straight through to a tech-support/sales guy who said, "Can we send you a longer bolt?" I told him 40mm ought to do it and he said he'd put one in the mail pronto. Easier than a 15-mile round trip to Home Despot, which I loathe anyway.

He also said, by the way, that yeah, they'd heard of people having this problem before. Maybe they have a 9/10-scale 911 that they take measurements off...

304065 · 05-02-2008, 05:25 AM

Stephan,

I have this really great alternator strap made by a small company in Stuttgart.

Seriously, once you go down the road of swiss-cheesed stainless steel bling accessories it's difficult to return to the world of "sports purpose" originality-- once installed these things tend to reproduce and one day you come out to find that your Finnish plywood floorboards have been replaced with diamond plate, your pedals have stick-on pucks festooned with rubber nubbins and the shift knob has become a phallic symbol, a nappa leather and carbon-fiber miniature homage to Brâncuşi's Bird in Space that makes you feel like washing your hands after every shift.

Send me your original, I'll hold it in escrow with my stash of SWB parts where it will be in good company until the novelty wears off.

1982911SCTarga · 05-02-2008, 05:31 AM

Who in Stuttgart designed the said product? Jochen Strap?

Brian

Formerly Steve Wilkinson · 05-02-2008, 06:10 AM

John, my original is junk. Anything else you need? You should come up to Cornwall some day and climb into my barn attic. There's most of an SC stashed up there. Some of it I'll want to keep, but there area a lot of fiddly bits you're welcome to. I'm a giveaway type, not a seller. Just gave away the original seats, to some guy in Poughkeepsie...

I actually replaced the strap just because I happened to have the distributor out, and the yellowbird yellow that I'd painted it was getting nasty-looking. But I promise not to do the "race floorboards."

jimbauman · 04:11 PM

This is where a company is acting penny wise and pound foolish. The amount of time they spend on the phone with people complaining about the rediculously impossible fit with the short bolt could easily be offset by a longer bolt.

Having said that, it WILL go on with the right combination of snake oil and C clamps, but it should NOT be that difficult....

JB

cl8ton · 08-03-2009, 06:30 PM

Steve, my strap had the same issue…I went down to a HS and bought a longer stainless bolt/nut to finish the job.

I have bought many Rennline products over the years with high quality! But this strap left a bad taste in my mouth.
First off, its way to thin causing buckling at the L brackets (see pic) and after installing, you are no better off than the stock strap!

It is still in the way and hard to get out of the way should you need to pull the fan/housing.
I am still not comfortable that I have it clamped down enough, but I’m too afraid to tighten the Allen bolt any more

jimbauman · 08-03-2009, 07:09 PM

It isn't exactly a marvel of fine engineering, but when the stock strap is stained and bent, it makes a nice replacement. You can see the kink in the armor just ahead of the bracket...

JB

Formerly Steve Wilkinson · 08-03-2009, 07:53 PM

Yup, mine kinks in exactly the same way and place. But I do keep buying Rennline stuff, most recently the luggage-area aluminum cover that protects the various ventilation mechanisms (I'd fabbed one myself out of sheet aluminum, but theirs is way better), and just a few weeks ago, an aluminum floorboard, since my brand-new OEM wood replacement had begun to rot after maybe three years in the car. (Real smart, Stuttgart, maybe it made sense during the post-World War II years, but let's move on, eh?) I think the strap is a bit of an anomaly, in terms of Rennline design, and I suspect they know it.

skinnerd · skinnerd's Garage

Sorry....it looks like junk.
Too much bling.
What's wrong with just getting a stock replacement?
As far as I can remember, they never did cost that much.
And look much better in my opinion.
And fit great.

That swiss cheese look is loser's-ville to me.

jimbauman · 08-05-2009, 07:33 PM

...well at least it's FUNCTIONAL bling!

JB

cl8ton · 08-05-2009, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skinnerd

What's wrong with just getting a stock replacement?
That swiss cheese look is loser's-ville to me.

Jeez Doug lighten up

I bought the (3 way) strap thinking it meant I could remove it (the strap) easily with the engine in the car…no way!

Rennline makes excellent products, I have bought most of their stuff over the years!
Just this one gave me heartburn, I bought it for the efficiency not the bling!

Formerly Steve Wilkinson · 08-06-2009, 05:21 AM

Yes, skinnerd is missing the fact that the point of the strap is not bling but that it's easily removable. The stock strap is a ***** to get out without removing the distributor, etc. And don't worry about the bling: if you use your car the way I do--no Q-Tipping--it'll quickly assume the look of just another piece of metal.

barndoor · barndoor's Garage

I bought some Rennline products ONCE,I'm still pissed off !