Please help - fan assembly question

[s_wilwerding]

I just got my alternator back from being rebuilt and am trying to reassemble everything. However, when putting on the fan, I forgot (or, more truthfully, never knew in the first place) the order of the washers. There is a brass washer and steel washer with the notch in it (and the half-moon shaped key). What is the order of all these things? Is it brass washer, steel washer, key, and fan. Or is it steel washer, brass washer, key, and fan. Also, which side of the brass washer goes which way (it is kind of recessed on one side and "sticks out" on the other).

Thanks for your help - the sooner I get this answered, the sooner I can drive my p-car again.

[pbs911]

All I recall is (1) place the brass spacer on the alt shaft, insert the half/moon shaped (woodruf sp?) key on the alt shaft, install the fan on the alt shatf, and then the outer pully half, using all of the 6 shims to obtain the correct belt tension.

Hope this helps.

[Jim Sims]

Steve,

Here's the order starting from the alternator face: (1) steel washer (may look yellow or gold from plating - magnet will show it is steel); if this washer is stepped (has two different diameters) the smaller diameter usually goes towards the alternator face. Line up the notch with the keyway in the alternator shaft, (2) Woodruff key (half moon-shaped piece) with curved edge down into keyway, (3) fan, (4) some of the shims, I suggest starting with three for first try, (5) outer pulley half, (6) balance (three but sometimes two depending on what came with the car originally) of shims, (7) cupped or domed washer (may look yellow or gold from plating - magnet will show that it is steel), concave or hollow side goes towards outer pulley half (towards alternator), and (8) alternator shaft nut. If one fails to install the washer behind the fan there is usually an obvious lack of alignment of the crank and fan pulley belt grooves.

I assume you know that all six shims should either be between the fan and outer pulley half or under the domed washer. On some of the later outer pulley halves which contain additional belt grooves (for air pumps) one must take care that the outer shim washers do not slip down and become offset and then become distorted when the alternator nut is tightened. It is important to ensure that the domed washer is not contacting the end features on the alternator shaft but insteads spans over them and contacts the stack of shims outside the outer pulley half. If contact with the end of the alternator shaft is occuring something is not right: pulley is lopsided, shims have slipped or you're missing a shim or shims.

Cheers, Jim