alternator heat shield

[PaulAnderson]

I've gone down the small, lightweight 40A Denso alternator route with a thin belt conversion and counterbalanced bottom pulley. While there appears to be decent space around the alternator I think fitting a heat shield would be advisable.

 

Does anyone have any experience of a good supplied item or their own decent designs? Please respond with photographs showing the fixings please.

 

I have the standard exhaust and manifild so do not have the additional fixing point that you get on some expensive extractor manifilds.

 

Thanks,

Paul.

[ianc]

Revington supply a heat shield (and alternator mounting bracket) based on the shield fitted on the Works Rally cars in 1962/3. Hence, ought to fit!

That said, it is a fiddly as there's not much room round there and even my comparatively small hands found it a tricky job when I had the manifolds and alternator off the car 3 years ago and then came to re-assemble everything.

Ian Cornish

[RogerH]

Hi Paul,

it is easy enough to knock up your own design. Use the front manifold stud as one location and the other is attached to an empty screw hole on the bottom of the carb.

The biggest problem is getting a piece of metal that doesn't crack due to the continuous vibration. I've ended up with a stainless cover that appears to be lasting.

Don't try driving any major distance without the shield as you will damage the alternator.

 

Roger

[John Morrison]

Hi Paul,

 

Dead easy to make a heat sheild from one of those mats available from diy stores to put behind joints before soldering to protect paintwork,

 

have run one for years now, and I use a larger bodied lucas alternator (Hence nearer the exhaust) that has done ten years or so and was second hand when fitted.

 

Great article covered this by Ian C think it was traction 109, happy to ship out photos, but will be the weekend.

 

cheers

 

John

[Menno van Rij]

Great article covered this by Ian C think it was traction 109, happy to ship out photos, but will be the weekend.

 

I'm starting to look into this matter too! So, I'm also very interested in good (and proven) solutions! I will welcome all pictures and/or articles regarding this problem!

 

Regards

 

Menno van Rij

[PaulAnderson]

Thanks for the responses so far to which I'd comment before retiring (long day and same planned tomorrow).

 

I think Revington's design is based upon using their extractor manifold which has the second fixing point built into it. While desirable that solution awaits a lottery win.

 

I don't think my collection of TR Action magazines goes back to 109 but will check in the garage tomorrow where they're kept.

 

I thought those plumbers heat mats were a flexible cloth for use when soldering copper pipe joints so I don't follow that suggestion.

 

Again, would welcome photos.

Thanks

Paul

[Alec Pringle]

Try this page for ideas . . .

 

http://www.motorsportworld.co.uk/frame-det...=/manranges.asp

 

all proven stuff

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

[paul gardner]

Have you considered the manifold exhaust blanket now being marketed by Moss. Appears easy to fit - costs cica £92.

Yours

Paul

[7VC]

Paul,

 

I've attached a couple of photos of the DIY shield I recently made for 7VC, having gone through about three alternators in the last two years! You will see I have a tubular exhaust manifold fitted, but the shield is independent of this - it's mounted on the front manifold stud and on the lower rear alternator pivot bolt (I made a simple U bracket so there is enough clearance between the alternator and the shield - you can see the lower nut in one of the photos).

 

The shield is made from 2mm aluminium, and the exhaust side is covered in heatproofing mat (fibreglass with foil stuck to it), available from Demon Tweeks I expect.

 

The Revington shield is made from much thinner aluminium - may well do the job, but I wanted to make something a little more rally-grade!

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jonathan

 

[RogerH]

Hi Paul,

here is a pic of my home made shield. The front is attached to the 2 forward manifold studs and a 3rd location is a hole at the bottom of the

carb manifold. The shield has got a bend half way down to go around the alternator.

 

Roger

[PaulAnderson]

Thanks for the pictures so far. The only heat shield I'd previously seen was in a poor photo in the how to improve your TR3-4A book.

Paul

[Tr4Tony]

Paul

 

You dont need to shield that alternator if your not running an extractor exhaust. The internal arrangement is not like the LUCAS ones, and so the diode failure will not occur due to cooking the rear of the casing, so there is nothing to burn out except the wires, which you should shield using a cloth sleeve.

 

If you do construct a shield is is likely to impede the airflow over the exhaust manifold which makes the area HOTTER because the air cannot pass around the body of the alternator.

 

Unless you are going rallying and are likely to get EXTREME heat or water ingress I would recommend that you dont do anything. If you are going rallying then a light shield on the alternator is all thats required at worst. I do not run my shield most of the time on BST82B and I still have the same alternator after a number of years. Proof of pudding etc.

 

I do lightly shield the base of the webers but I have found that the best cooling of both carbs, exhaust manifold and alternator results from ducting of air through the engine bay and the best running at good speed comes from maximising the airflow through the right hand / drivers side of the engine bay.

 

Regards

 

Tony

[woodward]

With regards to under the bonnet heat and tubular exhaust manifolds, has anyone ceramic coated their manifold and what results were achieved..?

 

Myles

[4Mal]

With regards to under the bonnet heat and tubular exhaust manifolds, has anyone ceramic coated their manifold and what results were achieved..?

 

Myles

 

I haven't, but my guess is engine bay cooler and wallet lighter.

I did ask at at Stoneleigh and a mini sized one was £250+

 

I think TR4Tony has them. Not sure though

[Tr4Tony]

Yes done this - obviates the need for a lot of bolt on stuff ...... www.zircotec.co.uk fantastic high quality stuff

 

Regards

 

Tony

[PaulAnderson]

.... there is nothing to burn out except the wires, which you should shield using a cloth sleeve.

Thanks for that Tony.

 

 

Is this the type of beige cloth that plumbers use while soldering pipe joints so as not to burn skirting boards etc? If so, how do you secure it / stop it unwrapping. Tie wraps or similar would either melt or just go brittle. If it's something else, like a foil material when again, can you describe it and how is it secured please

 

Thanks,

Paul

[RogerH]

Hi Paul,

last year somebody posted a thread about a company called CamCoat in Wigan. They look v.good. A triple coat process (inside and outside the tubes) for a TR4A was about £120. Dearer than the webbing but shouldn't catch fire and looks the part - various colours.

 

Haven't seen Zircotec but if Tony recommends it it will be good.

 

Roger

[MikeF]

With regards to under the bonnet heat and tubular exhaust manifolds, has anyone ceramic coated their manifold and what results were achieved..?

 

Myles

 

Most ceramics are actually relatively good conductors of heat

 

Mike

[MikeF]

Thanks for that Tony.

 

 

Is this the type of beige cloth that plumbers use while soldering pipe joints so as not to burn skirting boards etc? If so, how do you secure it / stop it unwrapping. Tie wraps or similar would either melt or just go brittle. If it's something else, like a foil material when again, can you describe it and how is it secured please

 

Thanks,

Paul

Here is how I fixed my home made heat shield, I didn't use engine mounted studs or anything as I was concerned to keep the distance relationship shield to alternator, and didn't want to attach anything to studs and carbs etc. It is made of folded aluminium and pop riveted. Not so easy to see is the protective plumbers cloth as mentioned by others. I pop riveted that also, using the large repair washers (the sort that are really a disc with a hole). I left the cloth oversize compared to the metal shape so that it hangs down like a skirt. When making the wiring loom up for the alternator I made it slightly longer than necessary so that it could be routed down and well away from the exhaust. When I first made the shield a couple of years ago it was my intention to use the Ally as a model for a subsequent Stainless Steel one, but I never got round to it.

 

Hope this helps

 

 

For some reason the picture won't upload, I'll ahve another go in a moment

 

 

 

Mike

Edited May 18, 2008 by MikeF

[MikeF]

Here is how I fixed my home made heat shield, I didn't use engine mounted studs or anything as I was concerned to keep the distance relationship shield to alternator, and didn't want to attach anything to studs and carbs etc. It is made of folded aluminium and pop riveted. Not so easy to see is the protective plumbers cloth as mentioned by others. I pop riveted that also, using the large repair washers (the sort that are really a disc with a hole). I left the cloth oversize compared to the metal shape so that it hangs down like a skirt. When making the wiring loom up for the alternator I made it slightly longer than necessary so that it could be routed down and well away from the exhaust. When I first made the shield a couple of years ago it was my intention to use the Ally as a model for a subsequent Stainless Steel one, but I never got round to it.

 

Hope this helps

 

 

For some reason the picture won't upload, I'll have another go in a moment,

 

- apparently there is only 4.04k left out of a 500 K upload limit. I have no idea what this means! BUt i'll happily email the picture to whoever wants to see it. It shows a single bolt mounting utilising the alternator fixing bracket.

 

Mike

Edited May 18, 2008 by MikeF

[RogerH]

Hi Mike,

I'm sure you wil find that ceramic material is a poor conductor of heat hence fire bricks in forges & furnaces and light bulb sockets.

The handle on a china tea cup is cooler than on a tin mug.

 

Roger

[MikeF]

Hi Mike,

I'm sure you wil find that ceramic material is a poor conductor of heat hence fire bricks in forges & furnaces and light bulb sockets.

The handle on a china tea cup is cooler than on a tin mug.

 

Roger

Depends on the ceramic, Some are good and some bad.

Here are some conductivities

 

Thermal conductivity

Good conductors

W/mK

Copper 390

Aluminium 237

Stainless l16

Lead 35

Alumina 30 (ceramic)

-----

Bad conductors

Porcelain 1.5 (another ceramic)

Concrete 1.28

Wood 0.4

Leather 0.14

Air 0.025

 

Another way of expressing conductivity is speed of conductivity, good conductors transfer heat quickly, so to start a poor conductor will be cool, but eventually will heat up. In a car exhaust system the ceramic will get hot (same as your cooker/oven does). I think the use of ceramic coatings is more to do with the fact that it won't be degraded by high temperatures.

 

 

Mike