Triumphrat

Derswede · 04-22-2008

Guys, just wanted to post a thousand thanks for the GREAT detailed info on the infamous "broken alternator bolt" problem. My '98 Sprint had a nasty rattle/buzz at around 2K rpm and it was right at the alternator.

So, this morning (having finished up the conference calls, etc) I snuck off and played hooky for awhile. In total, it took an hour to pull the alternator, discover the broken bolt head floating around inside the cush drive, repair it and reinstall the alternator. I used a high grade cap screw (designed to hold motors onto Italian made knitting equipment which runs 24/7) to replace it and Loctite to re-secure the bolt. There was enough of a stub to use a pair of small ViseGrips to remove the broken bolt. The O-ring was undamaged....I pulled it, cleaned it and re-used it. The cush rubbers also were in good shape. Everything went back together quite easily. In fact, I'll probably pull it in a week or two just to make sure everything is still secure.

One question....when I pulled the alternator I found one washer. During cleanup, etc. after the repair, a washer fell out from the same general area. The washer I used when making the repairs was the original, still on the stub of the bolt. Are there TWO washers? If so, when I pull the alternator again, guess I need to add that one back onto the stack. Any comments would be appreciated.

And......THANKS AGAIN!!

Derswede

MotT3 · 04-22-2008

Yes two washers one is larger and is hardened..the other is small and is a belleville washer (dished to act as a spring) and hopefully help the bolt from vibrating loose..

I ditched the lot and drilled it out to take an M8 with a standard washer but strong thread lock compound..wether this will wrok for long I'll let you know ???

Derswede · 04-22-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by MotT3

Yes two washers one is larger and is hardened..the other is small and is a belleville washer (dished to act as a spring) and hopefully help the bolt from vibrating loose..

I ditched the lot and drilled it out to take an M8 with a standard washer but strong thread lock compound..wether this will wrok for long I'll let you know ???

Thanks, MotT3....I may go with an aircraft trick and use safety wire to secure it (running to both sides to balance the unit) or a hardened lockwasher (doubt a standard LW would work....wouldn't dig in to hold against the hardened washer). Next step (if above fails) will be what you tried with a M8 bolt.

Thanks!
Derswede

Poacher886 · 04-23-2008

I was just about to post a thread on this very subject, but it looks like we are talking about the same thing!!

I've recently bought a 92 Trident, which sounds sweat when revs are applied, but when it is at idle it has a nasty rattling sound from some where behind the cylinders??.....Also when i start the bike, i get a strange spinning sound aswell (it goes once started)!?

Is this the Altenator?
Can someone explain what it is and how much work is involved?
Is it a serious problem?

Thanks.

MotT3 · 04-23-2008

Switch the lights on and the noise should pretty well go if it's the alternator...unless the alternator bolt has broken and it's all worn badley in there.

Noises can be a bit difficult to pin down but I hope this may help a little..

Poacher886 · 04-25-2008

I keep the lights on permently, but its always there when starting the bike!

Roden · 04-25-2008

It is very likely that the alternator bolt is loose/broken.

What Mot means is, start the bike without your headlight on and let it settle to a nice idle. You will hear the alternator rattling. Turn on the headlight (which puts electrical load on the alternator and takes up the slack in the rotor spline)
and the rattle will disappear or at least improve a bit.

The fix is to remove the alternator and renew the bolt, hardened washer and belleville washer. If the bolt is broken it might be possible to grab whats still sticking out with vise grips and wind it out. If that isn't possible, you will have to drill it out. The rotor drives the alternator via a spline, it is possible that the rotor spline will be excessively worn, in which case it will have to be renewed.

It is also possible to drill the M6 thread out and re-thread it M8 which is stronger and a more permanent solution. MotT3 posted a procedure recently with very good pics.

The strange spinning sound could be related to the starter sprag clutch, which are known to fail on pre '96 (I think) units. this can be replaced through a "hatch" in the top of the crankcase which unfortunately doesn't exist on the later T3's.

Always make sure that your battery is fully charged, these bikes don't like being turned over on a weak battery, it can ruin the sprag.

You are probably thinking this is an awful lot of trouble but it is the only mechanical deficiency on an otherwise fantastic machine and is readily fixed.

I hope this helps,

Roden

Poacher886 · 04-26-2008

Thanks RODEN, i'll give it a try!!

Poacher886 · 04-29-2008

Can anyone point me to the procedure shown by MotT3 please.....cant seem to find it.

Roden · 04-29-2008

You could go to Mot's website, he has a whole bunch of stuff about maintaining a T3, including the alternator. Oh yeah, gardening tips too!
His link is at the bottom of his postings.

Top job Mot, an excellent website you have created.

Cheers,

Roden