Living with a Porsche 944

I can't believe it's taken this long to track down a 130mm x M10 shoulder bolt! But I found a pair on eBay and they've arrived in first class post. Great service from Spalding Fasteners . Refitting the alternator with the correct length bolt was a great relief. The best I'd found was a 120mm M10 from B&Q but I could just see this alternator ripping off and shredding my engine bay. So I am glad I waited and found the correct bolt. And I have a spare. It was a little like Haynes say "refitting is the reversal of removal" but with almost zero degree temps in my garage - my little blower heater keeping the ice age at bay - it was a fiddly affair. I'd left the tension arm bolt in place to have the correct tension on the belt when refitted - the problem of course was then getting the alternator to line up with the fixing bolt. In the end I used a little ingenuity and pushed it up into place with the trolley jack from MachineMart as recommended by Car Mechan

Right. Finally there was a break in the snow and I got to collect my alternator from Power Components. It seems almost criminal that some companies are charging almost as much for a replacement voltage regulator as Roger is for rebuilding the whole alternator - with new bearings too! It just goes to show - I could be spending a heck of a lot of money getting this 944 on the road if I wasn't prepared to get my hands cold & dirty, and make a few phone calls. It's also great to know that there are people like Roger at Power Components in the world who don't feel the need to rip people off. The bracket is off the alternator but the pivot bolt is seized in the bracket. So I popped round a local garage who have a hydraulic press and they've pushed it out, as well as drilling out the pivot bolt hole so a replacement will fit easily. £25 well spent I'd say. So far I haven't found a bolt to use. It's 130mm x M10 shoulder bolt. Neither Porsche nor VW (it's the

It's freezing cold all over England. I'm sure you've seen the pics. It's the ice age in my garage - not the best of times to get the alternator out for it's rebuild. To make matters worse I think I may have just botched this whole rebuild idea by breaking the pivot bolt. The head just sheered off completely, requiring the removal of the whole alternator bracket with the alternator attached. Thankfully there was a bracket to remove or it would be game over. Hopefully Roger from Power Components can sort this for me - if he can get to work in all this snow!