Snapped alternator mounting bolt on vn

[golledge16]

I am after some advice. I was changing the idler pulley on my car this morning to rectify a noise i heard coming from it and after i finished and turned the car on the noise still persisted. i thought it may be coming from the alternator mounting bolt because it had been changed recently and i noticed the left mounting bolt was able to be tightened and whilst i was tightening it it snapped! What are my options?

[DavoVP]

Try and get it out with some multi grips if there is still a head left, Drill it out and tap a new hole, or go to the wrecker's and get the new parts you need of a another car. If the bolt is snaped flush, id just go to the wrecker's, prob only $20 and 30 mins of your time.

[Scido]

Theres a few options for getting broken studs out i consider my self a pro haha mostly cause fitters at work love there 2inch rattle guns
As stated by DavoVP drill and tap.
Drill and use an "Easyout" ( a tapered stud with left hand thread thats srews in at the same time as unscrewing the stud)
Get a centre punch and hit it on an angle so your kinda unscrewing it ( kinda hard to explain)
If your keen to weld it disconnect your battery and reweld a nut onto it so youve got a fresh head then unscrew it (use staino rods)

Just some thoughts

[golledge16]

Thanx for the advice guys. I am an amateur at this kind of stuff and have decided to put in for a mechanic to fix. You can probably tell I'm an amateur by the problem i listed, tightening the bolt on the bracket is an amateur mistake to say the least. Just one last thing tho. Is it safe to drive? The mechanics said it was up to my discretion. My own knowledge thinks it will be okay to drive because their are more than one mounting point as far as I'm aware but what do you think?

[Scido]

I honestly dont know how they are mounted on a 6 but as long it has one bolt holding it in and the other bolt for the tensioner i would drive it its not gonna fall out, worse could happen itll become loose and youll end up ruining your belt.

[golledge16]

Ok thanx. Ive only gotta drive it 25 k's to the mechanic. i dont plan on going very fast any way. Any advice for what the noise i'm hearing could be? I thought it was coming from the belt tensioner but it is still making it. It is a kind of weird knocking noise and it only comes on when im idling which is why i thought it was the idler pulley. Ive looked on here for similar problems and harmonic balancer seems to be a common occurence.

[Scido]

Nah sorry man im not to good with diagnosing stuff.

Best advice i could give ya is let it idle and poke your ear around the engine bay see where the noise is at its loudest.

[James39]

If it has air con then the noise could be comming from there.

[DavoVP]

Knock on idle, usually the harmonic balancer, or in the worst case scenario, a big end bearing. 9 times out of ten its just the balancer. ( big round thing at bottom of the motor ) in the rubber is cracked split or perished, its usually that.

[golledge16]

Thanks DavoVP, I will get them to check it when I get the the bolt sorted out. I have already sourced a new one on ebay for around 132 bucks + delivery.

[golledge16]

just an additional thing, I talked to by brother in law last night cause hes a mechanic in the mines, he was cautious about driving it because the bolt i snapped is also connected to the belt tensioner? From looking at it it has only one other mounting point to the engine? Any thoughts? Will it make it harder for the mechanics to remove it?