EDIT: Updated post later on.

Ok, here's the deal. I've been going through my '86 GT and replacing all the parts and such that have really needed replacing. A buddy of mine gave me a nice new alternator bracket with a used Rodney Dickman idler pulley setup. The bracket I've found out is a Fiero Store replacement bracket. This is cool, as my GT has around 280K miles on it and probably needs a new bracket.



Old bracket to the right. New one to the left (excuse the dirt and grease, as I was handling it with dirty hands). Both look fairly same, right? However, check this out...



This is them both lined up via the top of the brackets sitting flat and level with the top alternator holes lined up, and me taking the absolute straight-on shot I could. The old bracket is in the background, and the Fiero Store bracket is in the foreground.

I know it doesn't look like much, but the arm is so far off in regards to the position of the old bracket that it was virtually impossible for me to get my alternator onto the bracket. It's maybe a millimeter in space total. I honestly did not know what I was doing wrong. At first, I thought that it was the top mount, and that I hadn't pushed the little spacer piece all the way into the bracket. However, I went to install Rodney Dickman's idler pulley setup, and the holes weren't lining up. The idler pulley mounts fine to the old bracket though, but not this new one as the holes do not line up. The lower mount arm is so "short" in regards to the alternator that I cannot get a bolt onto the lower bolt hole. Not only that, but if I use the enclosed fan style alternator, at points it doesn't have enough clearance to actually spin, and where it would mount to spin freely is so far 'up' the bracket that you can't get a belt on (it's just completely loose).

I ended up using the old bracket, cleaning it up, and I have a Rodney Dickman lower alt bracket brace to go on to help support it. With the Rodney Dickman idler pulley setup it should work out pretty well.

Has anyone else ran into similar issues with this? I know the Fiero Store brackets are supposed to have more 'meat' in them to be stronger, but this seems like a literal case of the arm being so far off I simply could not install an alternator onto the bracket.

[This message has been edited by Fiero84Freak (edited 02-15-2012).]

The 85-86-87 V6 used a larger diameter alternator than the 88. Could be that the distance from the pivot point to the adjustment point is shorter on the 88 and the bracket is intended for an 88. With that being said, many change the earlier years to an 88 alternator and I don't know if they need change the bracket, or not. Could just be a manufacturing error, too.

If you have concerns about the original bracket failing, get Rodney's alternator bracket repair and install it.

I have the Rodney Dickman bracket strengthener piece thingy (the little black metal support he sells to strengthen the lower arm) so I'm not overly concerned I guess.

It's been some time since I've had my '88 Formula and I remember it having a different type alternator bracket, but without another 2.8L V6 equipped Fiero around me it's a bit hard to compare brackets.

I don't this there is any difference in the Alt. I have an 88 Alt. on my 85GT, no difference in the spacing.

Ok. After doing a quick search on TFS's webpage I found this;

http://www.fierostore.com/P.../Detail.aspx?s=64919

quote NOTE: This bracket was made thicker in the areas that were prone to cracking on the original unit. It was also made to fit the original Fiero alternators which used an open fan blade behind the pulley. Many remanufactured alternators come with a solid disc type fan blade. The disc fan blade is sometimes larger in diameter and may interfere with the bracket. If you have the disc type fan blade, then you may need to file/grind a small amount from the bracket for perfect clearance or switch the fan blade to the open style.

I'm guessing this means the actual diameter of the fan itself is the issue that is being described, but this didn't point out the specifics on actual mounting issues to the lower adjustment bolt. I'm making the assumption that if one purchases this alternator bracket, they would probably want to utilize the open fan style blade alternator, just in case. I still have the solid disc setup on my GT.