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The last time I had to call out the RAC, which was via an M25 roadside telephone to the motorway control room, the 1973 VW 1600 Type 3 engine had a completely seized alternator shaft. It took 2 hours for the RAC patrol to arrive and another 2 hours waiting for an RAC low-loader recovery vehicle to take me home.If I had had a spare alternator and a trolley jack with me, it would probably have been quicker to drop the engine out, replace the alternator and refit the engine whilst I was waiting for the RAC patrol to turn up!This episode, was just one of the reasons that my dad and I decided to upgrade to a VW Type 4 style air-cooled engine, for which the cooling system is independent of the alternator-shaft or V-belt and the alternator can be replaced without removing the engine.
The last time I had to call out the RAC, which was via an M25 roadside telephone to the motorway control room, the 1973 VW 1600 Type 3 engine had a completely seized alternator shaft. It took 2 hours for the RAC patrol to arrive and another 2 hours waiting for an RAC low-loader recovery vehicle to take me home.
If I had had a spare alternator and a trolley jack with me, it would probably have been quicker to drop the engine out, replace the alternator and refit the engine whilst I was waiting for the RAC patrol to turn up!
This episode, was just one of the reasons that my dad and I decided to upgrade to a VW Type 4 style air-cooled engine, for which the cooling system is independent of the alternator-shaft or V-belt and the alternator can be replaced without removing the engine.
