I thought my upgraded bracket was nice, but this new design is extra nice! The way the pivot bolt can be removed easily from the pulley side rather than the old "find the bolt popped out somewhere on the transmission side under the intake manifold, next to the passenger side fuel lines, and stuck on some wiring harness (whew)" is one less hassle that I really appreciate removing from the process. If you do your own repairs, these little things really matter. If you bring your rig to a shop, the repair folks will treat your van extra nice, because they'll know you cared about their frustration level, too!
In short, I am super impressed!
The design is VERY robust, the highest quality I can imagine, and will last the life of the motor (don't forget to swap it to the new motor if your re-power your rig: the bracket looks like an original component it fits so well.
The only negative was that it fit so well! The bolt pattern leaves little room for misalignment, so leave the bolts loose until they are all engaged, then tighten each a little, in turn, until you are fully snugged up. The bolts that faced the back were the most difficult due to their location so I started with those first.
The other issue is the belts. I run 1100s (in spite of the published data) on the P/S and alternator/water pump so that I need only one spare with me. I found that the 1100 fit both. Now, the new bracket has moved the alternator closer to the motor breather tower (the plastic soda-pop can looking thing near the center rear of the motor). My geared tooth adjustable alternator bracket is only engaging, barely, on the first tooth or so. Don't get me wrong, it's plenty enough to hold the alternator in place. But, it has made the bolt that loosens the alternator bracket harder to access. I tried a 1160 belt (60 mm longer) but that was too long. I can find an 1110 (but nothing else until the 1160), so I'll try this next. It's only a minor inconvenience, and only picky old farts like me would even care. I'll try running the 1110 on the P/S pump, too, as I am near the middle of the adjustment range there. Hopefully, back to a single belt back-up. If not, the 1100 is running just fine in both locations.
Did I mention I was SUPER impressed with this GoWesty product? I sure did.
