Alternator Well Done

New 8/2/05

On the way to see the shoulder surgeon Friday afternoon. Find out how bad the torn rotator cup, and torn bicep is going to hurt when he fixes it. 5 minutes out of Schaumburg on I-90 West I get the PacMan dash display. Pull over to the shoulder, (like the symmetry?) $54.00 tow later to the farm, and the Scott/Eric/Paul procedure to remove the Alt guess what I find???

Yup - Crispy Critter. Smoke and stink billowing out from under my hood on the side of the Interstate. anybody want to guess how many state trooper/ Sheriff cars stopped to assist me???

Two hours later the tow truck sho's up and thankfully the driver is an enthusiast, and recognizes the GIII, saved me a ton.

got new, not rebuilt, but new Alt and BIL helped install as I only have one wing working.

I got the rebuild from FPN, no slam on Torrie, he just brokered the part. I'm sure he will help me get the dealer he bought it from to pony up a replacement.

Damn did it stink.

Ouch, sorry to hear about that. I know the alternator is not an easy part to replace. Look on the bright side, this time you don’t need a new motor.

Mike

Why do the gen3 alts gook like that? I've rebuilt later modle gen2 MTX's alts (3g guts) and they last 150k+ without a hiccup.

Bruce J Malachuk

I'm thinking because of direct cooking as opposed to indirect??? - UL

It the location they are in. On mine the bearing seized up due to corrosion. The rebuilder could not even get it apart.

Paul

My first one blew the back of the case apart when the rear bearing spin. I had it at lapeer to show Ian his pulleys fit. 2nd {still in car} had an Aftermarket voltage regulator put in 2years ago as it had developed its own VAK. It has just started in the last 2 days doing the same thing. SO next week when the thing goes in to have its A/C looked at.. {blowing warm air and compressor is cycling like crazy, heard a loud hissing sound the other day} the same company is well know in town for alternator rebuilds so I will have them pull it while in there. at almost 120,000miles on the clock I am really thinking in the next 12 to 18 months it is time to either make it the 3rd car or get rid of it

How did ya hurt the shoulder? {oh wait Heather is expecting,,, enough said :o) }

Clare

This WAS a replacement Alternator, Very recent - Maybe March/April 2005. Quality part From Torrie too. Alternators must be as hard to rebuild right as the F'N Trannies it would seem.

-- Eric Lehmann

No spare from the spare motor?

This was from which motor with how many miles?

Buford

Donor came sans alt, they had already scavenged that. This was the first replacement for SW9's original Alt. It sent me messages that I didn't pay attention to.
All the displays were flickering for at least two weeks prior to the convention. There's a Hint folks, if your display is winking you better start thinkin.....

I've had two new alternators on my new 99 in the past two weeks since I bought it. The original was giving a weird reading at idle, and the replacement went 5 miles after the new fuel pump got put on. I spun the motor to 600rpm, and bingo, alt was reading 8 volt. I swear my 93 isn't this finicky. - Pher Reinman

some wise folk on this list have recommended Westling remanufactured alts - Chris Farmer

Yep, there are only three options out there that seem to last, from what I hear time and again...

Westling remanufactured alternator
New FORD alternator (NOT rebuilt)
Rebuild of your original by a local shop with a good reputation

FWIW, the standard procedure for "rebuilding" the units sold at most well-known parts stores is as follows:

1. Take apart alternator case
2. Media-blast and paint case to make it look new
3. Fix what was broken--maybe
4. Put $3 worth of shiny hardware in the visible areas while re-assembling

Repeat steps #1, 2, and 4 every 1K-20K miles when the alternator comes back broken again. Do step #3 once in a while if you feel like it.

Dan Carman

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