New Alternator

icE · Post by **icE** » Sat May 01, 2004 10:58 am

I was driving last night and the temp, battery, and brake light all came on, n stayed on. My dad had this problem before, it needs a new alternator. We'll probably get another one sometime this week. The remanufactured alternators aren't that great, the original stock alternator lasted 13 years! I think later, when i get some more money, i'll put in a higher performing alternator for my high-power sound system

takza · Post by **takza** » Sun May 02, 2004 4:42 am

If you get a new alternator, you might need to have the parts store put your old pulley on the new one...unless you have a way to get one on & off.

icE · Post by **icE** » Sun May 02, 2004 5:26 am

probably, it's bolted on so it's not hard to take off

takza · Post by **takza** » Sun May 02, 2004 2:17 pm

Trust me...it takes an impact wrench. B)

icE · Post by **icE** » Sun May 02, 2004 2:29 pm

new one came with the same exact size pulley, so no problemz

All fixed!

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Tue May 04, 2004 7:10 pm

Here is a testimonial of how good the car is, even when it's breaking down:

When the alternator finally went on my dad's 83, he was able to drive to work and back in the 15-20 mile (not sure, will have to check on that) range for a round trip and we were able to go to the bank and this is at night already and with the headlights on he drove to a nearby mechanic. The "charge" warning light came on when he was halfway to work and so he turned off the radio and drove it like that and then came back. I didn't know on first hand if it was the alternator or some other component, but indeed it was the alternator. We have the one with the external IC regulator. So, the total cost of parts and labor was I think $127, which if I would have known it was the alternator I would have replaced it and saved some money. The mechanic, which is my friend, got a remanufactured one for us and a couple of months later it's still working. So, the battery acted as a champion, I thought we had a really crappy battery, which is starting to corrode, but it hung on like a champion. Does oil have something to do with the alternator giving up? Since the engine has pretty bad gasket leaks (both engine gaskets) there is oil everywhere- on the belts, manifolds, etc. and I'm assuming that some got into the alternator.

icE · Post by **icE** » Tue May 04, 2004 8:06 pm

i think so. My grandma borrowed the car for a few weeks and one time accidentally left the oil cap off : o so oil got sprayed everywhere, all black ewwww. But yeah, the old alternator had oil all in it with dust n particles, but it worked that way for a good 6 months with no problem, but i guess all the dirtyness just got to it. I was able to drive back and forth with the bad alternator for a good long while with a terrible looking battery. I love the car

I wonder if they will be able to fit a high performance alternator for my future high-power audio system :rolleyes:

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Wed May 05, 2004 12:15 am

We all love the car don't we? B)

Eatpants · Post by **Eatpants** » Sun May 08, 2005 1:03 pm

same thing happened to me, my friend left the oil cap off or maybe it was me, who knows. it was one of us but anyways, oil everywhere, alternator eventually gave up and i had to replace it, then less than a year later! replace it again! i just put the bottom bolt on, then i grabbed the alternator, put both feet on the side of the car and pulled while my girlfriend tightened the bolt to the same spot as the old one

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Sun May 08, 2005 6:06 pm

Heh. They are a bugger to get tight.

iCe.. I'm planning on a 1000 watt+ stereo. I too need an uber alt. If you find something, let me know. I'll do the same.