Do alternators just die?

[Honky Kong jr]

They ARE crap hence the lifetime warranty. They know it’s gonna fail.

 

[4WDKC]

I bought an optima after going through a few "blem" batteries an a new one. I got that red top in 2007 and its still kicking just fine. Best $180 I ever spent...

I have one in my truck also was there when I bought it, it has tested as bad but, have been told to let it set for 24 hours upside down then charge and it should be good..

 

[RustyPile]

I guess I'm a smart alec, I could write for pages and pages about starters and alternators. The biggest problem with buying a starter or alternator from the auto parts stores is, I've been doing this for 35 years, and they were crap 35 years ago before China was invented. And they've only gotten worse. Yeah they look shiny and beautiful, but when I ran my auto repair shop 25-30 years ago, I'd buy a reman, open it up and tighten the loose bolts, or replace the missing washer, or put things in the correct order. And that was when they were reman in USA or Canada. So I figured out how to rebuild it myself, I went to a rebuilder supplier, and I bought boxes of all the little regulators and diode trios and bushings and bearings and all the little parts that go bad, these were all made in Canada at the time. And my box is getting near the bottom. I can tell by that alternator you installed with the machined pulley, that it's made in Mexico or China, GM only used spot welded together stamped steel pulleys except on the giant 100 amp Cadillacs, and those are the best ever made, along with the giant Ford, and the giant Chrysler. But that's another story. Back to your aIt, I see those alternators at all the auto parts stores or ebay, sometimes even chromed. And they last for about a year or so, and then whatever goes wrong goes wrong, I'm in the habit of taking apart my vintage made in USA starters, and replacing exactly what's necessary, but that's my skill at work. I happen to be friendly with a large Starter Alternator caliper shop in Montreal, the biggest one in Canada. A couple times a year and I make the trip there, and I go through his core bins, and I mean this place is huge. So I bug him until he throws me out of there, but I go to his bins and take little parts and pieces that I used to buy from the other rebuilding supply. But now even the brushes and bushings and drives, are all made in China.
It's just easier for these guys to buy them brand new and shiny then to deal with rebuilding stuff, or dealing with arrigant American suppliers that want to sell you a million pieces when you really only need a hundred thousand. If you look on eBay, there's guys selling genuine AC Delco brushes for instance for my 6.2 diesel, but they want $10 for 4 brushes plus shipping, and they're only worth $2, but I guess they're worth $15 if that's what people are paying. I rebuild the starter on my friend 67 Corvair last year, he bought it in 1971 and it has 45,000 miles now, and when I opened it up, the original brushes were still in there with Delco embossed on the side. So I took a core starter that he had lying around, and even though the brushes were aftermarket, the fact that he only puts on a couple thousand miles a year, it'll last him 25 more years. All that was wrong with his starter was it needed some grease on the bushings, and it was making a horrible noise, and I fixed it all up and he didn't even know that I was in there, because I'm very fussy to put things back exactly the way I found them. I have videos on YouTube of me rebuilding the starters on my 6.2 diesel. That big rebuilding guy in Montreal says "you're crazy, put on the gear reduction 6.5 starter!" I say, nah... I rebuild my starters and they last for years. I guess I'm just lucky to have the skill to take apart and make it work when I put it back together. Now that I'm done ranting, may I suggest that you watch a video on YouTube? Sometimes these things are a lot simpler than you think, once you watch somebody else doing it. If I would describe how to take an alternator apart and put it back together, you wouldn't be able to do it because there are a couple of tricks, especially if you live in the Rust Belt and have bolts break, and you wish you wouldn't have touched it. It surprises me that the auto parts only gets 20 bucks for a 305 or 350 starter, I just can't imagine how they could make all these parts brand new in China, ship it over here, and the store makes a profit after they sell it for $20.

I conducted my shop the same way.. That's the way all auto repair businesses did it back then.. I call it "Old World Craftsmanship".. Where has that craftsmanship and pride gone??

 

[RustyPile]

How many on here besides CORVAIRWILD and me know what the little plastic straw that comes with a can of Brakeclean is used for after the can is empty??

 

[Honky Kong jr]

I conducted my shop the same way.. That's the way all auto repair businesses did it back then.. I call it "Old World Craftsmanship".. Where has that craftsmanship and pride gone??

on VWs the voltage regulators failed the most. The brushes were integrated into the regulator. Cheap easy fix opposed to a $300 alternator.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

How many on here besides CORVAIRWILD and me know what the little plastic straw that comes with a can of Brakeclean is used for after the can is empty??

Aligning brushes?

 

[RustyPile]

Aligning brushes?

No, but you're close..

 

[Honky Kong jr]

No, but you're close..

Well close doesn’t count unless it’s horse shoes or hand grenades so I’m wrong no need to sugar coat it lol

 

[4WDKC]

No, but you're close..

holding the brushes in place when reassembling an alternator so you can put the case on.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

holding the brushes in place when reassembling an alternator so you can put the case on.

That’s what I meant.

 

[bucket]

I've always used whatever was the first thing I came across that would fit in to hold the brushes. Never thought of the straw.

 

[mdws1987]

This is FYI... On my 87 I noticed the signal lights sounding very slow and volt meter being low.. When I was removing the top bolt of the alternator, it was not tight. The bolt would not tighten up. It was just loose enough to not charge. I got a longer bolt, put a nut on and tightened. No more problems with it yet.....

 

[RustyPile]

holding the brushes in place when reassembling an alternator so you can put the case on.

DING!! DING!! DING!!! We have a winner.. The brushes are held in alignment by the "brush holder" in the alternator.. The straw is inserted through a hole in the rear case half, and passes through the brush holder.. The straw is used to hold the brushes in the recessed position so that they will not be snagged by the brush rings as the 2 halves of the case are mated up during assembly.. Once assembled, the straw is removed..

Some people use what ever is handy - a paper clip, piece of wire, mini-screw driver, etc.. I was taught to use a non-metallic object, as hard metallic wire, etc can possibly chip the edge of a new brush as it "pulls clear" of the brush...

@Honky Kong jr You missed the correct answer by just one word.. If you had said "recessing" instead of "aligning".... Sugar coating or whatever---- I still say you were close..

 

[Honky Kong jr]

DING!! DING!! DING!!! We have a winner.. The brushes are held in alignment by the "brush holder" in the alternator.. The straw is inserted through a hole in the rear case half, and passes through the brush holder.. The straw is used to hold the brushes in the recessed position so that they will not be snagged by the brush rings as the 2 halves of the case are mated up during assembly.. Once assembled, the straw is removed..

Some people use what ever is handy - a paper clip, piece of wire, mini-screw driver, etc.. I was taught to use a non-metallic object, as hard metallic wire, etc can possibly chip the edge of a new brush as it "pulls clear" of the brush...

@Honky Kong jr You missed the correct answer by just one word.. If you had said "recessing" instead of "aligning".... Sugar coating or whatever---- I still say you were close..

That’s what I meant it’s a dialect thing can’t I get partial credit LMMFAO I guess in my mind I know what I meant but used the wrong wording.

 

[DoubleDingo]

DING!! DING!! DING!!! ........I was taught to use a non-metallic object, as hard metallic wire, etc can possibly chip the edge of a new brush as it "pulls clear" of the brush.........

Grandpa taught me to use a toothpick, I guess that counts as non-metallic...lol...