alternator rebuild..
alternator rebuild..
hey guy's,. holy beegeezus,. my alternator just went out a week ago,. i ripped it out,. (took almost two hours),. and got it rebuilt,. the shop had to order parts from around the country!,. it worked out pretty good though,. i paid $150 for it total,. and advanced auto wanted $160 for a new one,. but it was after market,.. once i got it back it took me an hour and a half to get it back together! i had to take off the cooling fan,shroud, and some other stuff,.but i did it!,. and,. this was the first alternator i have ever done!,. we'll see how long it takes to blow up:o),... but did i do the right thing getting it rebuilt rather than buying an aftermarket one??
no way man
$150.00 next time you need that done let me know.i know a shop here in clute texas that did mine for get this $35.00 bucks and tested it after he was done.and he is a old time z car man.know nissan inside and out. 1-800-hurrikane:help
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Q45tech
- Moderator
- Posts: 14296
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2002 3:19 am
- Car: 1990 Q45 342,400 miles 22 years ownership with original engine
1995 G20t 5 speed 334,000 miles 16" 2002 wheels - 205/50/16 Sr20ve vvl
The problem with rebuilders is how far do they go and where do the get the electronics [diodes and regulator integrated circuits] brushes and bearings and cleaning the commutator are the easy part.
As many are aware there are grades in electronic components.I want the $20 ones not the 99 cent rejects.
The margins are tiny in rebuilding items and there is always someone in South Asia who will work cheaper, so to match prices you have to cut corners somewhere.
Mexico/Taiwan/Korea have become a high labor cost areas now ........Vietnam/China/Malaysia/India are the new centers.
You can get oem bearings from dealers [they have to order them]
http://members.aol.com/carleyw...s.htm
As many are aware there are grades in electronic components.I want the $20 ones not the 99 cent rejects.
The margins are tiny in rebuilding items and there is always someone in South Asia who will work cheaper, so to match prices you have to cut corners somewhere.
Mexico/Taiwan/Korea have become a high labor cost areas now ........Vietnam/China/Malaysia/India are the new centers.
You can get oem bearings from dealers [they have to order them]
http://members.aol.com/carleyw...s.htm
Tricks to installing????????
I just finished replacing the alternator in my 91 Q and of course a quick perusal of this and the mechanical forum helped me determine it would be best to go w/OEM. I had Joe send me the unit and w/NICO discount it was about $225 after returning the core.
The job isn't pleasant-- someone mentioned in another post that is was "one you wouldn't want to repeat soon" and after doing it in 107 degree heat, I'd have to agree.
The biggest problem for me was that Nissan uses a nut, welded to a flange that is bent 90 degrees (to keep it from spinning when tightening) on the main pivot/mounting bolt. The working space WAY tight and I couldn't figure out how to hold the nut in place. There is NO WAY I could fit my hand in there and even using a magnetic probe I couldn't get it in postition. I couldn't reach it from beneath because the AC compressor is mounted right under the alternator. It's a beach job. I finally used my friend JB Weld and glued the nut to the alternator and wiggled it into position and bolted it up.
DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A BETTER WAY TO HOLD THIS NUT IN PLACE?
I ask because in the process of this job, it appears that I pulled the connection to the AC compressor loose and now have 107 degree air blowing in my face (sometimes I really hate Arizona Summers-- OK I ALWAYS hate AZ summers!). Now it appears I may have to got back in and pull the alternator to fix the wire to the AC unit. If you do this job, watch for that little wire... it is wire tied to the heat shield (which is bolted to the alternator) and if you pull the alternator too far without uncoupling the connector, it will damage the connector. I think that is what is going on w/mine. I thought I had it put back together solid enough to connect, but since it isn't working...
So again... DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A BETTER WAY TO HOLD THE NUT IN PLACE?
The job isn't pleasant-- someone mentioned in another post that is was "one you wouldn't want to repeat soon" and after doing it in 107 degree heat, I'd have to agree.
The biggest problem for me was that Nissan uses a nut, welded to a flange that is bent 90 degrees (to keep it from spinning when tightening) on the main pivot/mounting bolt. The working space WAY tight and I couldn't figure out how to hold the nut in place. There is NO WAY I could fit my hand in there and even using a magnetic probe I couldn't get it in postition. I couldn't reach it from beneath because the AC compressor is mounted right under the alternator. It's a beach job. I finally used my friend JB Weld and glued the nut to the alternator and wiggled it into position and bolted it up.
DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A BETTER WAY TO HOLD THIS NUT IN PLACE?
I ask because in the process of this job, it appears that I pulled the connection to the AC compressor loose and now have 107 degree air blowing in my face (sometimes I really hate Arizona Summers-- OK I ALWAYS hate AZ summers!). Now it appears I may have to got back in and pull the alternator to fix the wire to the AC unit. If you do this job, watch for that little wire... it is wire tied to the heat shield (which is bolted to the alternator) and if you pull the alternator too far without uncoupling the connector, it will damage the connector. I think that is what is going on w/mine. I thought I had it put back together solid enough to connect, but since it isn't working...
So again... DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A BETTER WAY TO HOLD THE NUT IN PLACE?
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natsoundup
- Posts: 669
- Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2002 4:27 am
I don't think we have ever had a tech weigh in on this.
I had the alternator out when I was doing some other work...and practiced with the superglue method, and it worked.
I had heard so many stories about the difficulties that i was going to replace the alternator just because i was there..
One of the members talked me out of it at the time.... so I have a 14 year old alternator in one of the Q's
I had the alternator out when I was doing some other work...and practiced with the superglue method, and it worked.
I had heard so many stories about the difficulties that i was going to replace the alternator just because i was there..
One of the members talked me out of it at the time.... so I have a 14 year old alternator in one of the Q's
Well, I guess I was on the right page then. The JB Weld worked fine... it just took a while to cure.
I replaced the alternator after 14 years and 145k miles after getting the "Low Battery Charge" message and seeing the brake and ABS lights. I also noticed that the message and ABS light would disappear when the rpm's were higher, but at idle they came back on. I suspected that meant alternator failing, but figured I'd rule out the battery too.
The battery showed 12volts on the multimeter with the engine off, but with the engine running it didn't increase. My thinking was that since the voltage wasn't increasing to 14volts or so, but the car ran ok, even with the headlights on, that the alternator was working enough to just keep up, but not fully charge and handle the demand of the electronics. I was 98% sure it was the alternator at this point so I replaced it and the symptoms went away.
I had been planning the replacement of the alternator anyway since so much is dependent on it and I knew it was the original one. Dennis is absolutely on the mark about it being preventative maintenance-- albeit a pain in the arse-- but better than being stranded or damaging a more expensive electronic item...
Thanks for confirming my thoughts... I wonder if Infiniti techs use that meathod?
I replaced the alternator after 14 years and 145k miles after getting the "Low Battery Charge" message and seeing the brake and ABS lights. I also noticed that the message and ABS light would disappear when the rpm's were higher, but at idle they came back on. I suspected that meant alternator failing, but figured I'd rule out the battery too.
The battery showed 12volts on the multimeter with the engine off, but with the engine running it didn't increase. My thinking was that since the voltage wasn't increasing to 14volts or so, but the car ran ok, even with the headlights on, that the alternator was working enough to just keep up, but not fully charge and handle the demand of the electronics. I was 98% sure it was the alternator at this point so I replaced it and the symptoms went away.
I had been planning the replacement of the alternator anyway since so much is dependent on it and I knew it was the original one. Dennis is absolutely on the mark about it being preventative maintenance-- albeit a pain in the arse-- but better than being stranded or damaging a more expensive electronic item...
Thanks for confirming my thoughts... I wonder if Infiniti techs use that meathod?