I went to a junk yard today and they had an '87GT. It had an alternator with a heat shield on the back of it.
My 87GT does not have the shield. Is this something that should be there?
I picked it up for a $1.00.
I have all the other stuff on my car and my blower works good.

I say if you can fit it in there go for it. The alternator is very close to the exhaust manifold so any shielding won't hurt

Dave

The stock SI alternator in the '87 has a heat shiled to give it some protection from the exhaust heat. I upgraded my alternator to a newer CS design, which has an internal cooling fan. The heat shield would not fit when I upgraded to the Sprint manifolds. If you can fit the heat shield on, do it, it will help prolong the life of your alternator, especially if it is a stock SI unit.

What they said... SI units and heat don't play nice. That is why GM put that semi useful aux blower in the trunk. The shield may not seem like much but it reflects a bunch of IR away from the alt.

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The only thing George Orwell got wrong was the year...

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top of every forum page...)

Thanks very much

I "THINK" 87 was the transition year.

There are two kinds of heat shields for the alternator that were available for the Fieros.

The ones on the 85 through 87 used the heat shield you're talking about. This was the insulated shield with aluminum backing that bolted onto the back of the alternator.

The other alternator heat shield that came out half-way through the 87 year and into 88 was a shield that attaches to the exhaust manifold. (nothing more than a curved aluminum plate that goes between the alternator and exhaust manifold).

You cannot use both, however...

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Todd,
2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX
1997 Pontiac Grand Am GT
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6 5-Speed
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6 (3.2L) Auto
1984 Pontiac Fiero 2m4 SE
1981 Pontiac TransAm (sbc 350)
1973 Volkswagen Type-2 Transporter

If you can fit it use it. If you can't, I put self stick aluniniumized heat shelding on my starter. Easy to do and a sheet only cost about $9. You'll have enough left over to put some on things like your coil etc. Jegs and Summit carry it.

The self stick stuff is nice but I don't think I'd use it on anything that has to dump its own heat like an alternator or coil. A starter just sits there any time other than cranking so keeping it from absorbing heat is a good thing and pretty easy. The various metal shields reflect IR but still allow air to move around the part being protected.

You have a point, though I only put it on the side near the pipes etc and have had it on for over a year with no problems. If he fit the metal shield, sure go that route.