My car is an 1986 V6 Auto. Originally the voltmeter read low, especially w/ headlights, fan, etc on. The "Volt" light was dim, but on. One night, the voltmeter went very high, nearly into the red side of the voltmeter, meanwhile the "Volt" light was still dim. The next day, the volt light was off for the first time in months, but the meter read right at 12. Sure enough, the alternator was not working at all anymore, as the car was running only on the battery. Should an alternator rebuild take car of this? Any tips on the removal, rebuild, & reinstall? Thanks a lot.

If your going to the trouble to take off the generator, get a good rebuilt one. It will come with a one or two year warantee, some are life time. mike

Well, if you're hellbent on rebuilding it, it can be done - I did this a couple years ago on my 86 2m4. Mind you, most of the work is in getting the damn alternator out - rebuilding it is cake. They sell a kit at Pep-Boys, though I think they didn't even know they had it in stock till I asked. Ask around, it was like 13 dollars when I bought the kit. On the duke, the way I pulled the alternator was to drop it out the passenger rear wheelwell. You have to unbolt the bracket on the block that holds the alternator and all the other stuff and then drop it down piece by piece through the wheelwell, preferably avoiding dropping it on your face (don't ask). Also, I remember having to pop the ball joint off (use a balljoint separator, but I used a hammer to separate mine in a pinch - just dont mash the threads!) and move the rod out of the way to get the alternator through. Read your Haynes manual. Took me a couple hours at first, now I can get it out in about half an hour. After all that work, you might just want to invest in a good rebuilt unit just to be sure. Good luck with it.

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Chris

Blue 1987 GT Getrag 5 speed, 1" lowering springs, 225 50R16 rims and tires, Fiero Store 9 3/4" HD clutch
Silver 1986 2m4 THM 125c automatic
Black 1985 2m4 SE Isuzu 5 speed (no paperwork)

mine went as well, if you have the money go out and buy a bosch one, mine has a 5 year warranty, and personall i took it out the bottom and put it in throught the bottom as well just had someone up top grab it for me.

Your better off buying one with the warrenty,it's hard to find anyone who sells alternater rebuild kit's,I've tried.It's not too dificult and is rather easy to rebuild, just remember there is a small hole in the side of the alternater just big enough for a paper clip,by inserting a big paper clip it will hold down the new brushes while you put the caseing back together.Remember not to over tighten the alternater belt,because it will put too much pressure on the bearing and it will eventually cause the bearing to fail.

I did the alt on my 84SE when I got it.

I put in the bearings and the other stuff myself from a kit.

The worst part was finding an impact wrench to remove and install, the pulley nut, (had no air tools then), that's a must as it will save lots of time over trying to remove it with just hand tools and you'll most likely damage something trying with hand tools anyhow.

It was easy and it's still going strong today after 6+ years.

If you have average shop skills you should at try it.

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Where will the road take you today?

Rebuilt mine no problem, bought new bearings, diode pack and regulator from a local alternator/starter rebuild supply, they even pressed the bearing in for me for free. Mine's the later series:

While I had it apart I polished the housing on the wire wheel and painted the lam stack.

JazzMan

I would only rebuild an alternator if it was really expensive to replace, like on my Dad's '77 MGB. That thing's alternator costs more than $100 for a rebuilt unit! I had to replace the diode pack in it, and while I had it apart (like JazzMan) I cleaned and polished the alternator, and re-painted some parts as well.

Spent $30 rather than $100+, and shipping.

OTOH for a domestic car with commonly available parts, it seems to make more sense to me to buy a remanufactured (or new) unit from a parts store. That way you get a warranty, and if it doesn't work, you don't have to second- and third-guess your rebuild: you just take it back.

In the late '80s I had to get a reman. alternator for my '75 Impala. I got it from Trak Auto and it had a 7 year/70,000 mile warranty. I think I took advantage of that warranty some 3-4 times before I got an alternator that didn't die.

Ed

quote Originally posted by virii01: My car is an 1986 V6 Auto. Originally the voltmeter read low, especially w/ headlights, fan, etc on. The "Volt" light was dim, but on. One night, the voltmeter went very high, nearly into the red side of the voltmeter, meanwhile the "Volt" light was still dim. The next day, the volt light was off for the first time in months, but the meter read right at 12. Sure enough, the alternator was not working at all anymore, as the car was running only on the battery. Should an alternator rebuild take car of this? Any tips on the removal, rebuild, & reinstall? Thanks a lot.

The parts that you are going to find bad are the Diode trio and the regulator. The trio has been bad for a long time, that is what causes the light to stay on dim. The regulator is what caused the high voltage then going dead.

The hardest part will be finding someone that still sells parts. They used to be an everyday item, now are hard to locate. Many of the aftermarket parts are junk. Some are good.

quote Originally posted by Electrathon: This is SO common with rebuilt alternators. Personally I would never trust a rebuilt over one I did. I am not a novice at this though.

Good points. Just like I'd rather rebuild my own laser printer fusers than pay some schmuck $150 for a rebuilt that's probably not done right...

Ed

I was able to find a "rebuild" kit at NAPA. Included the brushes, front bearing, and regulator. The diode trio might be a problem. I had to pull one from another alternator that had a broken brush holder. I was 25 miles away from the store when I realized that it wasn't part of the kit.

Dave

yes, I have Lifetime replacement starter (simalar to alternator) from Pep Boys. It is a Lifetime of replaceing it yearly sofar. rebuilding is actually pretty damn easy, as long as you can get the pulley nut off, and like Jazzman, you can make it pretty too. also, for a longer life, polish the copper the brushes ride on. if you have the equipment, balancing the armature will add life to the rebuild also.

well, i did it a little different. my regulator went bad, so i replace it and the diod tree while it was still in the car! just take the back off the alt. the next day i did it again - with gm parts instead of tiawan stuff. lasted longer than the engine.
i had a 2.8 in an 87 fastback

quote Originally posted by edhering: I would only rebuild an alternator if it was really expensive to replace, like on my Dad's '77 MGB. That thing's alternator costs more than $100 for a rebuilt unit! I had to replace the diode pack in it, and while I had it apart (like JazzMan) I cleaned and polished the alternator, and re-painted some parts as well. Spent $30 rather than $100+, and shipping. OTOH for a domestic car with commonly available parts, it seems to make more sense to me to buy a remanufactured (or new) unit from a parts store. That way you get a warranty, and if it doesn't work, you don't have to second- and third-guess your rebuild: you just take it back. In the late '80s I had to get a reman. alternator for my '75 Impala. I got it from Trak Auto and it had a 7 year/70,000 mile warranty. I think I took advantage of that warranty some 3-4 times before I got an alternator that didn't die. Ed

And so, now to make myself look like an utter goober, I'm rebuilding the alternator for my '86, because the kit is cheaper than a reman alternator and people in this thread convinced me it was smart to do so...

Ed

rebuild it. easy job, NAPA should have the trio diode, that's where i got mine last summer.