another alternator bites the dust

[phantom309]

It's -32c,.truck is on high idle heater fan on high,. i,m in eating,. came out to a puddle of antifreeze, and dim lights,. motor shut off,.
Alternator is seized,. burnt the belt off./
Boosted the truck ran it back to the motel 3 miles away,.
Is there an easy up grade to the alternator,. ?? It sure looks puny,...
I hope the motor is ok,..

[DmaxMaverick]

www.alternatorparts.com

I've bought several alternators and starters from him. Top shelf stuff, in my experience.

[phantom309]

i would like to have fitted the bigger alternator, but cold weather,. high winds, and being in a motel parking lot, i didn't have resources to modify any brackets or plugs,. (looks like an easy swap )
I found an little rebuild shop not to far away, and bought a replacement,. it looks a little different,. and the pulley is slightly larger as usual (for a gasser i bet) but it works and the motor doesn't seem any worse for wear,. i drove it for 1/2 hr and it was on high idle for and hour or so,.and no bubbles or overheating,. So business as usual,.
It's a shame how things are going with the price of fuel these days,. it,s not very viable to own this truck anymore,.
The new gas motors are very efficient and powerful,. (gm LS engines) and gas is 60cents a gallon cheaper where i am,..
The writing is on the wall,..

[DmaxMaverick]

In most cases on GM's, going from a 130 to a 144 is bolt-on. I did it on my 2001, and a couple older trucks years ago. A great advantage of the larger alternator is larger bearings, not just a larger alternator in general. Your tach will be off (slow) with the larger pulley, and you'll have less charge at idle. On my 2001, even though I didn't change the pulley size, it charges at idle near the "stated" max of the OEM. It takes less than 30 minutes at idle to fully charge both truck batteries (Yellow-Tops) and 2 deep cycle batteries in the RV while dry camping (no generator), running a 1000W inverter and the normal stuff. I couldn't do that with the OEM single.

[phantom309]

It rattles now,.

at a dead idle i have a rattle,. it,s not a bracket,. it either the vacuum pump, or the new alternator,.OR the balancer has let go,..
i slipped the belt off and it's as quiet as a mouse,.(relatively speaking for an IDI diesel) the vacuum pump is quiet spinning it by hand, no worn pulley or bearings,. the alternator is quiet when spun by hand,. so is power steering and waterpump bearings are good,. it makes the rattle more pronounced when the alternator is under load,. ie, lights heater fan on high etc,..switch it on high idle and it's fine,.


Nick

[DmaxMaverick]

If it didn't rattle before, then it's the alternator. Could be poorly balanced, bad bearings, or the pulley isn't round or centered. A good indicator is comparing the belt tensioner activity before and after. If the tensioner is more active now, then the pulley is not round or centered. If you still have your original pulley (or have another known good), install it and compare.

[phantom309]

Switched to original pulley,.the tach is reading right again,. but still have the rattle,.

how annoying,..

[phantom309]

I have some mild weather where i am in fort st john BC,.i,m doing the winter log haul witha set of B trains,.but i digress,.

I was looking for this rattle today,. i took ahold of the alternator pulley,. and i can move the serpentine belt and all the accessories back and forth without turning the motor,. its as if the pulley has come loose from the balancer,..

Its dark down there and i didn't take the skid plate off to investigate,.

I,ve been reading and learning,. the crank pulley has a rubber isolator, i guess the belt slipping heated it up and wrecked it,

so i need to change the darn thing soon before it breaks the glass crank thats in these motors,..

Dorman DRN594037,..

Nick

[a5150nut]

Sounds like the rubber in the crank pully has given out. Tends to make one hell of a rattle at idel. If you can get a flash light and look from the top you should be able to see shinny margs on the two tabs between the outer ring and hub of the crank pully. Could probably see the movement if you rock the alternator pully back and forth too.

[phantom309]

Sounds like the rubber in the crank pully has given out. Tends to make one hell of a rattle at idel. If you can get a flash light and look from the top you should be able to see shinny margs on the two tabs between the outer ring and hub of the crank pully. Could probably see the movement if you rock the alternator pully back and forth too.

Thanks , you are right,. i edited my post at the sametime you posted,. cheers!

[Qazulight]

i would like to have fitted the bigger alternator, but cold weather,. high winds, and being in a motel parking lot, i didn't have resources to modify any brackets or plugs,. (looks like an easy swap )
I found an little rebuild shop not to far away, and bought a replacement,. it looks a little different,. and the pulley is slightly larger as usual (for a gasser i bet) but it works and the motor doesn't seem any worse for wear,. i drove it for 1/2 hr and it was on high idle for and hour or so,.and no bubbles or overheating,. So business as usual,.
It's a shame how things are going with the price of fuel these days,. it,s not very viable to own this truck anymore,.
The new gas motors are very efficient and powerful,. (gm LS engines) and gas is 60cents a gallon cheaper where i am,..
The writing is on the wall,..

If it was only 60 cents, that would be sweet. Regular gasoline 3.03 a gallon, 1 winter diesel 4.50 a gallon. If it wasn't for the fact that I am driving a 1 ton utility bed truck for just about 6000 dollars, Ok, Ok maybe 7000 with the last repairs, I would be outta here. But a gas, single cab, cab and chassis one ton is 24,000 if you have a friend in the business. That doesn't include the cost of moving the utility bed. (Oh, and if I had a new truck I would surely want to take all the dents out and repaint the bed, another few grand)

Or, I could buy a 3/4 ton gas with 180,000 miles on it with a utility bed, that would only be 16,000 dollars.

Even a 4.50 a gallon, that's a lotta gas.

Cheers
Qazulight