alternator

hey all

i gotta '99 lumina 3100...96k give or take

anyway i hit some water pretty hard and somehow it got in and soaked the belt and pulleys. was good for two days, then suddenly tonight after i go to taco bell (100 mile drive today on interstate 75mph, was fine at this time) i get a loud whine.

whine follows engine speed. checked things out and it's definitely the alternator. pulled the belt off anyway to double check and that was it. you can even feel it when you put a socket against the alt.

my question, i have to go on a 100 mile trip and then 160 miles back (i'm between locations). problem is, this is all on monday and i'm gonna have to push it. the whine is pretty loud in cabin, not so much outside the car. hard to explain, i know.

i'd just like a ballpark how long you think i can push it and how often i should pull over to check and make sure it didn't lock up (that'll be evident for sure if it does) and what a good price is on a replacement for those of you who are mechs. i read 50-90 with core exchange plus 1-2 hours but i don't want a pos, i want a good one installed. can't do it myself because i am away from home again and don't have my tools or shop.

thank god i have AAA. too bad i don't have a second car.

That alternator is more in the $100-$130 range for a good one. Labor shouldn't be more than 1 hour, as it's a fairly simple one to do. Don't push it too far, as you're stranded if it goes. Remember, the alternator turns at 2-3 times crank speed, so it could be spinning at 9,000 rpm when the tach hits only 3,000.

Thanks for the input man.

Yeah, it's definitely screamin pretty loud now.

I'm trying to get this thing in before I have to leave but if worst comes to worst I did manage to find some wrenches layin around, tried checkin again tonight but couldn't tell if it was just a stud on the back or bolted in.

thanks for lettin me know :)

I've found on these it's much easier to remove the three bolts on the front of the motor that hold the alternator bracket, then remove the alt and bracket as an assembly, then take the alternator off the bracket. Just my preference but seems less aggravating for me.

Mine went out too. Looking at $115-$140 for a good rebuilt or new unit. In my experience if you get the cheapest alternator, starter, water pump, etc you can find, you'd better put the money you saved in the glovebox to help pay for towing, you'll need it fairly soon...

Thanks jeffco.

I'm checking Advance Auto Parts right now and there is a shit-ton of alternators, any decent make I should look into? I see reman Delcos and Bosch on there, but those are damn near $300 (rebuilt). I do see new ones such as Autolite for $130, and Palladium for $150. Are Autolite or Palladium "good enough" to be a good part in any of y'alls opinion?

EDIT: the store here only carries palladium.

Thanks jeffco.

I'm checking Advance Auto Parts right now and there is a shit-ton of alternators, any decent make I should look into? I see reman Delcos and Bosch on there, but those are damn near $300 (rebuilt). I do see new ones such as Autolite for $130, and Palladium for $150. Are Autolite or Palladium "good enough" to be a good part in any of y'alls opinion?

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?mfrcode=PLD&mfrpartnumber=91506&parttype=11&ptset=A

This is the one I'm buying...don't have enough for a Delco either or I'd go that way....I've used these before in other people's cars, they worked fine....

I wouldn't take a Bosch or Beck-Arnley for free..:grinno:

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?mfrcode=PLD&mfrpartnumber=91506&parttype=11&ptset=A

This is the one I'm buying...don't have enough for a Delco either or I'd go that way....I've used these before in other people's cars, they worked fine....

I wouldn't take a Bosch or Beck-Arnley for free..:grinno:

haha that's the one i decided on (not really by choice) too. i guess if a seasoned mechanic purchases one for his personal vehicle i should be good to go ;)

btw i noticed on the order page it said to check out a tech tip and some chart..can't find them, but anyway since you ordered it is there some goofy crap i should watch out for with this particular part or does it just come shipped with its own oddly-configured bracket or something?

haha that's the one i decided on (not really by choice) too. i guess if a seasoned mechanic purchases one for his personal vehicle i should be good to go ;)

btw i noticed on the order page it said to check out a tech tip and some chart..can't find them, but anyway since you ordered it is there some goofy crap i should watch out for with this particular part or does it just come shipped with its own oddly-configured bracket or something?

No, I couldn't find the tech page either...I didn't get one yet, it's gotta wait 'till after Christmas.

Nothing unusual about it, remember if you disconnect the battery for very long, you'll loose your idle memory and your stereo will lock out (if you have the stock Delco unit with Theftlock)... To keep the ECM and radio alive I connect a charger to the remote jumpstart terminal and ground on low amp setting and then disconnect the battery, still gotta be careful with the charging wire at the alternator, but like this it will usually shut down the charger before doing any damage if you should accidentally ground the charge wire....at least that way you only have 2 amps or so behind it, not several hundred like the battery supplies, so you won't be doing any accidental arc welding and fry anything....

The only other thing I can think of was initially when these ball-shaped alternators started appearing on GM cars, the reman replacement was often the old squared style typical Delco unit, and you needed a short jumper harness to reach the plug (vehicle's harness was too short)...but that was just because the ball-shaped ones were too new to have a supply of core units to rebuild yet, shouldn't happen anymore, I would think....

Stay away from AutoZone and Advanced for alternators.All I hear are being replaced all the time and will not cover them under warranty.Cheap is not always better.Try Carquest for an alternator,I have been getting good luck with ones from Carquest with a 2 year warrenty,no questions asked.