Not another alternator post...

Two months ago I experienced what I thought were alternator-induced problems; heat turning on and off, volt-meter fluctuating between 10 and 14 volts, electrical stuff going haywire...). Crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Now I have those symptoms again; they had disappeared for a couple months, but both the battery and brake light appear simultaneously for a few seconds now and then.

My question: Do I need to address the problem immediately or can I wait it out until summer, when I return home from school?

I am assuming that the alternator is the culprit; what can I damage by not replacing it ASAP? (Will I kill the battery or strand myself somewhere?)

What is a reasonable price for the labor + parts required to do the job? I want to walk in with an idea of what the estimate should be beforehand.

I appreciate any and all help/information forthcoming!

Just depends on conditions, including the weather. If you're encountering a lot of cold weather starts, specially below freezing/32F, you're gonna use up what life is left soon.

Generally, in these Isuzu's, *you* don't have the choice, the truck will make that for you - as I can guarantee you, if it IS in fact a failing alternator, that Isuzu will kill it much sooner then you're wanting it too.

Most vehicles can run/thrive just fine on lower voltage and not even flinge, these Isuzu's are not that way, if they see a weakness, like the Alpha canine, they'll kill it.

In this case, there's no way we can tell you whether or not it can wait for summer; cause I will tell you now if it is a weakness in the voltage system, you may get a few more weeks if you drive very sparingly, but you'll be lucky.

Chances are no damage will occur to anything, with the exception of killing off the life of the battery - but I've replaced my alternator 3 times now, and twice the battery had to be replaced too. It seems fairly common for them both - alt/battery - to go around the same time, if they're over 5yrs, that much more likely.

Now, you will start to experience weird symptoms, i.e no heat, no defrost, sometimes no radio, if you have an automatic, transmission can start to feel like it's slipping and/or the feel of no power.

I have heard of people replacing their transmissions, thinking they were at fault, when in fact, the truck wasn't putting off the power to drive the transmission. But to actual damage caused to the tranny, I honestly believe, the truck'll kill the weak source before damage occurs.

Double check all your grounds, first, before you go further in buying parts though - specially the battery cables. I had to replace my whole battery cables and connections last year, they had completely rotted out.

Forgot to add, if you run the truck solely on the battery for 2 days - this is what I had to do when my last alt failed (no one had one in stock), it will for sure kill it.

Whether or not the truck will strand you, most likely, if you shut it down after it fails.

When my last alt failed, I was doing 65mph on the highway - no kidding; lost all lights, heat, radio, but the damn truck kept running. My gauges even went haywire - all of them. I never stopped, had just barely made it back into the Colorado state line, had a truck full of cargo, dogs, people on a cold afternoon - truck brought us all the way home, 200 miles after the alt croaked.

Fired that truck up the next morning, with the help of a jump-starter; did that for 2 mornings before I drove it to the shop for a new alt on a Tuesday. This could've been bad however, as the battery that was in it at the time was around 5 1/2yrs old and had literally started to blow-up, leaking acid down the side.

Curious to know where you got the alternator and if it was a new or reman alt.

Great information! Keep it coming!

Any idea on how much I should be looking to spend on a new alternator + labor? Should I provide the alternator to ensure a quality one is used? I have searched and found price ranges from $200 to over $600... :uhoh: This might not be much fun at all...There goes all of my work/study money. I plan on calling around on Monday to get some quotes and get a feel for the damages soon to be incurred :(

Any more out there!?!?!

I just had the alternator on my '98 replaced this week. It was $260 for the alternator (Denso, I believe) and another $100 or so for installation. But a different shop had quoted me $400 for a replacement alt and $200 for install . . . which I passed on. So like you I had found a great deal of variance on price.

Fortunately, I was able to take mine to a shop in town that Ramblin Fever from this board recommended . . . so I was pretty comfortable with the lower estimate.

So . . . not sure if that helps you at all. But that is pretty recent info from what I just went through.

Tahusker - are you sure your new one isn't a Bosch?

Vern refused to install anything but a Bosch on mine, stated they last the longest. I do have the older year of a Rodeo too, so he may have used a different brand for yours.

bosch doesn't make new alternators for isuzu. afaik.
they do remanufacture (rebuild) original equipment alternators for isuzu -- denso and (another brand also i believe).
i like their product the best for a good value to price ratio. i have used rebuilt by bosch products for many years for a number of vehicles. they seem to do excellent work.

here's a link to their usa site

http://www.bosch.us/centennial/

and to the autoparts part of their site

http://www.boschautoparts.com/


hth


//bc

Tahusker - are you sure your new one isn't a Bosch?

Vern refused to install anything but a Bosch on mine, stated they last the longest. I do have the older year of a Rodeo too, so he may have used a different brand for yours.

Hmmm . . . I'll double check, but I was pretty sure they mentioned Denso. I'll find out and post if it's something different. Mine's a '98, but the manufacture date was Sept 97.

Thanks for the referral to Vern, by the way . . . nice group of people and they got me all taken care of very quickly. Just in time for the deep freeze and more snow!

It's very possible they did use Denso on yours; they're good alt's too.

Found a pick & pull place in Commerce City that has boat loads of Isuzu Rodeo's sitting around to pull parts from - just for FYI. Gonna take a ride over there next weekend and pick up some odds/ends, as they have Tacoma parts as well - looking for a used Bull bar so I can mount the fog lights.

It's VERY hard to locate any Isuzu parts in junkyards around here, so I was really shocked to hear they had so many. He did say that they get picked apart pretty fast.

We're taking a road trip to Alaska this summer from Colorado - the Rodeo is gonna be our ride and I'd just like to carry a few extra cheap parts just incase; including another spare tire that I'll mount inside the luggage carrier.

Nice!

If it looks promising, let me know where it is. I need to replace a cracked side mirror (passenger side) that my garage jumped out and hit without provocation last year.

:grinyes:

that my garage jumped out and hit without provocation last year.

:grinyes:

:cwm27: :p

$100 labor to replace an alternator?? I can do it less than 20 minutes. I could charge $50 replacing alternators all day and be RICH!

$100 labor to replace an alternator?? I can do it less than 20 minutes. I could charge $50 replacing alternators all day and be RICH!

Is it that simple of a job? I heard all types of nightmares about dropping exhaust pipes, lifting the motor and whathaveyou. I'm still waiting for my repair manual to arrive so I can see exactly what needs to be done...

It's the starter that's the nightmare.

Alternator isn't too bad, I would've done mine myself - except at that time, I already had one truck I was working on with a headgasket failure and both trucks were daily drivers that were down during the same week.

Neither one of us could afford to take time off and had to resort solely to the Rodeo for transportation.

And to be honest, with as much as we found ourselves working on our old Toyota, we were getting fed up with being out in the cold constantly - every week something was happening to that old toy, I'd fix one thing, something else would break.

Replacing the Rodeo's alt myself was the last thing on my mind, I needed help getting them both back on the road fast.

Thankfully we finally began to see the light, and traded that old Toy (it was 20yrs old) for a much newer one that's under warranty for quite some time.

Yes, the alternator is a very simple job, it's the starter that's the nightmare - if you have the 4x4.

Is it that simple of a job? I heard all types of nightmares about dropping exhaust pipes, lifting the motor and whathaveyou. I'm still waiting for my repair manual to arrive so I can see exactly what needs to be done...You're thinking of starter replacement when you start talking about dropping the exhaust. Probably the biggest issue with replacing the alternator is hoping you don't snap the little tensioning bolt.

$100 labor to replace an alternator?? I can do it less than 20 minutes.

Sure didn't look very easy on my '98 . . . seemed to me like it was tucked in pretty tightly and that it was not worth messing with for me (not like "my father's Oldsmobile" that's for sure). Even the shop I took it to said it took them longer than expected to change it out.

Hopefully, 660Ryder has a more straightforward setup. In my case, I had more $$ than time (not that I had a ton of either to begin with).

Hopefully the manual comes in on Monday and I can determine whether I'll be turning wrenches over winter break or supporting my local garage. I know I can always come here with any questions! You guys are great!

This is definitely DIY material. You just have to angle the alternator the right way to get it out of the engine bay.

Quote from my favorite mechanic was $325. I asked about the alternator and warranty. Not sure who it is rebuilt by, but it is a ? Paladium ? (Around $260) It comes with a 3 year warranty which includes labor to install new alternator. (Or I can opt for a higher quality alternator with a lifetime warranty of which they will only pay for labor for the first year for $400) $65 for labor doesn't seem too bad.

Any opinions? Should I attempt to provide my own alternator? Where would I be able to pick up a high quality alternator or are they only available online? It is a 1995.5 Rodeo - stumps everyone: seems that they only have 1995 or 1996. Napa actually gave me 2 sets of brakepads and told me to return the ones that didn't fit :)

Answers??? Suggestions???

...Where would I be able to pick up a high quality alternator ...?

NAPA parts store for their quality rebuilt brand.
a good independent parts store that has alternators rebuilt by bosch. i like them the best for price,quality. or if you got lots of $$ go to the dealer for their rebuilt units.
see previous post with link to bosch site for more info and application info.

//bc

660Ryder - regarding your year of truck, if it is a 1995.5 go for the 1996 yr for parts; I think in most cases you should be fine.

The 95.5-97yrs are a little different then other years, not by much, but enough.

The 95yr has the 175hp engine; the 95.5 has a 190hp engine. Same engine however, both the 3.2L sohc - but, what I don't know, is whether or not they use the same alt and other parts, you'll need to compare a part# of the two - a 95 & 96 part to see if it's the same, if not, I would personally take the 96yr part myself, cause you have that SAME exact engine/suspension, etc.

Some sights/places even specifically list parts for the 95.5yr but not all. There are slight differences in suspension/front end/dash as well.

FWIW - when I had both Rodeo's my '91 & current '97 it was ALWAYS very easy to find parts for my '91, but fairly difficult for the '97. Actually it wasn't until about 2yrs ago that parts became somewhat easy to locate for the '97.

If you have the shop manual and the know how, and it's above 25F, you might be tempted to do this yourself. I do wish I had had the time to do mine when it went out almost 3yrs ago, would've saved me some change, though at the time, it saved me a headache.

According to http://www.pprok.com/ (click on the online catalog pic) '93-95 rodeos use a different alt then '96-97. It doesnt mention '95.5 though unfortunatly. I like that site because it will tell you the amperage of the stock one and you can also look up cross reference to other brands and factory numbers. After clicking on their part number from the list of model years, click "interchange" near the top on the right (with the blue letters, not the white letters with the box around it).

If you can see the number on your stock alt you can use that to look up which one you need.

bosch doesn't make new alternators for isuzu. afaik.
they do remanufacture (rebuild) original equipment alternators for isuzu -- denso and (another brand also i believe).
//bc


Just want to clear this up, incase anyone is curious, Bosch does not make "new" alternator's, but rather I was just asking him if his "new" alternator - meaning "new" to him, was a Bosch.

I need to learn to be extra careful when posting/asking, sorry if there was confusion.

FWIW - that typically goes for all manufactor's on starters and alt's; it's very very rare to find a brand NEW one unless you're buying a new vehicle.

When I called around for that alt 3yrs ago, no one carried or made a brand NEW one for Isuzu, but FWIW, couldn't find brand new for my sister's dodge caravan at that time either.

Rebuilt alt's due, however, range in quality, thus the price as well; stay away from your typical Autozone, Advanced Auto brands - but I think you'll be just fine with a *rebuilt* from Bosch, Napa, or Denso. Don't bother going to the dealer, my quoted price from them 3yrs ago was around $400 for a *rebuilt*.

http://napaonline.com/masterpages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=NNE&PartNumber=1N8697&Description=Alternator+-+New

$209.99 from NAPA - 60 amp alt for my '97 - and it looks like it is new. I can't tell you who the manufacturer is, though. No problems with it after a year or so.

My “check Trans” (1993 Isuzu Rodeo 4X4) light was flashing. The symptom was a slipping /sluggish transmission. I thought for sure the transmission would have to be replaced. I took it to a local garage and he told me that the alternator was the culprit. He said I should replace the battery and put new battery cable ends on. It cost me $75 for the diagnosis. He quoted me $500 to fix the whole kittenkaboodle of issues. Yesterday in 20-degree weather in the garage, I changed out the alternator with a reman from AutoZone. I got the best tips from on-line auto forums on how to change it out. The best was to take off the passenger front tire and drop the protective “skirt” to gain access. It was a bit of a struggle but really it went fine and the car runs like a champ! It’s got over 150K on it and to get it running for $145 alternator was worth it to me. If I get another 10K or so out of it I will be happy.
Best of luck in your current and future repairs.
k

Good luck with that reman. The reman I tried from Advance didn't make it around the block. You'll know the symptoms right away if it does go bad, though.

SF, thanks for the warning and good wishes. I hope it makes it more than around the block and back. If it doesn't, it has a lifetime warranty on it so I'll just get good at changing it out. Maybe not NASCAR fast but it should be quicker than the first time.
Best regards,
k

You'll get tired of changing it REAL quick! Thought that myself *lifetime warranty* - I'll just keep changing it. Ha! I was sick of it by the 3rd time in less then 3 mnths.

You may have gotten lucky though; sounds like it'll work for a while.

Update: Being 200 miles away from home...(college in VT, live in CT), I crossed my fingers, turned the radio off, turned the lights off, turned the heater/fan off, blessed myself and set out for home. 15 miles later, on the crest of a hill, tranny went into limp mode, all electrical went haywire and I found myself in a parking lot...

I turned around and coasted down a hill into a car parts store adjacent to a garage. (Green Mountain Garage in Brandon, VT - directly off of Route 7) No alternator in stock, or in any surrounding towns. Parts truck coming down from Burlington has one - so I wait for 3 hours chatting with the owner of the garage - great conversation and time flew by. 4 hours later the Rodeo was all set. The owner, sympathizing with the plight of the poor college student, charged me list price ($160) for the alternator and mentioned that I would need a few bucks for my winter break and gave me a grand total of $170, labor and parts!

I'm pretty sure I got a cheapo remanufactured unit - but I had no capability to choose a different alternator - I was not looking forward to a cold night in the car, waiting for an alternator of my choosing.

So far, so good. I'll be sure to let y'all know of any problems, should the Rodeo's notoriety of alternator eating pop up...

In your situation, 660Ryder, I would've done the exact same thing.

Alternator Update..... it’s been 12 days and the alternator is still working like a champ.

However, about 5 years ago when starting the engine it used to scream like a Banshee. It seemed to start when the fan clutch kicks in. Well, since I changed the alternator the Banshee is back!! Much to my dismay it's not near as bad but it is embarrassing for my wife when she leaves the office. People look at her and seem to convey "can't you control your car?" geez!!

Can anyone tell me is it the belt or the fan clutch? I only loosened the tension on the belt and dropped the belt off the alternator pulley. What did I do wrong?
Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
k

The belt is probably not tight enough.

My Rodeo did the same thing - talk about embarassing... (Imagine a 16 year old in the school parking lot trying to be stealthy about beating the bell by a few minutes....SCRREEEECCCHHHH. Yeah, not so smooth :) )

I've had the car for four years now and have come to notice that it only does it for a matter of seconds upon starting the car; only seems to happen in the summer when it is warm out. I'm curious to see if it will do it this summer, having just replaced the alternator...

I'll keep ya posted!

....only seems to happen in the summer when it is warm out. ...!

huh, it's when it is cold that my alternator belt lets me know that yet again i haven't tightened it enough. isuzu alternator belt tension is the highest i've ever dealt with, and i am reluctant to ratchet it down too much at the outset afraid of doing a number on the bearing. (the factory method calls for a esoteric hard to come by expensive tension testing tool.)

also, it it's not a new or relatively new belt, you probably would be better replacing it rather than over stressing it and having it whip around in there on you.

in any case, i suggest tightening a bit, "testing" it the next morning, etc until it's quiet.

660Ryder: is yours the alternator belt?

//bc

660Ryder: is yours the alternator belt?

//bc

Question of the day! I'm not sure. I get a very similar sound when I start the car after driving in rainy weather or when I hit a puddle at high speed while off-roading. If I was to take a guess, I would lean toward the fan belt. But then again, I really don't know. It'll be interesting to see if it starts howling this summer...