'97 Lesbare Alternator Going Bad?

[Smith1000]

Tuesday morning I was caught in a heavy down pour on the highway. It was dark out and I could barely see to drive. I was going fairly slow when my lights dimmed and my alternator gauge read discharge. I could hear squealing of the belt coming from under the hood. I presumed a bearing in the alternator was locking up.

I turned around and did make it home on some back roads. With my wipers off, radio off, etc. it helped and the charge came back up. I drove a different vehicle to work.

Today, I drove the Buick quite a distance and checked the alternator. No discharge or squealing. I had the lights on, blower on full blast, wipers on some and radio on. Not a thing. It seems fine. The alternator pulley seems to spin free.

I was planning on installing a rebuilt alternator, but now I am wondering if possibly the rain could have had anything to do with it. Anyone have some thoughts on that? It is probably not likely.

Also, someone told be to avoid rebuilt alternators because, when they rebuild them, they only fix the bad portion, clean them up and sell them. They don't do total rebuilds, just repair. Has anyone heard the same?

The alternator in it was put in at about 75,000. It has 182,000 on it currently. Thanks.

[Smith1000]

Could a failing belt tensionor result in this type of alternator problem? Possibly, the squealing was coming from the belt tensionor. I do not recall that it has ever been replaced. Thanks.

[HotZ28]

The squealing sound could be the belt slipping when it got wet. When belts get older & glaze over, they are more subject to slip when the demands for charging exist. i.e. lights & AC blower on. You can check belt tension to see if the tensioner is doing it’s thing. If you haven’t replaced the belt recently, you might want to consider doing so. Use a “poly cog” rib design belt, such as the Goodyear Gatorback or Dayco for better grip.

This is the “cogged” version of the revolutionary multi-ribbed belt first developed by Dayco for the 1979 Ford® Mustang®. The multiple-rib design provides better belt-to-pulley contact for less slippage, so it lasts longer than conventional V-belts. “Multiple ribs” also eliminates the need for “matching”, and allows “controlled slippage” in shock overload situations, such as when the AC compressor kicks in.

[Smith1000]

HotZ28,
Thanks for the belt advice. I believe I will go ahead and replace the belt with a better quality belts this time. The one it has now has been in there about 2 years, and it does look rather checkered.

I decided to just go ahead and replace the alternator with a remanufactured one. I also picked up a new tensioner pulley. I have driven this car a lot of miles with relatively little repair work and 100,000 miles is a good many miles for an alternator, so I'll just go ahead and replace it. There is a $75 core on the old alternator. They really want those old ones back! The remanufactured price is $99 which seems kind of high, but the car has driving lights and quite a bit of electrical stuff.

I have speculated that I may get 200,000 miles out of this car, but it is still running so well now at 182,000, I think it wmay go further, possiby up to 240-250,000. Thanks.

[Blue Bowtie]

I've used the cogged poly-V belts, and they work well. The only complaint I have is the noise generated. They tend to whine like a bad bearing or turbocharger spin-up at times. The standard poly-V doesn't do that.

The CS-series alternators are certainly more expensive than the old D-series, even as remans. They are relatively easy to repair if you have a heavy duty solder gun to remove the stator connections.

BTW - Any well-maintained 231 V-6 should get 250K easily.

[Smith1000]

Thanks. Alternator is on. It only took about an hour. I replaced the pulley and stripped out the reverse thread bolt that holds the pulley in place. I ran a bolt through which holds it fine, but now I can't use a wrench to release the tensioner pulley to get the belt on. Had to really put some down pressure on the pulley with my hand to get the belt on. Runs fine now and it is charging well. I think it was the bearing in the alternator. I spins a little rough.

[HotZ28]

Originally Posted by Blue Bowtie

They tend to whine like a bad bearing or turbocharger spin-up at times.

What's wrong with the sound of a turbocharger? I love that whine!