alternator croaking on easter vacation

Joined
Oct 8, 2011
Messages
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Location
Madiganistan/Chiraq
We are 10hr from home visiting FIL and MIL in CNY
Started the car late last night and noticed a whirring noise at various engine speeds.
Only drove for about 10 mins and got home. Opened the hood and felt various parts, engine mild warm PS pump warm, alternator was too hot to touch.
battery is only 1.5 years old.
limited tools available
many stores are closed on easter LOL

at home i use a wrench and pipe to take off the serpentine belt but i was thinking id go get the harbor freight belt tool for $17
space is tight, i might have to get a few long sockets and a breaker bar as well

as far as an alternator i believe OEM is Denso
i could get a Denso reman from Napa for $275
or take my chances at autozone of advance for $180
 
Would have more trust in a Denso reman to make it 10hours home than a AZ/AA one.

I went with a denso reman when I replaced mine. Hope you get home safely!
 
I would do it right in AA parking lot with loaner tools and a new not reman alternator. The Denso is not a great reman despite the name and not worth the difference.
 
Could get the cheap reman, eat the core charge, and have your original rebuilt at a later date.
 
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted by Chris142
Have yours rebuilt.


That would probably be easy if it wasn't Easter and 10 hours away from home.


Hopefully he meant to have it rebuilt, for use later as a spare.
 
i got the old one out
hmm so apparently no denso reman within 100miles...
the ZONE has a duralast that says "nippodenso equipped" but it is nearly $500?

i guess im going to ride a carquest reman from AAP..... *crosses fingers* #facepalm

can i hold onto the old one and return the core later or has to be on the spot?
 
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Hereis what Advance Auto Parts website has to say:

To receive your Core Charge refund, you can do either of the following:
Bring the part to any Advance Auto Parts store along with your receipt or packing slip
Mail the part back to Advance Auto Parts following the directions including on your packing slip
Core Charges are often mandated by state legislature, and, as such, the actual core charge and taxes on the charge may vary depending on the state in which you buy your part. The Advance Auto Parts core charge presented to you online today with your item is representative of the most common core charge. If you have any questions, please call 1-877-ADVANCE (238-2623) or visit any Advance Auto Parts store.

Emphasis on "any Advance Auto Parts store"
 
Sounds like a bearing going south. You've got yourself a situation. Nothing is 100% perfect. Having it happen on Easter is a further complication. Please post a follow up . I'm hoping for you
grin2.gif
 
My wife doesn't fly so we take road trips. Once, the drive by wire throttle body failed on our way to Florida on Christmas Eve. We were LUCKY to find a dealership open and get it fixed. We were ten or twelve hours late after that little setback.
Now, I carry a spare new throttle body, new alternator, belt, idler pulleys and two coils. The whole box doesn't take up too much room I also carry the appropriate tools, my scan tool, a plug kit and a bicycle pump. In all the years since the throttle body failure, I've only needed the plug kit once.

This is only on big trips. When I'm home, all that stuff is in the shop except the plugs and pump.
 
I bought remanned brake calipers from Carquest with cash. Drove several hundred miles. The CQ back home I was going to turn them in to closed, as it was next door to an AA and they were in the middle of their merger. AA looked at my receipt and gave me a gift card, not cash.

Gift cards can't get the online discount. What a freaking rip off.

Don't get paralysis of analysis. Slap that alternator in while there's still daylight. Any decision is better than no decision, and if you have any further issues you have time to deal with them.

This is an emergent, not-normal event, so authorize yourself a splurge if you feel it will make you safer.
 
Now I'm all afrighted after reading this thread.

My alternator is the original with ~267,000 klicks (~165,000 miles) on it. Should I proactively dump it?

Edit to add: Nothing has happened to suggest a problem.
 
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You didn't mention if the battery light was on........if not, it's charging.........just rock it until the wheels fall off and it gives you a reason to not change it.
 
Whining noise and heat are normal with a heavy load on an alternator, such as a battery with a shorted cell or even if it is just run down from leaving a light on. The voltage should be checked before deciding the alternator is bad.
 
No check engine or battery lights on .
Upon removal the old one had a noticeable squeak when the pulley was spun.
I dropped in the Mexican reman car quest alternator. Much quieter now. Everything seems to be working correctly.

I'm sad to lose my whirring supercharger though...
 
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