Originally Posted By: hounddog
No one does starter or alt. bearings and brushes any more. Maybe some third world country's but here in the States that went away in the 1970s and such. If idler and tensioner was OK its left alone. Unneeded expense. What you described is kinda getting carried away.
Yes, I agree that it is an extensive list. Reasonable people can debate the need, but that's beside the point. I do note that the two things you mentioned are problematic for two reasons. It doesn't appear that Mike had the starter or alt on his list of things done. And that's good, since the Toyota/Lex HSD cars have neither starters nor alternators at all.
As for the "starter" function, the motor-generators, which are always coupled to the ICE (gas engine) perform this function (along with the programming of the computer, of course). No need for an alternator either, since the inverters, drawing DC from the traction battery, produce all the AC current that is needed.
This leads to one of my favorite peeves about the hybrid debate. So many folks (most of whom actually know little about the cars) ding the hybrids for their "added complexity." Sure, you get the added complexity of the electric side of the hybrid system, but in exchange, you get a car that has maybe a dozen moving parts in its transmission, and neither a starter, nor an alternator to worry about. Since transmissions, starters, and alternators are some of the most common sources of trouble in conventional vehicles, I wonder why none of the "all knowing" critics of hybrids never seem to notice their complete absence in the HSD cars. . .
No one does starter or alt. bearings and brushes any more. Maybe some third world country's but here in the States that went away in the 1970s and such. If idler and tensioner was OK its left alone. Unneeded expense. What you described is kinda getting carried away.
Yes, I agree that it is an extensive list. Reasonable people can debate the need, but that's beside the point. I do note that the two things you mentioned are problematic for two reasons. It doesn't appear that Mike had the starter or alt on his list of things done. And that's good, since the Toyota/Lex HSD cars have neither starters nor alternators at all.
As for the "starter" function, the motor-generators, which are always coupled to the ICE (gas engine) perform this function (along with the programming of the computer, of course). No need for an alternator either, since the inverters, drawing DC from the traction battery, produce all the AC current that is needed.
This leads to one of my favorite peeves about the hybrid debate. So many folks (most of whom actually know little about the cars) ding the hybrids for their "added complexity." Sure, you get the added complexity of the electric side of the hybrid system, but in exchange, you get a car that has maybe a dozen moving parts in its transmission, and neither a starter, nor an alternator to worry about. Since transmissions, starters, and alternators are some of the most common sources of trouble in conventional vehicles, I wonder why none of the "all knowing" critics of hybrids never seem to notice their complete absence in the HSD cars. . .
