So I take my car into the shop ...

at 20 Sep 2003, John W [ snipped-for-privacy@cox.net] wrote in news:S08bb.2682$AH4.16@lakeread06:

Yeah, but $300 for a reman? The parts stores here sell them for like $180 with limited lifetime warranty. Mine is having problems as well (sounds like the bearings are wearing out) so I'm looking into it as well.

Installation does not look daunting at all. Even for me who is not that technical. Two bolts and loosen/tighten the belt appears to be about all that's needed to replace the unit. About 30 mins with basic tools, or am I wrong here?

Hey Paul, what's your email address, or could you shoot me an email, thanks! Wondering if you know anyone that wants a 95 GT (mine)...

I replaced the alternator on my 98 Mustang GT... wasn't "easy", but sure as hell wasn't worth spending $300-$500 + labor on! The only difficult part was the damn tensioner ;D. Getting the belt off/on was a bit difficult for me since I have never done it before. The alternator (remanufactured & working GREAT) costed me $105 with tax included. I had to buy a breaker bar for $10 for the tensioner. Total cost was $115 & took about an hour & a half (damn belt) to install. Do NOT pay the $300-$500 + labor that the shop is asking.

-Mike

A word of caution..... While some of the prices I have seen quoted are expensive in USD (in some cases I'd expect the same figure but in CAD) we gotta remember that all alternators are created equal.

Quality control of the small pieces are a big factor in total cost.... the more stringent the quality control, the higher the overall cost. This is ever so important when we get into the rectifier assembly. For an idea what alternator ripple is, try this link...

.BTW, increasing the load on the alternator (second battery or boomy stereo)will increase the ripple. I have seen cases of alternator ripple emit enoughRFI to confuse the diddly out of the PCM or other modules. Depending on thesupplier and/or manufacturer of your shiny new alternator, there may or maynot be any warranty alleviation. It is important to cosnider all things when making our purchase decision... the low bidder is not always the best bidder - the truly unfortunate thing, in todays marketplace, is that the highest bidder doesn't necessarily have the best product either...

-- Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

Here's a lessons learned for you; First, you should have asked in this group before you went out, or done a research on dejanews for this subject.

For alternator or battery problems you take the car to a car shop like checker/chuck's/kragen. They are more than happy to diagnose your battery or alternator problem for FREE. Besides that; you can usually tell yourself what is going on. the warning-light/gauge for not charging comes on/indicates (alternator) or the car won't crank due to empty battery and the charging light/gauage won't say it is not charging (battery shot)

Then on most cars (you didn't say which year your mustang was, or what engine) it is easy to replace the alternator. a belt tensioner to take the belt off and some basic tools to get your bolts loose is all that is needed. LAst car I did it was around 120 for a remanufactured one with one year warranty. I figured if it won't break within a year, it will probably last as long as the original one.

good luck !

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Finally got it sorted out. Got a remanufactured alternator from O'Reilly's for 120ish instead of the 300-500 dollar models. My father in law and I are gonna put the thing on tommarrow. He said pretty much the same thing that it wont take very long to replace.

Well lets see, it cost about $4.00 for a new set of brushes, which is the only thing that actually wears on an alternator. The only other possible failures are bad regulator or bad diode trio. Both of which can be purchased for well under $100.00 dollars. Is keeping your hands clean really worth all the extra cost?

Why are you selling it? Better yet, what are you replacing it with? :-)

well I am having some financial difficulty ;0( So I'm thinking to go for a

89-90 Toyota Camry or Corolla for about one year....ease off on the car insurance and car payments while I can pay off my other debt quicker...then...... A 96+ Cobra will be on my list once I am debt free (atleast most of it) ;0) It'll be tough being without a Stang for a while..gotta do whatcha gotta do....