Yeah, they suck. Of course BAP has been out of the rebuild(in my case probably just re-assemble) business for about 8 years now. My current engine was built by an inept fool in 1996. I did not install said engine in the car, I acquired the car with said engine.
So....while I had the engine out to replace the noisy alternator with
500 miles on it, I wanted to also tackle the oil leak from the middle lower stud on the passenger side. You know, the big one. The one that is supposed to be torqued, in stages, to 25 ft/lbs. Not a single one of the six had more than 15 ft/lbs on it. So I removed all six nuts and washers, cleaned out the tiny dab of blue RTV that was behind the washers, and put some of the "Right Stuff" sealant behind the washers when I re-installed. I re-torqued to 25 ft/lbs in 3 stages. Nothing pulled loose, crank still turned free. Wilson's book said the six main studs are supposed to see 25ft/lbs, so I obliged.Having re-installed the head with new pushrod tube seals, and re- assembled the engine with a new 4 wire OldSchool Motorola alternator, I put the engine back into the car. I left it up on jackstands and got it started and immediately put it in gear so that none of the transaxle bearings would run dry. And imagine my dismay when the alternator light -stays on- with the new-to-me overhauled alternator. Man I was pissed at the prospect of pulling the engine out yet again....
But I noted that with the engine off, key turned to run, oil and Gen were illuminated equally. Start the engine, oil light goes out, Gen gets kinda dim. Battery shows 12.2 volts engine off, key on. 13.6 volts engine idling. So it was charging, perhaps not very much, but I thought maybe I got an alternator that sat on the shelf for a while and the brushes needed to wear in to get good contact with the slip rings.
So I went for a drive. It sure ran nice, and after about 3 miles the Gen light dimmed out..flickered a few times, and it was out. So then I lugged the engine with the clutch down until the Gen light came back on full intensity, and as soon as I put the clutch back to the floor the RPM's came back up to idle speed and the light went out. So maybe it is working right after all.
Nothing on the floor after 5-6 miles and 2 days of sleeping in the garage. Maybe Murphy is on my side for once....I bet I get at least a thousand miles out of it before it needs more work.... :-)
Happy Monday.
Chris