Powerite Alternator as replacement

So, I have the motor out to examine and fix anything and everything that seems to make sense and is easier to get at as a result. Known issues were the starter, AOS leak, slave cylinder, motor mounts, exhaust upgrade, bolt refurbishing/cleaning/replacing as required. Anyway, I realize the alternator is 95K miles old and it's pretty easy to get at right now. I looked at Pelican and the rebuilt is $400+ plus the core. I have never used Suncoast but looks like you submit a request for a price and apparently they are good. However I did check eBay and a Powerite replacement is $114. What do you experienced guys recommend? I'm a newbie that is just looking to do the right thing without wasting money or being stupid cheap. Thanks, Tom

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Alternator is not difficult to remove in situ. If you really want to, I recommend a Bosch reman that's about $300 after you turn in your core.

So Ansi--where do you order Bosch parts. I see it on carpartsdiscount at about $375 after return. But I wonder about the regulator--whether it's been remanufactured as well. Any thoughts...other than the obvious question you posed--why now? On that--is 95K and 15 years not within a short period of the expected end of life for some of these big components? Tom

I've never used that specific alternator, but for my other cars I have purchased the cheap ebay alternator, brakes, rotors, water pumps, radiators, etc Generally they last 1-2 years. Some longer, some shorter, but none ever equal to OEM. I would not use it unless finances are really tight.

For curiosity's sake i checked out the price of an alternator from Porsche. Its $1,645 and that is at a $990 discount. Crazy!

Look for a place the rebuilds alternators. It is usually reasonable. Just do a google search for "alternator rebuild in...". If they have one by me, they probably have one everywhere.

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I just bought one from this vendor http://www.autopartsexpress.com/bosc...red-alternator My alternator is AL0812x Also look for coupons. The part comes in a Bosch box and looks high quality. Will be installng it in a couple of wks (waiting for other parts). As I mentioned, if you diy, the alternator is not difficult to replace and labor is free so I don't see a reason to swap out a working part. You can wait till it's acting up.

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I know! Even a Porsche reman (remaufactured in Germany) will set you back $600+!

Thanks for all the help and info. Yes indeed, the Porsche reman seems really out of bounds for pricing, doesn't it! I do think I'm going to replace the Alternator. There's a little more context to the story--when hot, the starter barely turns over but the car runs great. Track days are always a bit nervous in that I can't quite figure if I'll start the car for my session--but time between sessions are cooling time, and no failure to start ever at the track or commute in heat. I've replaced the starter and the Alternator seems really simple right now as well. The cable is clean as a whistle--I will probably just leave it alone. (btw, the 1999 part number ends in 901 not 903--I know what was a question in a thread a while back.) Ashi--the link you sent along has a price of $220 net of Core, which seems really low. Does that sound right to you based on what you purchased? (out of stock at the moment, sadly) So, this includes a new regulator if I understand it...or is that a part you purchase and install in/on the alternator that you receive. Yes, I'm a rookie--so if this sounds annoying (for example, no data on voltage readings 1-5 as advised in other threads), it's unintentional. Tom

Yes, that's the link (AL0700X) for your MY '99. Yes a quality reman alternator has new regulator, new diodes, and new bearings. With what you are experiencing, I agree it's worth a shot replacing it. But again to id the culprit positively you need vdrop test and there's no way around that. Note the starter cable can go bad even if it looks brand new outside with shinny copper. That's what I'm experiencing now. Btw, another member also had a problem starting the car when it gets hot. It turned out one of the coolant fans are not working that leads to really high engine temp. The heat expansion makes the starter seize given its tight tolerance.

Completely agree with Ahsai, I would replace the starter cable. My starter cable looked great on the outside but it was causing me problems. I think what happens is that the individual threads of metal that make up the cable get corroded on the inside of the cable making the problem hard to detect from the outside. When you replace the alternator, I would also suggest that you clean all the cable contact points well and use electrical conductive grease. Hopefully the grease will help corrosion going forward. Also you may want to clean up or replace the (short) ground strap.

OK, I can't ignore that experience--not to mention I'll just about have the cable out when I remove the alternator--I'll do it and thank you. I do know the part number too for the 99--I'll confess I ordered the cable but the cable I received was for the later models. Figuring the "hand of god"...I just took it back. So--back to the cable replacement biz, I took the radiators/condensers/fans apart, replaced the radiators/cleaned up 15 years of crap (car is new to me), and checked out the fans (they go on with the ac) when I added a third radiator to my car. Turns out the left fan was not running. So the good news from me, is that I've eliminated that issue! Interesting to know and something to tuck away. Thanks again--Tom

If you are getting a slow crank I would replace the battery. I've had batteries that test good but will just barely crank the car. New battery, problem solved.

Btw, you can get your alternator for $300 no core charge from Amazon or $300 net core from ECS tuning.

OK, got the new alternator from ECS Tuning so I replaced the cable yesterday and did some forensics. It looked fine from the outside with the rubber boot and plastic cable casing at the starter end, and a clean connector at the alternator and ground strap end. When I cut the rubber casing and peeled back the now brittle plastic at the starter end...it was seriously corroded. Check out the pic. I also see the regulator case has a crack at the edge though everything actually looks OK. I'm asking ECS tuning their opinion (surely they'll be inclined to say it's fine.) What say you all on Rennlist? Thanks again for all your help. The cable advice was spot on and corrosion easily unseen. Corroded alternator/starter cable looks like it was dropped in reman.

Bingo! That cable looks nasty. It's funny, my alternator also arrived broken similar to yours due to stupid Bosch packing from the factory. There was no padding so the alternator just tossed around inside the box and got damaged during shipping. Autopartsexpress sent me a return shipping label and shipped me another one at no charge right away. That cover there is to protect the diodes undernealth and make the alternator more water resistant. If you can wait, I'm pretty sure ECS will send you a new one. Of course the same may happen again I was lucky the second one I received was perfect.

Tom, Thanks for posting this saga. Great info from your 'Helpers" .Your photo of the corroded cable will prevent a lot of 'if it looks good,it is good' advice on the subject. IMHO that crack is unacceptable. If the cracked alternator was free,you might take a chance with epoxy and some reinforcement but...

Glad you were able to find the issue. Definitely clean all the contacts well and use the ridiculously expensive conductive grease. Also consider replacing the ground strap from the engine to the body or at least take it off and clean the contacts. Also clean up the contacts at the charging point in the engine bay. if I recall this is also where the cable that runs from the engine bay to the battery is connected. The trick is reducing resistance at all points in the circuit. After I went through all the stuff you are fixing my electrical system worked like new. I had my alternator tested and ended up replacing the regulator only. I did have an issue where a bolt snapped when I was taking off the old regulator (if I recall correctly.)

Conductive grease? So..I bought silicone dielectric grease silicone dielectric grease . Is seems that silicone dielectric grease is conductive and preserving according to this article . Is this what you're talking about?

Well you found the reason for no starting when hot, it was a high resistance connection that was the culprit, most likely at the crimp connection that degraded over time. As far as your alternator goes, I wouldn't be worried about it. If you were worried, I would just repair it with a fiberglass repair kit from Pep Boys or the such, put a few pieces of fiberglass bedded in resin over it, will fix it. But it just looks like a cover that does nothing else. If it is visible from the top side of the engine, that's not great for aesthetics.

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Yes that is the right stuff - Dielectric grease.

If you are cleaning electrical contacts, a can of Deoxit would be a great investment of 15 bucks.

I second the Deoxit reco. Note dielectric grease does not conduct electricity. The way it works is when put between two metal pieces, when you tighten the fastener, the metal pieces will make direct contact (to conduct electricity) while squeezing out the dielectric grease, which forms a barrier to seal off the metal from the elements.

OK, will do...Deoxit on the way from Amazon Prime for $15. I bought the "D" formula--general contacts. They make a "Gold" as well for gold plated contacts, fyi. I'll probably find a lot of uses for this stuff. And that was a helpful ps: I could not for the life of me figure out why I'd dielectric grease a connector given the definition of dielectric (insulating) and it's use in spark plug caps to prevent arcing. ECS Tuning is replacing the whole unit. I didn't insist or complain, just sent photos and asked what they'd like to do. I'm not in a rush so that works well from my end.

You should be fine with just Deoxit w/o using dielectric grease. The problem seems to be at the cable crimp amd the cable itself bit not the actual lug/terminal of the cable. There's some debate whether dielectric grease should be used in gwneral. Kinda like oil and IMS debate that never end. ECStuning customer service is just amazing and their part photos are the best.

Just to let you know the Bosch reman I got from autopartsexpress.com is good and working as expected.

also bought/used a Bosch reman (off ebay)...better than new for a whole lot less