Technical Alternator rebuild

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Technical Alternator rebuild

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Jul 21, 2018
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I have a 2001/12 Schumi. After around 6 - 10km of normal quiet driving, an awful screeching/metallic grinding sound occurs. It's really loud! When the engine is turned off and left for around 1 hour, starting and driving are all quiet once again until the above kms are reached. The local garage says that the alternator is kaput. They claim that they can't find another one and want to rebuild this one...at the cost of £100! I see loads of ads for Seicento alternators. Am I missing something? Can I use any alternator from a vehicle of the same year? Also why would something make a noise only after the engine is warmed up? Thanks in advance.
 
the parts to repair the alternator yourself can be got pretty cheaply. its not too bad a job to do, but you really need a press to get the bearings on and off.


any alternator off ebay that suits the engine you have in your car should do fine. they range from about £30 used to around £60-£70 for a refurbed unit.


tbh, if you are getting a garage to do it, £100 all in isnt a million miles out for supply and fit of a recon unit.


the bearings are no doubt dry. once it has a bit of heat in them, they will make a noise. its pretty common and wont get any better unfortunately
 
Don't leave it too long...

My Stilo had squeaking bearings that matey mechanic said was the alternator bearings, same as yours. The choices, he said, were either to change it when it was convenient for me, or when it fails completely. Obviously I chose "later" rather than "sooner".. :D

The bearing eventually collapsed altogether and came off the spindle. I had enough juice in the battery to get me home but the RAC fella had to lever the aux belt off the pulley so that it didn't try to mash what was left of the pulley into the chassis rail.. :D

A new alternator (i.e. a refurbished one) is probably a better bet than fixing the old one, since a refurb is "all-new everything" (apart from the non-moving brackets and frames etc. which would be cleaned up and essentially look like new anyway...) including the regulator/rectifier, the windings and of course the pulley... whereas just fixing your pulley for the same price means your alternator would still have the old regulator/rectifier and windings etc. The regulator/rectifier (when it fails) also costs the same as the recon'd whole alternator... so it's a no-brainer to fit an all-new item rather than just replacing the bits that have failed.

Ralf S.
 
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