Alternator Experience - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

pwogaman · #16 08-22-2008, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

I found a 1989 Saab 9000Turbo in the yard today, does that have the right alternator? I will go back for it tomorrow if it does.... It is indeed buried in there....I didn't have a 19mm socket with me to get the front wheel off, otherwise I could have gone after it. Only MB in the yard was a 1977 240d that was severely rusted and looked like it had sat in a field for ages. 112k on the odometer! (am guessing it stopped working at some point) This thing had the worst rust I had ever seen, the whole underbody was nearly rotted out, the fenders were falling off, wheel wells were gone....if I go back I'll get some pics. motor looked good still, had series glow plugs on it, oil cap intact, wet with oil inside, turned it over with the fan and everything moved smoothly and I could feel the strong compression strokes....might be a good motor. Interior was dead, racoons had lived (and pooped) in it for a long time it seems. Gross. I got a door check off it for $1

Had a nice rear left light lens.....manual everything, including climate control....

Anyways, does anyone know if an 89 9000turbo has the 115A or 80A alternator? I looked on ********az and it says that from 1988 onward they used the 115A.....whatever, I have time tomorrow, I'll go back and see if I can get it off.

If that thing is buried in there like it is on my wife's 2001 9-5 lateral V6 then you're in for a real pain in the a$$ experience. That was an absolute bear to get out and put back in. The service instructions say to remove right front wheel, and pull axle from steering knuckle (which I did by dropping the lower control arm at the lower ball joint), then pull and tie the strut assembly back out of the way. Then you have to wedge the engine forward against the sub-frame with a special-tool wedge and carefully remove the alternator out through the wheel well. Bring a good crow bar, I bent mine in the process. I eventually used a come-a-long to pull the engine forward from the underside towards another parked car in front of it.

By the way, her alternator is a 130 Amp. I went ahead and replaced it instead of just the voltage regulator because of (1) time limitations (her threats to go to a dealer for service), and (2) I did not want to risk putting anything back in with which I had a less than 100% certainty of proper performance. I decided against returning the old one as a core. One of these days I'll try a good voltage regulator and it that works I'll buy the right pulley and stick in one of my MBs.

pawoSD · #17 08-23-2008, 12:01 AM

I've read its not quite that difficult, you just have to remove the wheel and the splash shield then there is clear access to it. I guess they buried it deeper and deeper as the years went by.

Its so odd to have it way down under there like that. What were those engineers thinking?!

We'll see how it goes, if its not raining tomorrow I am going to go and try to get it out.

vstech · #18 08-23-2008, 12:46 AM

the engineers were thinking "Dammit, those stinking DIYers are STILL getting parts and fixing it themselves... well I'll fix their wagon!"

pawoSD · #19 08-23-2008, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

the engineers were thinking "Dammit, those stinking DIYers are STILL getting parts and fixing it themselves... well I'll fix their wagon!"

Yep, thats about it.

We'll always show those engineers that we can out-smart them.

mobetta · #20 08-23-2008, 06:15 PM

The three I pulled have required a 10mm allen(hex) socket.

pawoSD · #21 08-23-2008, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobetta

The three I pulled have required a 10mm allen(hex) socket.

Yikes, good to know, I will bring one with me in case.

I ended up doing a front (complete) brake job on the 300D today instead of going to the yard. Bearings, rotors, pads....everything, took forever.

Not the most fun job to do. The difference it made was huge though, it has incredible brakes now!

And it did rain, and I had to finish the job while it was raining....even less fun.

Monday I'll go attack that saab for its alternator.

tobybul · #22 08-27-2008, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas H

I quit buying remans long ago. I have the local electrical rebuilder do my alternators, generators and starters. Over the counter stuff is junk.

So far, the 2 remans (1 from Autovalue & 1 from AZ) I got for my C220 have been bad. I am about to order them online and just get the Bosch reman. I was kinda after the lifetime wty but what good is it if I have to replace them often.

LUVMBDiesels · #23 08-27-2008, 07:59 AM

I got my AL129X from Hite in Ohio
http://www.hiteparts.com/sections/altsAndStarters/index.asp

They were very competitive in price and stood behind their product. (It had an intermittent fault inthe diode and would drain the battery sometimes) They took it back and rebuilt it completely a second time for free.

Does anybody know the equivalent alternator for the OM603 in a 1986 SDL? The AL129X won't fit...

pawoSD · #24 08-27-2008, 12:35 PM

I finally managed to go pull the alternator from the saab yesterday....it took FOREVER, terribly designed car!! Who would put the alternator at the bottom of the engine?!

Anyways, I got it off, and the good news is that it was nearly brand new, brushes are nearly 100% and it was relatively clean (so its not the original, car had 199k on it) and I only paid $14.18 for it. Not bad!

Bad news is that it turned out to be the 80A unit....

Will putting in an 80A unit and some better cabling (I'm thinking a single 4ga) between the terminal block and alternator make my situation better? I'm merely looking for a little extra juice to be able to not have much voltage drop sitting at a light with the blower, radio, brake lights, headlights, and possibly the rear defroster on. Will the 80A be much different than the 65A? Or should I keep looking for the 115A unit? My goal is to upgrade before winter, so I still have a few months....I could keep checking for saabs with the 115....are there any other known vehicles that had this alternator?

Thecorrupterx · #25 08-27-2008, 02:00 PM

other than the AL129X is there any other high amp (higher than 100A) alternator that would fit on a 912? I am really looking for something in the 150A range.

I was thinking about have a local alternator builder make an old 65A alternator into a 150A for around $1/1A, any word on if this is a good path to take. also he said he can make it go with the stock harness, should I just go for the 1 pole version and upgrade the wiring?

tobybul · #26 05-04-2010, 11:06 AM

pawo - sorry this is pretty late but I got the alt from eagle electric. I checked and they are still doing it.

oldiesel · #27 05-04-2010, 08:44 PM

Luvmb
Do a search on here,GSXR has a writeup on larger alternators that fit the 602/ 603, much larger like 150amp. I put 140on my 2.5 and it has higher voltage at idle than the old one had at highway speeds.They came on newer gassers but bolt right on although it is advisable to put heavier wire on for the current carrying wires and the larger alternator the wires are held on to a stud with a nut not the plug arangement the your car came with. Don

Junkman · #28 05-04-2010, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tobybul

...... When replacing an alternator especially with a remanufactured, ALWAYS have the "new" one tested before installing it. You could get a bad one

like I did..

The clerk got upset when I asked him to test it. He said they couldn't give a lifetime guarantee if they couldn't rebuild them right. I said to test it anyway. It was bad out of the box. I went across the street & bought another brand that tested good. I got lucky. Reman electronics are a crap shoot.