Is this a good Ebay alternator for W123?
 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCEDES-ALTERNATOR-300D-450SL-74-85-120AMP-Diesel-/170574879052?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27b70e194c

Mercedes Bosch Alternator Diesel

This alternator is 120 amp, comes with Bosch regluator

, fan and you can use your own pulley

Body is bigger than the original one but fits exactly same place, you need to upgrade plug , it comes with instruction and new terminal


What do they mean "you can use your own pulley? Doesn't it come with it's own double pulley? Anyone used this seller's alternators? Any problems?
My alternator may be on it's last leg. Battery light is flickering and charge voltage fluctuating between 12.9 to 13.4 volts. I am going to check the regulator tomorrow and put another one (with new brushes) in. If that doesn't fix it, I may buy this Ebay alternator if I don't hear anything bad about it..

standard al129 alternator. not a bad price. yes it fits, yes wiring is needed, and your pulley from your alternator will bolt in place fine.
how well it was reubilt is the question. he has large feedback numbers, and not a terrible rating... 98ish %...
you can get one from most parts yards, from the saab 9000

Dont you have to really dig to get at the saab one tho?

Looks like an overclocked 80amp to me. The photo clearly shows a double pulley. Ask them.

It is not, they came with double belts factory. And this one is physically larger.



I have the same unit (from the same seller) on my SD, works great.

Do you know if it's Saab 120 A rebuilt for the Mercedes? How many miles do you have on yours?

Not sure, but the case is physically larger so I would venture to guess it is the 119X model or whatever.

I guess I put it on over a year ago, maybe 18 months? :confused: Not many miles, mostly around town driving. Around 5000 miles I guess.

Put one on my '83 745i BMW from the same place.

Just bought the Ebay alternator! I put in another voltage regulator with almost new brushes (that I put in) and the battery light is still flickering. I think what's causing the flicker is the armature is worn down and not making good contact. I can feel a pretty deep grove in there. Hope it holds up till the new alternator arrives.

I also got that alternator off ebay. No problems in the last 250miles (ok so i haven't driven it very far ;) )
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1214/...964a33e4_z.jpg

one thing that was a bit tricky was the belt size. once i got belts that work, I had to really work them onto the pulleys, and there is not much adjustment. but in the end I think it was worth it.

Good to hear no problems! Did you tighten the loose nuts?

I jiggled the 3 terminal connector and no more flickering battery light and the charging voltage is back to normal. The problem was probably the funky connector all along. My new alternator is on it's way. I will keep the old alternator as a spare after cleaning it up.

How did you have a three terminal connector on an OE 120A alternator, which should have had lugs. If it has the three posts, IMO it is overclocked...

lol yeah the pic is from when i was test fitting it. Its about 1/2 wider then the stock alternator, and the bracket comes close to the heater hose that is just above it. but it does not touch, so its good to go.

you may be right, the alternator body also looks like the lower amp model, as you can see in the pic the higher amp model has no colored stripe in the middle... this might mean it doesn't have the fitment issues of the higher amp model.

The 3 terminals are on my old alternator. I did say that the new alternator is on it's way, that means I don't have it yet, and I don't know what the wiring arangements are with the new alternator, though the Ebay ad did say "you need to upgrade plug".

Aaah, misread. Thanks!

SirNik84, was your alternator shipped insured priority mail? Mine is according to the seller (insured for $200). I hope I am not gonna be getting a physically damaged alternator upon arrival where I have to file a claim. I also find it strange that the seller emailed me this:

"this alternator doesn't
come with pulley but did ship it with double pulley for no extra cost"

when the pic in his ad clearly showed a double pulley.:confused::confused:

My Ebay alternator arrived this afternoon and I just finished installing it.Took about 2 hours start to finish. The adjuster was bent and mangled and I had to straighten it out. 1/2 hour was also spent trying to "fish" the new alternator from the bottom and up. It seemed impossible and didn't go after 1/2 hr of trying so I jacked the passenger side up with the Mercedes jack (love that jack) and I am not sure if jacking the car up made a difference or I was just lucky but it went without much trying. The new alternator is a bit bigger as can be seen in the pics. The clocking of the terminals was correct and the pulley is a smaller in diameter than the old one,, which made getting the belts on a bit easier. Idle charge voltage is 14.1 volt. The alternator is quiet and comes with a geniune Bosch regulator. Overall I am very satisfied.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...122410_002.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...122410_005.jpg

Stamped (hole) bracket mounted to new (bigger) alternator
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...122410_007.jpg

14.1 v at idle
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...122410_008.jpg

New alternator installed
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...122410_009.jpg

Probably depends on who he's buying from. Not that unusual in the rebuilt biz, esp when he's selling at that price. At the prices I pay locally, it's a heck of a deal.

Told ya guys it is a good piece. ;)

There's no core charge which makes it so much more attractive! I hope the bearings are decent and lasts a long time.

The old 55 amp alterntor with adj bracket attached came out easily from the bottom opening with no interference. The bigger alternator with adj bracket attached was like a difficult puzzle to get in from the bottom opening. I almost gave up and was going to remove the coolant hoses /thermostat housing that's in the way and go in from the top. Has anyone done that on a 83 W123 turbo?

Looks Awesome!
Mine didn't come with the pulley at all, but I had a few old alternators laying around so that wasn't a problem. Looks like you got a better deal then I did, mine cost the same but I had to supply the pulley. :beerchug:

SirNik84, looks like you have the coolant hose removed from the thermostat outlet. Did you stick your alternator in from the top or from the bottom?

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1214/...964a33e4_z.jpg

Whats that grey goop on the outlet?

Funola, when I mounted my AL-129-X alt in the 85 300D, I mounted the bracket to the alt. then using the bracket as a handle, lowered it in from the top. went in w/o much difficulty.

I mounted the bracket to the engine mount, then tried to get the alternator up into the bracket. there was just no way it was going to go in.
I couldn`t get the bracket up high enough to get the alt up in it. the bracket kept hitting the heater hose that comes off the water pump housing. even when it is all mounted and bolted down, the bracket just clears the hose.


I be the Goop on the pipe is JB weld, probably a corrosion hole to fill and file down.


Charlie

I've had my al129x on the 84 wagon for about four years and it's great. Why anyone would not go this route when you have a bad alt is beyond me. You can get them from the yards from saab 900's and 9000's. They also have the 80 amp versions. The 9000's alt are not fun to remove.

I cheated, my engine was on a stand :rolleyes:

The gray goop is a little extra JB weld... there was a pin hole at the tip of the outlet nipple, I had some extra JB on a nail and was gonna toss it then I saw the pin hole so I smeared some JB on it. ;)

In retrospect, I think I was lucky, since jacking the body up should not have made the bottom opening any larger. I should have put a block of wood under the oil pan and jacked the engine up to create a bigger opening between engine and frame. Comments?

I you did that you would have had to disconnect your motor mounts and engine shocks in order to get some workable room. Not too hard to do, but more stuff to fiddle with. Otherwise it would just pick the car up via the oil pan which is never recommended.

I am not talking jacking it very much. Maybe 1/2" to 1" high to give more clearance between the engine and frame so the alternator can go in more easily. I have not tried it, just an idea if I have to do the job again.

I'd not try lifting it 1" maybe 1/2" but I think it may damage the mm's

I installed another one of these yesterday in this order.
Put the alternator up through the bottom and attach bottom bolt.
Install the bracket to the alternator with the adjusting bolt.
Slip the belts on and tighten the adjuster to move the bracket towards the motor. ( The alternator body is bigger so you have to do this otherwise the alternator will hit the motor before you can get the bracket lined up to put the upper bolt through the motor.
Snug up the bolts and tighten the tensioner.
Finish tightening the bolts and you're done.
The only down side is that there is now less adjustment available for the tension bolt because of the larger body of the alternator.
If your belts are too short you cant get them on and if they're too long you will not be able to tension them.
Even with the right length belt you usually max out of tension adjustment.
I use a smaller pulley and clock the terminal studs to be on the opposite side of the mounting ears. See attached pics.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k2...s/IMG_2741.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k2...s/IMG_2739.jpg

Did you get yours from the same seller? On mine the locations of the various items on the back of the alternator is different. Maybe leaving the adj bracket off of the alternator is key to easily get it in from the bottom opening. I looked at mine again and it appears that jacking the engine up will not help and will actually decrease the bottom opening size. My pulley diameter is same as yours at 2 5/8" dia. and my belts are 10 x 1035 Continentals. The belts went on the pulley easily and I the belts tension are adjusted properly although it is near the bottom 20 % of the adjustment range. With belt stretch, I may run out of adjustments and may need to go to shorter belts.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...122410_002.jpg

I get mine through another supplier who just happens to be the former employer of your supplier! Yes, it's way easier to put the alternator up and in before you mount the bracket. You have the right belt and you'll be at the end of the tension adjustment when finalized. It should be fine. As long as your wires aren't stretched you should be OK. He could have clocked yours 90 degrees more to get the studs closer but if it works it works. I believe that your guy will be running out of cores soon! Don't ask me how I know :D

My wires are stretched. I had to cut the sheathing over the bundle to give it more length. Your regulator has phillips head screws where mine has slotted. I will replace mine with socket heads which makes changing regulator much easier. I meant to do that before installing the alternator but I was in a rush. Also would have liked to look at the commutator to see how much copper there is. Do rebuilders always put on a new commutator and new brushes?

Based on the description of your guy from his former employer probably not :eek: The brushes come with the regulators though so they should be new. Most would not swap the commutator unless it failed the growler test anyway unless the rings were clearly worn out.

The way my alternator is clocked, the regulator is at 9 o'clock and is much more accesible than the old 55 amp alterator, clocked at 3 o'clock which was a ***** to get the 2 regulator mount screws off because you can't see them and have to work by feel.

I bought one of these a few years ago. I did have some problems. I did mount it and did the wiring. I put in new larger amp wires. I am thinking 4 amp. I think I kept the blue wire (sensor) the same. If I remeber right, the origianl belt is a 1024. I went with a 1030 or 1035. This is one a 240D. I didn't have to jack up the engine, or remove any brackets.
I did have problems with the holes where the bolts go through wearing. The alternator canted and was having problems with the belt slipping. I had the holes bored out and put in metal sleaves. Then I machined down the bosses and put some steel washers on both ends. It fit very snug. That has been just a few months or so.
Tom

...

I just got myself an al115 from autozoo. lifetime warranty blah blah... not a bad price, and they took my shot bearing/wallered out 55amp alt as a core. I'll be working on this this weekend. I've got some #2Bass amp cable for the wire upgrade. this is going to be neat.

How much is not a bad price? I don't think upgrading the wire to #2 is necessary, unless you want to do extra work. The stock wire is big enough IMO. If the alternator is charging at 120 amps, the bigger wire may make a tiny bit of difference, but it almost never charges at the max amperage. If you don't believe me, put an ammeter on it.

oh, I know it'll make little difference unless the battery is seriously discharged during starting, or a massive amount of accessories are added. I plan on installing a 4000watt inverter in the car.
don't ask...

I think I'm going to order this one here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-SAAB-9000-900-ALTERNATOR-85-87-89-91-94-115AMP-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem27b8e1ff22QQitemZ170605543202QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries

It's an AL129X as well, only it's 115A not 120A. The other alternator isn't available right now (but it might be so I might hold off).

My alternator bearing is making noises, so I guess it's time for an upgrade!

Nevermind, I found the relisted 120A one and purchased it!

Just went through this exercise after the 65 amp unit quit on my Euro '84 TD. Installed a used AL129X-type alternator provided by my friend Chuck Taylor.
Had to rotate the 'clock' position then same issues with pre-installing the adjuster as noted previousy. Also my TD is non-turbo, and manual heat-AC, so no problem installing the 'new' alternator from above.
I ran a 4-gauge "25 battery cable from the starter terminal direct to the alt. B+ lug. Fitted a cable clamp & grommet to one of the extended alternator case-screws, in order to support the original plug and connect the charge-lamp jumper, and in case I might someday wind up installing the smaller OE alternator.
This altenator is missing it's Bosch label, so I don't know the original rated output.
So far as my friend Chuck can recall, this alternator came off a Euro '84 380SEC parts-engine.
Does anyone here know what output alternator that
model came with?

Happy Motoring, Mark

I'm in the process of installing this alternator now. Got the old one out and am prepping the new one. I need to switch the pulley out though, mine is only a single belt pulley. I got the pulley off the old alternator, but the nut on the new alternator pulley is larger then what I have available. Anyone know if it's a 1" socket or of it's metric?

Mine came with a double pulley so I didn't have to deal with the nut, which has to be metric IMO since it's a Bosch. Did you buy from the same seller I did?

mine were all 22mm 1" would be a scosh bigger than 25

It was a 24mm nut.