I'm just ready to give up at this point.

[anghrist]

W210 voltage regulator R&R OMFG!

1) Put car on ramps.
2) Disconnect battery
3) Remove cover pan
4) Remove protective cap from (B+) Circuit 30
5) Loosen nut on (B+) Circuit 30 - This is a 13mm nut (torque spec 15 Nm)
5) Try to remove nut on (D+) Circuit 61 - This is a 10mm nut (torque spec 4 Nm)
6) Shaft that 10mm nut is on is turning.

THIS IS WHY I DON"T RECOMMEND MB VALENCIA FOR SERVICE!!

They are the last ones to have touched my alternator for replacement 6 years ago. The 10mm nut is so fricking tight that it will not let go, I have no idea what kind of damage this has done. I hate to think that I might have to replace the entire alternator due to this one nut & stud.

[Pabster]

Sorry to hear this. If they want your business or positive referrals, perhaps they will make amends if you tell them about it. Nothing like spreading a bad referral!

Pabster

[anghrist]

Well, I had to take the whole thing out.

7) Loosen serpentine belt.
8) Remove turbo pipe.
9) Remove Alternator mounting bolts.
10) Pull alternator from mount.
11) Remove dust cover from back of alternator.
12) Remove voltage regulator.

Now I'm at a point where I have a bit of a conundrum. Where the 10mm nut was overtorqued (to the tune of 30 Nm), I've found that the casting into which the threaded stud was pressed/afixed is actually broken (see photo).

Do I just replace the regulator or the entire alternator? The copper contacts on the shaft where the brushes 'ride' are grooved pretty deep as well (see photo).

There's no doubt that the brushes on the regulator had seen a fair share of use.

[anghrist]

Turns out that the broken 'casting' is just plastic. The connection inside is a ring-style 'lug' around the shaft. The shaft is shaped/keyed so as not to turn on installation.

I will re-cover the lug/shaft end with the original plastic, with some epoxy to hold it in place. Will also have the alternator tested for output tomorrow, since I did replace the voltage regulator. If it's in spec, I will just replace the cable end with a new lug (the old one broke when trying to loosen the overtorqued nut). Hopefully I will have one of our two cars operational tomorrow night and be able to turn in the rental car.

Yes, I had to go rent a car just to get to work tomorrow.

[anghrist]

Originally Posted by Pabster

Sorry to hear this. If they want your business or positive referrals, perhaps they will make amends if you tell them about it. Nothing like spreading a bad referral!

Pabster

I doubt that they would do anything. The service took place six years ago. I doubt that they keep records of who serviced what for that long.... but I do.