$1165 for an alternator?

[jhc]

Noticed my lights surged at night, so I stopped by an independent shop recommended by a friend, saw lots of P-cars being worked on. They confirmed my suspicion that my alternator was going and said they could replace it for only $1165! I said no thanks and went online and found rebuilt Bosch alternators for about $200 shipped with 2 year 24 hour roadside service if alternator fails. You cannot tell this from new and it came in about a week.
Sure wish Pelican carried these:

Wayne rates this job at only 2 wrenches, so I'm going to give it a shot (I've done plenty of these on regular cars). Anything I should look out for?
I think with the money I save I'm going for the 930s steering wheel.

[on-ramp]

$1165???!!!!

Did it have round brilliant diamonds mounted on the outside?

[RickM]

You may want to polish or paint your fan and fan housing while in there. A new belt never hurts either.

Is your original a Bosch? I have an '85 and I think it has a Rhone or other (French manufactured) alternator. Just curious.

BTW, you'll love the 930s wheel.

[rsr808]

How often do you guys find that you need to replace your alternator? I had to do it when I first got my 911 then again 2-3 years later. I thought these things were supposed to last forever practically.

[vesnyder]

I second the painting. Both housing and fan. Looks great and inexpensive. Don't do it yourself, take it somehwere and have it powder coated.

Also check the housing for cracks? Mine had several hairline cracks and my buddy's '85 Cab had plenty. Not a big problem, just good to know they are there. Don't torque the alternator back in too tight and you should be fine.

[jmz]

my '74 has it's original alternator .

[MRM]

Mine died a month or two ago on my way in to work on a crazy busy day. It was far easier to have the shop do it than to try to do it myself. They put in a rebuilt Bosch unit with a lifetime warranty for a total of about $500. I can't remember whether the instalation was $300 and the part was $200 or whether it was the other way around.

[masraum]

The alternator is not a very hard job. The hardest part is the nut on the bottom of the air deflector, and it's just tedious.

[jhc]

They gave me 21 days to return the core. I noticed the fan and housing cleans up nicely with a scotchbrite pad. While its out, might as well replace plugs, wires, etc. I have 91k miles and last service stamped in the previous owners book was at 75k.

[Kurt B]

where did you find the 200 rebuilt one?
a lot cheaper than 465 or whatever it is for a new one.

[speeder]

I paid approx. $140.00 for a factory rebuilt one from the dealer, w/ the full Porsche parts warrantee on it. It was one of the easier jobs that I have done on the little bastard.

[carnut169]

Hah. Wait till you try it on the 87 Cab...
There is a support piece that makes it very difficult to remove the alt. on your car. Take your time and it is possible- but you'll doubt it.
At least that was my experience...

[jazzbass]

Originally posted by rsr808
How often do you guys find that you need to replace your alternator? I had to do it when I first got my 911 then again 2-3 years later. I thought these things were supposed to last forever practically.

I had the light surge problem and it was just the voltage regulator, not the entire alternator. Replaced the regulator for $50 or so. Remember, the brushes on these things wear over time.

[plain fan]

How good is the Porsche rebuilt warranty?
I replaced my generator in my 66 912 in November of last year and it is on its last legs already! It lasted about 6 months and it isn't a daily driver!

[john70t]

Ask them about the standard book-time and their posted hourly rate, and then ask whether the extra 5 hours is for smoking crack in the back room with hookers. Talk with the feet, and Waynes book.

[Steve W]

The Paris-Rhone alternators that come in the Carreras generally last about 65-75k miles before the brushes inside wear out and no longer are able to contact the commutator. But you can't just replace the brushes because the commutator may be worn and it will eat away at the new brushes. So typically I just take it to an alternator/starter rebuilder shop, where they turn the commutator and replace the brushes for a total of $50-$60 and you're good as new.

[Wayne 962]

Right now, we only carry new ones:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/dbsql/db.cgi?db=partsearch&view_records=yes&mh=20&uid=default&description=alternator+911

The '87 Carrera alternators are more widely available than the earlier ones...

-Wayne

[jhc]

I always check with Pelican first before buying parts for the 911.
The local rebuilder wanted my old alternator for up to 2 weeks to rebuild it and they still wanted $200.

[JackT]

I took mine off my car, took it to a local alernator shop and asked them to rebuild it with Bosch brushes which they did and cahrged me $85.00 for the whole thing. They also gave me a 1 year warranty. These shops are usually family owned for years and the people running them do nothing but alternators and are very good at it.

[87911jon]

Last weekend, after 191k I finally replaced the original alternator. The part cost me $300. Took about 45 minutes to get out, 3 hours to clean and polish, and 30 minutes to put it back in, and a great sense of accomplishment! Cake walk.