Alternator story..part deux
 

:D I did some digging on my Porsche purchase from a while ago and found out something interesting. My car did have a remanufactured Bosch alternator installed by a local shop and it had only 10,000 miles-ish on it since install. It was a $700 dollar affair and it had new belts put on it. I though hmmmm, "Aren't alternators supposed to last longer than 10,000 miles? Thats odd?" Im not half wondering if the shop didnt put a piece of crap in it, or not replace the alternator at all. Anyways, money is tight as always, never trust anything automotive...bla, bla, blaa..fjb:confused:

Alternators in these cars will not last if you do not have the cooling duct and hose installed to it.

I had a rebuilt one only last about 1 year before it died while I was driving on the highway. Just watched the red light go on for no apparent reason...

I had some really stout cooling intake hose installed on that alternator funnel on back and it does the job, I think this remanufactured bosch sucks. Some dude put a japper alternator on his turbo and never looks back. Its sucks, but at least it aint a 308 ferrari.

Got to pull it out, 8 hour job, probably another $1000 clams just to get this pos back on the road only to fall apart again. My advice to sports car nuts out there. Sell it and go find a nice Camaro or Firebird from the 70's up. Der Germans over engineer everything except their grub, that's the French and Italiano's job.;)

rebuilding an alternator is easy, take it apart, check the bearings, If the armature needs it resurface the slip rings or replace them. the brushes and regulator are easily to replace. often it's just that the brushes wore down and they will wear prematurely if the slip rings are not smooth. You can check if turbo is any different but I read the brushes and regulator and slip rings are the same used in a volvo. last time I bought a new regulator it was 27 bucks. bearings are available locally at any bearing retailer, just write down the numbers. If you can't handle that just take it to an alternator shop and let them rebuild or exchange. If you want you can make up a bracket and figure out how to drive the pulley and use a GM or other one. a turbo 944 might have some space restrictions. all it does is charge the battery, not really different from any other car from an electrical perspective. lots of cars with generators were converted to alternators . If you need to run to an auto mechanic for things like this then maybe a 35 year old car is a bad choice, any 35 year old car will need maintenance unless the previous owner was meticulous about upkeep.

Im not clear on why it would take 8 hours to remove. on a volvo I can pop in new brushes and alternator in 5 minutes without even removing the alternator. its 2 screws and pops out the side of it. removing the alternator is a 10 minute job as you have to loosen the belt off and take out about 2 bolts. Maybe the turbo makes it more cramped and that's why this ducting is needed and a bit more time to remove..

alternator replacement project time is around 5 hours. there's a nice write-up right here on pelican:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Porsche_944_Turbo/54-ELEC-Alternator_Replacement/54-ELEC-Alternator_Replacement.htm

While I've tried to keep my 86 close to stock, I removed that big heavy Bosch alternator and replaced it with a smaller more powerful Nissan...and never regretted it. The original mounting bracket and alternator sit on a shelf if I (or a future owner) ever want to go back.