Well im 99% sure my alternator quit last night. I have never upgraded the lower pulley and there is only 42k on the car. I just wish it was easier to change out. How many miles are on your alternators? I knew it was a weak link of the motors, but i think mine went a little prematurely.:mj:
Car died last night....WTF is up with Ford Alternators?
- Thread starter j2schill
- Start date
thats about right... my alternator went just at the end of summer this past year... at about 41K miles.... not that hard to change... just need a pry bar to tilt the motor a bit on its motor mounts to get the alternator out....
The alternator will fall out you just have to loosen the mount.
If you remove the battery and battery tray it will make the task 10x's easier.
Alternators for the 03-04 SC setup is completely junk. I went through 3 of them in 4 months
If you remove the battery and battery tray it will make the task 10x's easier.
Alternators for the 03-04 SC setup is completely junk. I went through 3 of them in 4 months
They just did not design these to handle the heat or stress.
138k on my original 01 alternator.
What about 03-04 Mustang 4.6L Cobra Alternator 6G 130Amp Bare Aluminum, Does Not Include Pulley by PA Performance at LRS - Same Day Shipping! ?
138k on my original 01 alternator.
What about 03-04 Mustang 4.6L Cobra Alternator 6G 130Amp Bare Aluminum, Does Not Include Pulley by PA Performance at LRS - Same Day Shipping! ?
That's the trick.
You just loosen the top bolt of the lower alt bracket, remove the lower bolt and swing the bracket out of the way and the alt will come right out. You don't have to remove the batt/tray if you have just the right ratchet extension(s) to reach the upper alt bolt.
Honestly I think Start 'n Charge (click my sig, his number is on my site) is making the best alts you can get for these cars... just ask around or do a search, lots of people are running them.
I'm on my third and hopefully final alternator, at least for the long haul. I killed one three hours from home once, and the second 6 months later.
When tuning for my Whipple began, around 5250 rpm, my voltage would take a nosedive, thus throwing my fuel system out of whack and leaning the car out. After a lot of head scratching, my tuner said that probably my only option would be one of those huge PA performance alternators.
Before pulling the trigger however, he called the guys at PA Performance and asked their opinion. Our stock alternators can take about 16k internal rpms before it can't keep up. Apparently with a stock crank pulley and a stock alternator pulley, the alternator itself gets overspun around 6k engine RPM. At redline, it's significantly overspun. After a certain amount of times of being overspun, its lifespan is significantly shortened.
What PA said was the cure, was to put an oversized pulley on the alternator to slow it down. I ended up putting a 3.50" on mine with a stock lower to slow it down, and it's been working flawlessly. They're cool guys over there, and it was a welcome relief to get some advice before being talked into buying a major $$$ alternator.
When tuning for my Whipple began, around 5250 rpm, my voltage would take a nosedive, thus throwing my fuel system out of whack and leaning the car out. After a lot of head scratching, my tuner said that probably my only option would be one of those huge PA performance alternators.
Before pulling the trigger however, he called the guys at PA Performance and asked their opinion. Our stock alternators can take about 16k internal rpms before it can't keep up. Apparently with a stock crank pulley and a stock alternator pulley, the alternator itself gets overspun around 6k engine RPM. At redline, it's significantly overspun. After a certain amount of times of being overspun, its lifespan is significantly shortened.
What PA said was the cure, was to put an oversized pulley on the alternator to slow it down. I ended up putting a 3.50" on mine with a stock lower to slow it down, and it's been working flawlessly. They're cool guys over there, and it was a welcome relief to get some advice before being talked into buying a major $$$ alternator.
if you have access to a lift, it takes about 10 minutes to change out the alternator.. (from the bottom) and you don't have to loosen up the engine mounts (I changed mine out 3 or 4 times before I got a decent one)
Trust me overspinning is the least of the issues with the Terminator alternator. PA has been telling people this for years because their alts often fail quickly in our cars. It has been proven over and over that our alts fail just as often even if underspun.
Mine crapped out a couple of weeks ago at 52K miles, I ordered one from Jamie at Start 'N Charge, should be here next week.
Lot of good info over on mod fords:
[ame="http://www.modularfords.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115494"]Alternator Thread[/ame]
Looks like a solid product.
There is also a thread about PA alternators, you should definitely read that before spending money on a PA:
[ame="http://www.modularfords.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77569"]Another PA Alternator bites the dust[/ame].
-Brian
Lot of good info over on mod fords:
[ame="http://www.modularfords.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115494"]Alternator Thread[/ame]
Looks like a solid product.
There is also a thread about PA alternators, you should definitely read that before spending money on a PA:
[ame="http://www.modularfords.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77569"]Another PA Alternator bites the dust[/ame].
-Brian
Actually guys,it is true the alternators are overspun.I encourage everyone that has to change one gets the Metco 3.2 or 3.5 pulley.
I've had my share of comebacks on the '03-'04's & 95% are from the rotors breaking the slip-ring wire that connects to the rotor bobbin.Probably that makes no sense to you unless you know internal alternator parts,i will post a picture tomorrow of what's going on with them.
I went thru 4 suppliers of rotors before i found one that was trustworthy,& even then i still have to epoxy them.It's a combo of heat,RPM,& centrifical force.They are just a feat of poor engineering.
On another note,Motorcraft AKA:Stock Ford,is no longer making alternators:uh oh:
All alternators starting on the 2010 model year are farming out to Bosch,Mitsubishi & who knows from there.
Factory OEM parts for Motorcraft alternators are NLA,since that the companys that made those O.E. parts are not continuing to support Ford anymore.
And i thought us old GS/GN Buick guys had it hard,your cars are still in production.:??:
I've had my share of comebacks on the '03-'04's & 95% are from the rotors breaking the slip-ring wire that connects to the rotor bobbin.Probably that makes no sense to you unless you know internal alternator parts,i will post a picture tomorrow of what's going on with them.
I went thru 4 suppliers of rotors before i found one that was trustworthy,& even then i still have to epoxy them.It's a combo of heat,RPM,& centrifical force.They are just a feat of poor engineering.
On another note,Motorcraft AKA:Stock Ford,is no longer making alternators:uh oh:
All alternators starting on the 2010 model year are farming out to Bosch,Mitsubishi & who knows from there.
Factory OEM parts for Motorcraft alternators are NLA,since that the companys that made those O.E. parts are not continuing to support Ford anymore.
And i thought us old GS/GN Buick guys had it hard,your cars are still in production.:??:
It was the voltage regulator inside the alternator that went bad...
....Mine went bad about 2 days ago..Got a new one that day..Installed in about 30 mins with no lift just jacks. Life Time Warranty Now FTW!
If you've modded your motor (upper pulley/lower crank pulley) you have a greater chance of having your alternator fail. I do not recommend the PA alternator. Too many cases of them failing. I only recommend the Start 'N Charge and OEM, in that order. The Start N' Charge is the only alternator that I am aware of that actually is designed for a modded Terminator.
Well,for some reason i'm not allowed to post pictures?:shrug
ont i have enough posts here?:??:
ont i have enough posts here?:??:
Start-n-Charge,do you have a #,link to your sight???
Thanks!
Thanks!
yet another awesome thread on SVT performance........killer info here thanks for posting this
while I did upgrade the alt pulley on my car....im sure its just a matter of time before it craps out on me.
while I did upgrade the alt pulley on my car....im sure its just a matter of time before it craps out on me.
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