alternator bad luck
new f-body luck!! Well I just bought a 2001 trans am m6 a couple of months ago and noticed the alternator was bad when the lights would flicker at night. I finally got around to replacing it yesterday and then immediately following that the idler pulley goes bad!! So this morning I replace the idler pulley and then on my way home from a cruise tonight the stupid alternator takes a crap and is barely charging. Looks like I get to do that fun stuff again!! Good thing it has a lifetime warranty.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 345
Likes: 1
From: TX
Good move on the lifetime warranty. I got one for the alternator on my last daily driver, an 89 Formula 350. Had to replace it 4 times in the 5 years I owned it, only paid for the 1st one, Autozone paid for the other 3. 
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 34,659
Likes: 2,581
From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Alternator rebuilds can be very poor depending on where you go. I'd definitaly go for the lifetime warranty if you get one from a place like Autozone. Most rebuilds from parts store chains are pretty bad, in my experiance.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 345
Likes: 1
From: TX
The alternator was so easy to replace, I could pop it off & on in 10 minutes. A friend at work had an 88 vette. His alternator crapped when the car was 4 years old. He went for a factory replacement... it lasted 2 years, and he had to gnaw on the price weenie again. I didn't.
BTW, the original external regulator alternator in my 71 is still going storng, but I did have to replace the brushes at 150k. The design on those things is so simple, it only took me about an hour to do it, start to finish.
BTW, the original external regulator alternator in my 71 is still going storng, but I did have to replace the brushes at 150k. The design on those things is so simple, it only took me about an hour to do it, start to finish.
Haha! "Gnawing on the price weenie". That's funny stuff! 
Yeah, I guess if it's that easy to replace, it might not be a bad deal. I had a buddy that would buy AutoZone clutches and would have to replace them once a year. Now, that's just stupid.
Yeah, I guess if it's that easy to replace, it might not be a bad deal. I had a buddy that would buy AutoZone clutches and would have to replace them once a year. Now, that's just stupid. 
