[DML] Alternator story

["Matthew P. Olans" <mpolans@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey everyone,
        I had a pretty positive experience with an alternator issue that I
wanted to share.  Rob Grady came out to support the AZ-D in his yearly visit
back in January.  I've been having some strange noises coming from my engine
compartment and after all the nuts and bolts were tightened we discovered
the alternator was making a bit of noise.  This alternator is the AC/Delco
105 amp model.  Rob figured it was probably the bearings as the Island Turbo
alternator mounts are hand made and the one I have isn't perfectly straight.
Ryan Gould, our club mechanic and technical manager, has shimmed the mount
to make it straighter but the damage had been done.  After talking with Rob
I decided to buy a new alternator and have this one reconditioned as a
spare.
        Since adding all the electrical equipment to my car I was not sure
if the 105 could handle everything.  I knew it would be close but probably a
bit of a load for it.  Rob and I had some conversations with John Hervey and
John suggested the D140 with a small pulley for a lower turn-on speed.  John
called me to talk this over and when the decision was made to go ahead, he
shipped it out the next day.  It arrived in 2 days.  Since I already had an
AC/Delco alternator on my DeLorean, this was basically plug-and ply,
although I had to get a smaller belt due to the smaller alternator pulley.
The installation was pretty straightforward.  John included some unique but
easy to follow instructions with the alternator and Ryan and I followed
them.
        I've put about 1000 miles on my car since the installation with no
issues.  The D140 performs very nice and is quite stable.  It's also quick
to recover when going from idle at night with lights and A/C on to driving
speeds.  I've noticed on the highway under a good load it has a faint
turbine-like whine that's actually pretty cool, but otherwise is silent.
        John called me at home with details on the 105 as well.  Since it
had over 10,000 miles on it we decided to go ahead and replace the bearings.
Everything else checked out nicely and it performed very well.  John sent it
back to me for a nominal fee and shipping to keep for a spare.  It now spins
silent and I am sure will perform just as it did should I or another club
member need to use it again.  John was also open to the possibility of
selling me one of the higher amp alternators for my GMC Jimmy when the
current one dies.  He's very friendly and easy to work with and takes the
time to call you and go over everything.
        All in all this was a very good experience.  Rob put me in touch
with John Hervey about the new alternator and the bearing replacement on the
old one.  Ryan Gould came over and replaced the alternator and belts with me
so I was sure to get it right the first time.

We have good people out there.  Just wanted to share my recent experience.

Matthew
VIN 16816




To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx

For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com

To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/