locked up alternator

[MikeLikesMazda]

so my car has been sitting in the driveway for about a week and a half waiting for the new header. it finally comes so i install it and take it for a test drive. 5 minutes into the drive my temp gauge shoots up so i pull over and check it out. the belt that controls the water pump/alternator snapped. i looked and found that the pulley on the alternator was locked up. before i pay a shop for a new alternator and install, is there any way i can fix it without getting a new one?

 

[Tom03es]

Probably not. If the alternator is locked up, that means that it is bound up on something- most likely internally. You could maybe remove the alternator, open it up and see what's going on. But my gut tells me that if it locked up once, it'll lock up again.

 

[Chawk]

that is weird, are you sure something is not jamming it up? I had a bolt come loose and jam the power steering/ a/c belt one time before. I cant imagine would would jam it up like that, and if it was jammed then how would it start in the first place? i would think that it would immediately cut off or make a horrible noise if it was jammed.

 

[njaremka]

the stock alternators suck. mine locked up on me because the bearings got rusty and seized. no real fix for that, other than getting a reman. replacement.

 

[Tom03es]

I think my alt is on its way out. I haven't been getting over 14 volts with the car running all week. This morning it was in the mid 13s.

Not looking forward to replacing it. Nik, did you take yours out the top or the bottom of your car when you did yours? I can get the intake manifold off in about an hour, so I may bring it out through the top.

 

[njaremka]

yeah, i ended up taking it out the top, moving the intake manifold out of the way. the other option, was to remove it out the bottom, but then you have to move the drive axle out of the way. the alternator is NOT in a good spot for replacement. the lesser of two evils for me was to move the intake manifold.

 

[Tom03es]

the lesser of two evils for me was to move the intake manifold.

Definitely agree. I've removed enough axles on FWD cars to gain access to other things on other cars- I'll stick to working on my feet as much as possible.

 

[shane02pro5]

Actually the pass side axle is very easy to get out of the way compared to removing the IM. Unbolt the bottom 2 bolts on the strut and the cross blt on the ball joint and 2 bolts on the axle support mount.

...and 1 endlink bolt

 

[njaremka]

^^ i just didnt want to deal with any of that

 

[MikeLikesMazda]

neither do i, and i just got word from the shop. $460 for new alternator, new belt, and labor. pretty big dent in my pocket but im starting to have withdrawls lol

 

[shane02pro5]

Dude Diy Ftw!