alternator upgrade?

I believe it was Delco regulators that we were having problems with and used a different brand the last time. Check with Brian Crall for accurate infromation. You can pm him - Rifledriver

 

Just re-do the rebuild. Seems mine eats the parts about every 18 months. Re-did mine 2 weeks ago, took a couple hours at home with the alternator still in the car.

I also had hoped that the rebuilds would last years, like they do on "normal" cars, but the headers being so close, I think the heat just cooks the diode pack. (Caveat: I have unsheilded Fabspeed headers.)

Once I accepted that this is another crazy maintenance item of these crazy cars, I just started ordering 2-3 sets of parts to rebuild. When I use the last set (1 more left) I'll simply re-order 2-3 more.

John

 

Here is THE definitive thread on the subject. It has complete directions, part numbers, and sources. I did this rebuild upgrade to my OEM alternator - fantastic.


http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124504&highlight=transpo


BTW, this upgrade/rebuild will pretty much solve the frequent heat-related rebuilds for those of you complaining of this issue. Also, fabricate a heat shield of sheet metal and line it with some of the Mylar heat shielding available through, e.g., Summit Racing or, at the very least, purchase a heat blanket alternator wrap from the aforementioned source.

 

Yes to the use of the RN-02 rectifier, but I used the Regitar regulator.

 

Dyno = no airflow. All kinds of failures happen during dyno sessions because everything gets so heat soaked. I fried a power steering pump once (on another car).

I hope you took my advice to reassemble the alternator with allen bolts, because I have rebuilt the alternator in situ in a short amount of time.

Jay

 

THE MAN, HIMSELF. We all owe Jay a sincere debt of gratitude for starting the original thread.

My Holcombe link is dead also. I'll look around and posting something if I find it.

 

Nations Starter and Alternator (www.nationsautoelectric.com) can get you pretty much anything you want; just give them your alternator's Nippondenso part number and tell them which components you want...they'll give you lots of options in terms of various manufacturer's offerings

 

Make sure the alternator is properly grounded with the threaded silver ground cable. That caused me to rebuilt mine four times, one ofter another in two days.

 

John,
What style exhaust manifolds do you have, stock? That does not seem normal to have to rebuild that often. I have only done mine once, preventively about three years ago (45k miles or there about) I am now at 57k miles.

 

My manifolds are Fabspeed. I do have an aluminum heat shield between them and the alternator, but the engine bay definitely still gets hot.

Obviously, I would rather not rebuild the alternator that often, but it really is quite straightforward. Another silly quirk of these cars. Perhaps the Regitar stuff wasn't as reliable as we thought?

John

 

I have several friends locally with 355s, none of us have had to rebuild an alternator due to failure yet, though a couple of us have done the Regitar upgrade. We all have oem or QV London manifolds, with oem shielding. I suspect your shielding might need upgrading, from what was provided by Fabspeed.

You do have the ground strap added to your alternator, yes?

 

Yes I have the ground strap. No doubt unshielded headers contribute to the short lifespan of the alt.

Just glad the rebuild is simple.

 

Indeed it is incredibly easy, and no one should feel intimidated to attempt it with the alternator in place. But if you need the bearings replaced, you will need to remove it.

 

Yes, that is correct. For just the electrical bits, though, it's a half-hour job once the car is up in the air. Even with the slow-motion jacking ritual, interruptions, cleanup, etc, I did it in 2 hours last go-round.

 

John:

Go online, e.g., to Summit Racing. They sell insulated Mylar starter/alternator "blankets". In addition, they have sheets of the same material which can be cut to fit the alternator shields and glued in-place with high temperature adhesive. This material will markedly reduce the temperature and it is quite inexpensive.

 

Great tip, thanks Scott!

I will check them out.