Now for the next drama with my Max. Once again, my Max has chewed another alternator. This one survived for about 1.5 years if I recall correctly and so I decided enough was enough and sourced a 150A unit from Ohio Generator to meet my power requirements.

However, although their pulley is 46mm (4mm smaller than the Iraggi piece of junk that I got which only lasted for two months), the car is definitely not keeping the alternator's revs up long enough at idle to keep the regulator happy. Especially now that I have an air leak, most likely at the IACV from what my ears tell me, the idle seems to hunt between 500 - 800 RPM. Once it gets to 500 RPM, the alternator is obviously far from happy and the regulator says "sort your crud out" and it ceases to charge.

My major problem is that I'm running an Unorthodox Racing underdrive pulley from way back when. Fast forward 8 years later and I'm seriously regretting I bothered. Now while it doesn't surprise me, I've noticed that UR are no longer making any pulleys for the 3rd gens let alone the standard size pulley that I was hoping to get (Ultra SC I think). This is really beginning to suck.

So what's the situation with getting a standard sized crankshaft pulley? Are there any UR SC pulleys laying around in someone's shop or is OEM now the only way to go? I can't find a single local source and I'd rather not deal with wreckers on the off-chance that the rubber is horribly worn on it. Then my only obstacle will be to get a machinist to cut the Ohio Generator's pulley down to a 4PK size instead of a friggin' 6PK size that it's at now otherwise the A/C belt will rub and cut on the pulley for sure.

 

Me?

I would fix the air leak and idle issue - the alternator's happiness then comes along at no price!

 

I had a feeling that's what was going to be suggested. I was just looking for an easy way out since this motor won't be in the car for long, hopefully.

 

ASP Racing down here in Stafford ,Tx (Houston surrounding area) can make you a pulley that is Oem dimensions but made of light weight 6061 aluminium....aspracing.com 18779288678...I'm running a VG30E with a UDP so my OEM is just sitting here...If you want I can let them copy mine, to save money on shipping!

 

That would be a good idea because I no longer have my original OEM. I just took a look at their site and as far as pricing goes, I'd imagine they'd charge a bit more than US$125 for a custom OEM size pulley. At any rate, I definitely want to proceed with it as I really don't think underdrive pulleys are worth it once there's a turbo in place.

Tell me what you need me to do and I'll be more than happy to oblige.

 

Mods on turbo cars are always with greater whp gains than N/a cars, there is a difference... but 5-9 whp really is only noticeable on a dyno, your body can't feel that small of a difference. You may be able to notice the car motor accelerating faster than b4.....

 

can they copy your VG UDP too? since UR doesn't make them anymore, if you could get them made for us..... there's plenty of VG guys out there that would love to have UDPs.

 

I do recall the day that I fitted it, the throttle was a little more responsive but that was it. Quite frankly, I won't miss it. I just want to get this sorted out so I no longer have to have my idle adjusted to 1200RPM just to keep the alternator happy.

Let me know what you need me to do. Cheers man.

 

I might have a VG pulley at the house. If so, I can take it by ASP and take care of it for you in person- they're not far from my drive to/from work.

If not, I can call a mechanic friend and he should have a spare laying around. (or someone can send me a stock pulley)

I have a couple pulleys at the house, but I'm not sure if they're the stock VG pulley or one of the ones from my pile of broken VEs laying around.

 

Ah Matt, where would my car be without your help dude? Ok then, if you can swing that, me love you long time.

Now to pull out my right rear window regulator which decided to break only yesterday. I can't win with this car.

 

You don't drive it enough. *knock on wood* I haven't broken a regulator in 8 years on this car, and all of them are OEM originals that I repaired right after I bought the thing.

It'll be about a week before I can get over there, but I'll drop by and chat with them about the VG pulleys and get you a price on an OE size and an udnerdrive pulley.

 

maybe they can make a lightened one with the alternator section overdriven and the other sections underdriven.

 

i have a spare stock pulley but the rib dividers are chipped a little bit. that shouldn't matter though right? as long as a good angular chunk is in good condition..

 

Ah, you already worked on them! That doesn't count. The first regulator broke on the front left window back in '99. This is now the second regulator so for a 16 year old car, I'm doing pretty well.

Don't worry about price. Just tell the guys to do me an OE size and tell me how much cash you want me to send your way. I need to sort this out asap.

 

I'm sure that's a possibility but quite frankly, I think it's pointless for me since I'm running a turbo. If I want more horsepower, I'll just position the accelerator pedal closer to the firewall.

 

once you get a good set of working regulators... just fill up the white plastic part that the cable/bead pass through with JB weld... if done properly, the motor will burn out LONG before the cable snaps that plastic. I haven't done this yet on my own, but it's on my to-do list.

 

i look at it in that more HP with less throttle = better MPG

 

I was thinking of doing that. I've got some Loctite Liquid Steel left over which I've used on a set of old Ford window regulator gears with success as well as to rebuild my lower intake manifold thermostat inlet. I noticed that part was busted in addition to the guide at the top of the regulator's rail.

 

Fair point but it doesn't buy me that dramatic an improvement as my Jacobs ignition system did.

 

the guide is the effect, not the cause. when the little metal bead strips its way out of the regulator 'crane' if you will, it usually breaks when you're raising the window... so the load-free cable flies up and drags the bead through the guide, thus destroying it. i've seen 5 or 6 failed regulators and all but one of them had this issue. the one that didn't had a burned motor. so i combined my neighbor's good motor with my good track, and put it in her car. easy $60

i was up under my car designing a prototype for a new item i might start selling..... and i noticed i need a new pulley too! mine is chipped! so uh.. whenever matt gets that aluminum one made at ASP, if the price is good, I might just jump on it.

 

I see. In which case, I might as well do the other two existing regulators now as a preventative measure. That'll be one for the long weekend then.

Edit: Looks like there's no need. I got the new regulator in today and it has a fabricated steel enclosure within the plastic casing to keep the bead from tearing through.

 

Matt might be a good idea to get them to make a few more...maybe a short run of 5-10 or something? i'm sure there will be enough interest for at least 5.

 

Why bother? My 170k mile original alternator put out 70A at idle with an ASP pulley installed.

The one you really want to underdrive is the water pump and power steering pulleys to prevent them from overspinning and just whipping the coolant into a froth. big issue on the SRs over 6000rpm.

 

Yes when I spoke to the shop foreman, she said they can make an VG UDP...The only thing I'm curious about is, How many want Oem sized and how many want underdriven size pulleys....If I can I'll see if they can make both. The audio boys would love the lightened but Oem sized pulley!

 

any idea the prices for either? UDP would be cheaper cuz it's less material, right? anyhow, i can't actually get one right now because i'm in need of a job first but i'll DEFINITELY get one once i have cash flow again, cuz my stock pulley has just about seen enough.

 

for those who think they need more output.

 

Heheh. Good to see the VG isn't all forgotten.

 

So should we get the ASP crew to make it a hybrid ... underdrive the power steer/water pump section and standard size the A/C and alternator sections?

 

you sure you'd need a standard size a/c, rather than underdriven? granted you are in AUS so it might get considerably hotter than in the US. Summer temps here don't generally get much past 40*C, but usually closer to 35*C.

 

Absolutely. Our climate is said to be the harshest when it comes to summer. You guys get the gold medal for winter.

 

so i heard its opossite there? like wen we have winter u guys have summer and wen we have summer u guys have winter....true?

 

Correct.

 

so, you already having a UDP, are noticing insufficient cooling at lower RPM? what's the temps like out there right now?

 

Precisely. At idle, my A/C is insufficient. Once I'm driving again, it's all good.

 

I believe Robin is the sales Manager name, stated about $150, when I spoke to her in person about 6 months ago. If you guys are really interested please sign up to let me know how many what so I can give her an estimate quanity and maybe lower our production cost! I will ask for underdriven sized and Oem sized to be produced.

 

I personally think you have some other issues causing your altenator output to be low/ and possibly causing your water temps to be high! My VG will be on the road soon but my 03 has an UDP from UR and the altenator output and the water temp are fine in hot *** Houston!
If i were you I would check as many grounding points and clean them, the spades and the bolts to ensure clean and secure grounds and prime them with some zinc chromate to last and endure for a long time of operation.

 

Hang on dude. For starters, I have a lot more in my Max than you do. MoTeC M800 ECU, Jacobs Pro-Street ignition system, granted the stereo isn't exactly the most cranking but it still packs a total of 650WRMS which I use regularly, add to that a bunch of other gadgets and gizmos including Nokia car phone, Autometer gauges and a couple items which I won't go into and you'll find that my vehicle actually has some pretty big demands which the 90A alternator is not able to satisfy once the air con compressor engages. Hence, I upgraded to an Ohio Generator unit of which the result is that at idle, the alternator does not put out as much as the OEM. Now the Ohio guys did compensate for that issue by supplying it with a 46mm pulley (albeit a 6-rib instead of a 4-rib so I'll most likely have to trim it down when I get the OEM crankshaft pulley).

As for my water temps, they are not high at all. In fact, I never complained about water temps so I'm not sure what gave you the impression that they're high. The engine runs a very comfortable temperature and all is well. In fact, the UDP has served its purpose well in this area and it has keep my steering nice and heavy which is handy on the highway.

My only issue with this UDP is the alternator running too slow at idle and my desire to have the A/C compressor working at a speed more appropriate at idle so that it's keeping me cooler when stuck in traffic.

Dude, you're talking to an electrical engineer here. If I can't ensure all that is good from the get go, I need to find me another career path.

I've done all the homework and used silver grease on all my contacts, upgraded my grounding with the appropriate wiring and I can say that the electrical system is set up better than anything else out there. The only kink in the armour is from the alternator which now needs the OEM sized pulley to keep it running a decent speed at idle.

 

Great! Congrats on your status...My technical background is deep as well, so why not upgrade your existing altenator by either sending it off to one of the many altenator modifiers such as PowerMaster. Or retrofit a 4th/5th/6th/or 7th gen with your Electrical Engineering degree and solve that small issue. As for the water temp oversite I meant A/c output, clean that coil and charge it after that while spraying water on the condenser to make it absorb even more refrigirant....or check your system for a leak or blockage.

 

Ok, now you're just being facetious. The A/C system has always been an average performer at idle since I put on the UDP. It's just that over the years, I've become less tolerant of that performance.

As for upgrading the existing alternator, I don't see how that is any different to having one built by Ohio Generator? If anything, it is more economically feasible for me to have a new one supplied as was the case with Ohio Generator compared to me shipping my unit out and then paying for return shipping. It doesn't take your degree to know that there are easier ways than what you just suggested.

Thanks for the pointer with ASP.

 

I'm not being an ***. I know that Powermaster offers 150A altenators. I guessing that maybe what you need with all your gizmos. I would definately call a supplier for ambulance auto equipment cause their altenators have some super high amp output.