The bolt that is covered by the rubber boot on the alternator has a black plastic piece below the locking nut. Anyone know what it's for and is it necessary to have? It's been 3 months since I removed the alternator and when I did I set that piece in the engine bay and continued with p/s pump and other things and it fell on the ground. I had no idea what part it came off of at the time. Well now I know, but I no longer have it and parts store doesn't have one either. I'll call dealer tomorrow but in case anyone can give me the scoop on this piece before then I would really appreciate it.

 

Its only necessary if you want to avoid a fire. That is the positive(charging wire) and the plastic piece is an insulator.

 

To avoid a fire is important to me, so then I'll get another one. Now that I name the correct name for it I'll try searching some auto part stores to see if I can pick one up. Thanks for the info!

 

You won't find it by itself at an auto parts store.

Should be a part of this kit, IIRC - http://www.courtesyparts.com/23156-t...-p-130596.html

Probably be best to just strip the piece off of an alternator at a junkyard.

 

The junkyard was my first thought but the closest one to me is 20 miles away. I might as well spend the same for a new one from dealer 3 miles from me than gas getting to the junkyard lol... This really sucks, I had the positive cables connected then when I went to connect the negative I got a huge spark that melted negative bolt I had attached to the terminal. Would not having that black piece be a contributor to that spark? I didn't have the wires wrong but just wondering if you guys would know...

 

If that black insulator/spacer piece isn't there, the tab on ring terminal for the B+ wire to the alternator will likely touch the case, grounding it out. Basically by not reusing that piece, you created a direct short to ground right from the battery.

Not a good thing.

 

After the huge spark I started checking all my fuses to see if any were damaged. The 120a fusible link for the battery was toast. I hope it saved any damages else where like the alternator itself. I'm pulling the alternator now and taking it to Autozone to have it tested. No sense in looking for that piece if the whole alt is shot. We'll see, I'll pop back in with the results. Is there a way I can test it with a multimeter? I'd rather test it myself without having to take it out.

 

If you have a way of measuring high amperage, yes you can test it yourself.

If not, all you can really check is voltage at idle with and without loads, which only half informs you about the health of the alternator.

This is with the engine running, obviously. You can't check it without it spinning, no.

 

You probably didn't do anything to the alternator. What you did was make a short circuit for your battery through the wire going to your alternator and then through the case of the alternator. If you are lucky you only need to replace the insulator you lost and the fuse that was blown. You have to spin the alternator to test it, but it should be allright since the big spark you got was from the battery.

 

You wont be able to test it without the insulator.

 

I went ahead and pulled it, took it to Autozone and had it tested there. Thankfully they didn't need the insulator. However it did fail. So for the last 2 years I was thinking the battery was bad but it turns out the alternator was the issue. I have had atleast 12 cars my whole life and not once had to replace an alternator until now. That's why the alternator being bad was the last thing I thought of. If it wasn't for losing the insulator and getting the big spark I would have never known til I spent cash on new battery and a number of other electrical parts. Thanks for the information fellas.

I'm have one built for me at AES should be ready by 4 this afternoon and costing me only $95 with the core. Lowest I could find from parts store was $159 with core (rmfd). I'll let you know how it goes. Btw, I'm having a hard time removing the 120a battery fuse link. It has a hook like connection to it. I broke it trying to pull it out. I have fuse link case in my hand but the prong parts are still in the fuse box. I got one of them to come out because it was held in place by a screw but can't figure out how to get the one out any thoughts?

 

It should be bolted in on both sides.

 

That's what I figured. It's been a real pita gettig the connectors apart to remove the fuse box. My father in-law gave us this 6 years ago and he's had since it was new. Never had any work done on it only oil and tranny fluid changes. Stuff is like aged together trying my best not to break things as I fix em, lol! Thanks Pmohr for keepin up wit me on this. I'll check back in tomorrow once I have the alt put in.

 

Ok I got the alternator yesterday and installed it last night. This whole thing started from replacing the head gaskets. Now I've finally got everything put back together. Problem now is when I start it there is some rough noise coming from the timing chain area. I don't know if it's the chain retentioner not full of oil yet or if it's the pistons and valves hitting each other. I made sure the timing was set correctly several times. I uploaded a 20 second video on youtube to see if anyone can tell me what it could be. It's real quick cause I didn't want to damage the valves if that's what the noise is. Please help!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O642r-vcz8

 

Timing chain rattle, just needs to run so the tensioner gets primed with oil, and the air bleeds out. You'll hear the same thing after doing a water pump. Let it idle, race the engine a few times, drive it around the block.

FWIW if you hear any kind of valve noise that sounds like that, the damage is already done the second you hear that noise.

 

I thought it might be the timing chain tensioner. I have never heard the difference between that and valves hitting pistons. All I know is if it's a loud unusual noise to turn it the hell off quick! I'll start it up in the morning with the camera rolling until the noise goes away. Thank you Pmohr you are one the true greats here in the org for sure! Much appreciative to you, Asand1 and Polar for the quick and helpful replies. I'll let you guys know how it goes in the morning.