Looks like a muddy BLAST. Happy not to be cleaning the muck out of everywhere. Nice pix, BTW. You might want to consider adding a battery boost box to your recovery equipment. Not only does it make jumping a dead battery much easier, but you can also leave it hooked up to your problem child and hopefully drive it out eliminating the tow.The only question now: Was it worth it??
You have to have a alternator rebuild shop in Stockton/Lodi. Only thing is if the windings are shot it's trash. You need to put together a $100 rebuild kit as a wild horse exclusive product.Mitch Chiming in with an Update: Looks like it's gonna be alternator pull day(hopefully today). I took my skid plate off and sprayed the mess out of the alternator with the electric cleaner. I disconnected negative battery terminal to reset the system. Then I went for a test drive keeping an eye on my voltage and I was running at 12 V for a while before it dumped to 11.6 Obviously that didn't work great.
I was hoping I'd get the easy way out, but it looks like there will be more to the story. It's doesn't look like an insanely hard unistall(hopefully I didn't just screw myself by saying that, right? haha) On the 2.3, it looks a little more complex. BUT enough typing, wish me luck!
Oh and you might as well enjoy the pics that that I got sacrificing the rigI'll post below
So true, Sand as well, dunes that is. Super fine and wears out parts. A side by side is 100% better for that. Cannot avoid mud in the PNW but I stay out of the deep muck.Mud sucks and I avoid it if at all possible. When I was younger, my buddies and I went mudding all the time and we had a blast. What I learned in those years is that mud gets everywhere and you can never really get it all out. It's hard on parts, causes premature wear, promotes rust, is terrible on brakes, etc., etc... I also used to be an avid duck hunter and mud was just part of the game - a lot of good memories, but give me rocks any day.
That being said, I love watching others send it and learning the lessons that go along with it. "Hey Vern, hold my beer!"
Ain't it a 245 amp alternator?
I guess I should have clarified... I mean at idle.
Now that you've seen how its mounted, do you think a shield of some sort could be bolted around it without causing it to overheat but still keeping it from getting thrashed with mud?So this is going to be a big write up that I'm hoping will answer most of the questions concerning the alternator situation. First up, we are currently working on a video of the removal and cleaning of the non-functioning alternator. Hopefully that will be up in a couple weeks. For those who aren't big on YouTube, this write up is for you.
Warranty? To start, I went to work pulling the alternator out of the 2.7. The most popular question has been, was it covered by warranty? Unfortunately the dealership told me that because "the dirt would be hard to miss," it couldn't be warrantied. Some have asked for the name of the dealership but I'm not going to put them on blast. They were great in helping us secure our Broncos in 2021, and have had fairly great service since then.
Once I decided to tackle this project, it took me a while to figure out how to pull the alternator (the main hangup being the fact that I spent probably 30 minutes looking for a tensioner.) On the 2.7, the alternator utilizes a "stretch belt." You need a special tool to remove. Once I got the alternator out, I spent the next couple hours guessing how to disassemble the alternator so I could clean it properly.
Check out the Bronco 2.7L Alternator mud and gunk:
The alternator disassembly went alright considering I had no idea what I was doing.Once I began putting it back together, I decided that even if this process did work, it was probably smart to carry a spare alternator. Brand new Ford alternators for the Bronco cost a whopping $700+ but I figured better to have it than to be left stranded again if the old alternator decided to quit at a random time.
Once the alternator was put back together, I tried to get it tested at 4 different auto parts stores(Napa, Oreillys, Advanced, Auto Zone) all of which told me they could NOT test it because it wasn't in their system yet. A few shops tried getting crossover part numbers but none could land on a solid solution. To answer the question of a pick-n-pull type solution, from what I understand, there are no crossovers. Because the Bronco comes with AC power outlets and other electronic bells and whistles, it's slightly different from others out there. Not saying one of them couldn't work, but I wouldn't know which one to try or recommend to those wanting to go that route.
Anyways, I was left with two solutions: I could hop on youtube and try to learn how to bench test the alternator myself, or I could stuff the cleaned alternator back in the Bronco and hope for the best. (The best being codes cleared and the charging system functioning properly). I decided to go with that latter for the sake of the video and I had the alternator bolted back up in under an hour. I started the rig up, turned on the volt gauge, went for a test drive and monitored the output closely. To my surprise, I was right where I should be (13.3-14.9 is what it was bouncing back and forth between).
As of right now, it seems like the process has worked! I'm still a little wary as to whether or not this is the ultimate fix or if most people should just buy a new alternator & be done with it. If you do intend on trying this method should your alternator go out, we will be coming out with a couple how-to videos highlighting the process so definitely check out the YouTube channel and subscribe so you don't miss that. If you guys have any more questions, drop them below and I'll do my best to answer. Thanks for reading! Peace!- Mitch
The plan right now is to shoot a How To Video on removing the alternator for the 2.7. The only thing I wonder with the cleaned alternator is how long it will last. Not sure if I want to replace it yet or not. I guess I will have to decide which one to put back in when I do the removal video. Is anyone interested in seeing how long the cleaned alternator will last? Or should I just keep it as a spare? -Mitch
