AllVenom

People, alternators are meant to be rebuilt. You probably replaced yours with a rebuilt one anyways. Just find a shop to do it, and tell them to beef up the rotors and stators for more amperage. They put a weak *** alternator in our cars. I have had my car pullied for the last 45,000 miles with no issues with my alternator, absolutely none. But when and if I do, I will have it rebuilt for less than a 100 with more amps. Of course, I'm running a BAP and a 6lb, so more stress is on it right now and I expect it to not last in stock form for much longer, but who knows. I did change the alt. pulley though to get that ratio close to stock.

CobraBob

You can definitely save money having it rebuilt, although sometimes folks want a high-performance replacement or don't want to wait for the rebuild. You know, I've been seeing more and more 2003/2004 alternators going bad. Very unusual and I hope it isn't a warning sign that the stock alternator has longevity issues. I can understand one going bad due to the lack of a larger alternator pulley when a larger crank pulley is used, or if the car sees a lot of track racing, but many of these failures are on cars that are near stock and rarely raced. Not good.

Cobra_Commander

I don't believe alternators were MEANT to be rebuilt but either way I did put in a brand new Ford built unit (not rebuilt). I saved considerable money on the part thanks to the company I work for. So for the cost savings and reassurance of replacing it with an OEM part, it was a no brainer for me. I do understand how typically its cheaper to go rebuilt but some people just want the peace of mind and warranty provided by having the same part put in that came w/ the vehicle off the assembly line.

I do hope that CobraBob isn't correct in his diagnoses of all the 03/04 alternators having longevity issues or else I may have made a slight mistake in my replacement part. Hopefully this is figured out before too many others lose their alternators.[&:]

svt99redcobra

Yea the problem must be in the 03/04's only... mine has never had that prob. Anyone have this issue on a 99/01?

AllVenom

You won't find this issue in the 99/01 because there's no power adder overspinning the alternator.

Cobrabob, are you sure these failures are 03/04s in stock form? Most of the failures I have read about on svtperf were from pullied cars.

CobraBob

Both. I can tell you that for a fact. I would think, though, that the greater majority are from Terminators in the following two groups.
1. Those that see a lot of high RPM spinning of the motor (track, street racing, etc.). I know of one stock (or near stock, I forget) Terminator with only 15K miles on it and the alternator went.
2. Those that have 4 lb. or 6 lb. lower crank pullies with the stock alternator pulley. A 3.2" should be used with the 4 lb. and the 3.4" should be used with the 6 lb. Otherwise you are spinning the heck out of the alternator, thus shortening its lifespan.

AllVenom

Agreed. I changed to the 3.5 when I put the 6lb on mine. I did not change the alt. pulley when using the 4lb though for about 10 months. But I also didn't have a BAP putting strain on it in that form either (not that it is much of a strain, but nevertheless an addition). I guess I have been lucky up to this point with the alternator.

acrod

I really dont frequent these boards alot but I can tell you I will be on 4th alt now. I have an upper pullley and stock lower with a larger alt pulley to slow it down and they have all went out. An upper pulley doesnt affect the speed the alt is going, its just the crank pulley. I have never in the the life of the car taken it to the track or race it anywhere. I have gone through the ford oem, pa alt. and now the autozone one.

whytsnake

I think the alternator on my bone stock 03 Cobra died today, with only 38K miles on it.
The car wouldn't run after being push started, with lots of strange lights on the dash, most notably, ABS and airbag.
If there is a battery or alternator light,I didn't notice it, would it have killed Ford to include an ammeter gauge?
I don't know if it took the battery with it, I'm hoping not, but if so, I'll be replacing it with a Optima yellow top.

xxkazp3rxx

Hey guys, I got a OEM Alt. under $200 shipped... contact this guy on svtperf.com - they sell OEM ford parts 10% over invoice.

http://svtperformance.com/forums/member.php?u=21307