Re: When your car talks...

["Brad Fritzges" <bradf@enter.net>]

Jason,

That sounds similar to my only mechanical failure ever on my '87 16v. I was
about 6 hours into an 8 hour trip to Canada in March 1991 when the same
horrible noise came from the engine compartment. I thought something major
let loose and pulled over. When the rpm's dropped, the noise stopped, and no
visible problems under the hood. So, off I go again and about 10 min. later
it happens again, and this time I notice the alt. light on during the noise.
Of course this happened about 4:45 pm on a Friday afternoon in the vicinity
of Watertown, NY. The local VW dealer service dept was gone for the day. 

As the problem was somewhat intermittent, we decided to press on to Canada
(probably not prudent) and made it to our destination. On the following
Monday, I got it to a VW dealer in Kingston, Ont. who replaced the
alternator for a mere 649.09 canadian (with the exchange rate March '91 it
cost $564.98 us)  I bet you feel a little better now about what you paid!



>From: Jason <jason@scirocco.org>
>To: scirocco-l@scirocco.org
>Subject: When your car talks...
>Date: Sun, Dec 20, 1998, 4:45
>

>When your car talks..... listen.
>
>About a week ago, my alternator made a squeek when I started it-- so I
>brought it to my mechanic just to have it checked out.  He told me not to
>worry about it, that the bearings were making a little bit of noise, but it
>was still within the "normal" limits.
>
>This weekend I had plans to drive out to Cincinnati to visit my SO, and to
>visit Daun Yeagley on the way.  When I got off at Daun's exit, I noticed
>that the alternator had a whine-- which it never did before.  I spoke to
>Daun about it, and we decided not to worry about it because many Bosch
>alternators whine.  At Daun's, I met Ben Harder.  We had a blast hanging
>out together, drilled out our airboxes and talked about our cars.
> 
>After we drilled my airbox, we took it for a drive in my car.  When I first
>started it, I heard some roughness from my alternator at idle, and then it
>whined between 1000 and 2000rpm... We took the car for a drive, and all was
>well.
>
>About 2 hours later, I left Daun's for the 1-hour drive to my SO's.
>Everything was normal... until about 15 miles down the road, my headlights
>dimmed slightly and the alternator light started flashing quickly.  Then,
>the light would stop flickering, the headlights would get brighter, and
>everything was normal.  Instead of risking the 60 mile trip on dark county
>roads, I decided to turn back.  
>
>Sure enough, within about 5 miles, a HORRIBLE sound came from the engine
>compartment (I didn't know *what* the hell it was- I actually thought I
>broke a motor mount or blew a hole in the tranny)... The sound lasted for
>about 10 seconds; and then the alternator light came on for good.  Luckily,
>I was merging onto an interstate, and followed a truck very closely with
>only my parking lights on.
>
>I got back to Daun's, put the car in the garage, and popped the hood.  The
>Alt pulley had all kinds of rubbery burn marks on it, and the belt was
>hanging; frayed and nasty.  I couldn't figure out what had happened,
>because the alternator still turned freely, but I assumed at some point it
>must have seized.
>
>So, this morning, first thing, Daun called our buddy Kim who is a service
>advisor at Northland VW.  She was my only hope... and she came through,
>getting me a rebuilt Bosch alternator at her cost from a local discount VW
>parts store... I don't even want to discuss how much it cost, even at Kim's
>cost... I am still too upset.
>
>At any rate, Daun and his dad spent over THREE hours trying to replace the
>alternator... I am eternally grateful to them.  The alternator swap is
>simple, but getting the belt on was a bitch, because the A/C belt is in
>front of it-- and there's no easy way to get the A/C belt off-- we wound up
>having to remove the main pulley on the crank.  That wound up not being
>necessary, which I found out after Daun's dad called one of the mechanics
>from the dealership-- but anyways... the new alternator is in, and
>everything appears allright.
>
>The whole point of this?  Don't ignore your car when it speaks to you.  So
>far, my car has told me before it's broken every single time.  Had I
>listened to the car, and not my mechanic, I would have replaced the
>alternator last week and avoided this whole mess. 
>
>Oh well. :)
>
>Thanks for listening. :)
>  
>  Jason
>
>
>
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