80LS1T Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 So there I am driving out to my parents house in the Datsun to watch the house like a good son while they are gone, when all of a sudden my alternator decides to EXPLODE! Yeah it basically broke in half and then the cooling fins went through my god damn hood! Awesome! Time to upgrade to a fiberglass or carbon fiber hood I guess..... Pretty much had it with this motor set up. If its not one thing its another with this god for saken LT1..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad-ManQ45 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 I had a pulley bearing go on me once, put a dent in my hood...I think it was the idler pulley on my ZXT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Man that sucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skib Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 wow! thats sucky, but kind of cool that thing really blew... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoNkEyT88 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 OMG that is insane. I still have yet to check your car out. I might have a Z that drive pretty soon, taking the newest 260Z to get blasted Wednesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 In 35 yrs, I've never seen that. I don't think they make skatter shields for alternators... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoNkEyT88 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Yet........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 Yeah I've been turning wrenches professionally for 7 years and I've never seen anything like this. Looks like about $600 for a fiberglass hood from JohnC @ betamotorsports. I hate hood pins but I may have to go with some for the rear of the hood if I decided to buy this hood from John. I don't know how repairable something like this is? I'm going to get an alternator and new belt for this asap and then take it over to my painter and see what he has to say. I just a can't seem to make it through a summer with out something going wrong with the motor. Last year it was OPTI spark issues and my steering gear box seizing up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin.pk Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 I was thinking...why is a thread about an alternator in the paint and body section, but holy crap that is insane. I never would have guessed that it would slice right through the hood. It always seems to be something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Stories like this makes me glad I don't have a GM engine or car Just kidding, it's not the brand that matters. It's the person who owns it, some people just have bad luck with car (which sounds like you and me with our Datsuns) and those who don't take care of their car and blame it on the manufacturer (I admit I don't take proper care of my Mustang but I don't blame Ford for the things I've neglected). As far as the hood goes, if it was mine I would take a hammer and dolly and see how flat I could get it hoping that it didn't stretch too much. And if the cut line closed up good enough I would TIG it and hammer weld it. If it did stretch too much then it doesn't look like it would need that big of a patch panel, that looks like a good paint job there though and... I'm not a painter at all so I can't say anything on the paint side of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azcarbum Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 WTF!!................. What type of alt. is it? ( just curious ) Where did you get it? Is the case actually broken?............ INSANE! Your lucky you weren't passing someone and the blades shot off into their car!!.. Can you image explaining that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Was the back of the alternator touching the valve cover before it broke? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Wow Guy, that's really wierd. Sorry to hear about all your bad luck...but I still think you have a great setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 What kind of belt tensioner do you run? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCLOBERNOCKER47 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 DaNG! What a bummer. You gonna part with those hood vents when you get a new hood? Ill buy em off ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 Well good news my insurance company is going to cover everything but the alternator and belt. All I have to pay is my $100 deductable! Now we just have to find a hood since one from Nissan isn't available anymore. Im hoping we can just tell them that I can get a hood from a company out in CA(JohnC @ Betamotorsports). They are the same price as a new hood from Nissan if it was available. No the alternator was not touching the back of the valve cover. The cover is notched for the alterantor though(factory). I actually just put a new belt tensioner on last week with a new belt(bearing was noisey). All seemed fine and noise was gone. Never made a single noise before it blew apart. The case on the alternator is broke in half. Not sure what brand the alternator was, it was a remanufactured though. I put in on the car over 2 years ago. And it depends if I get a hood from John or if I get another non turbo hood weather or not I keep the hood vents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Check the tensioner you installed and the installation itself. It appears from the pictures that there was too much lateral load on the alternator and the casing fractured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglist Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Can you run a plastic fan on the alternator you are running? I know some of the GM alternators have plastic fans that are lighter and more efficient than the metal blade style fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismo kid Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Man I would have been pissed too. Your insurance company is great since they will cover it for you. A lot of times they will tell you since it was not orginally in the car when it was made they can not cover it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 Well its a spring loaded auto tensioner. Installation is straight forward...2 bolts hold it on. The only thing that was weird was that some of the fan blades on the alt. were bent forward when I went to do the tensioner? Not all of them though. They weren't hitting anything but they were slightly bent forward away from the alt? I have no idea why though. I didnt think much of it and just bent them back. I have State Farm as my insurance company. And I have classic collector car insurance on it. I don't think it made a difference though. They called the claims adjuster and told them what happen and they said it was covered. Wasn't a big deal to them at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.