[Vwdiesel] 2003 Golf ALT symptoms - any other possibilities?

[Matt Alkire]

Replacing the pulley isn't too bad on the 2004+ cars, but on the ALH, it's
a pain in the rear to get to.  I could not break it loose, and wound up
taking it to the local VW mechanic to try.  He was *just* able to break it
loose.  He only charged me $40 to R&R the pulley and install the new belt.

On the PD engines, the alternator is located at the top of the motor.  It's
very easy to replace the pulley, but I wouldn't call replacing it on the
ALH a 'half hour' job.

When I replaced my alternator, it wasn't terribly difficult.  It only took
around 2-3 hours.  You have to remove the compressor and one of the rad
fans in order to remove it from the car, though that wasn't horribly
difficult, just work.  As a side benefit, my hands were a lovely shade of
black when I was done. :-D

Failure occurred at 260K miles, FWIW.

-Matt


On Thu, Aug 14, 2014 at 3:01 PM, Andrew .Libby <libbybapa at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have also found the pulley life to be MUCH shorter than the alt life.
>  While replacing the pulley is quicker, I can't imagine replacing an alt on
> any of the vw diesels taking longer than an hour.
>
> I would add that there is an intrinsic conflict of interest with the advice
> given by 'shop guys'.  If speaking from their own self-interest, their
> recommendation will always be to do more labor than necessary and replace
> more expensive parts in order for them to make more money.  Another benefit
> is that they limit their own risk.  If speaking in the interest of the
> customer it will be to replace only the parts necessary in order to
> minimize the long-term cost of owning/maintaining the vehicle.  The two
> points of interest are diametrically opposed and I have found that more
> often then not, 'shop guys' speak from their own interest rather than the
> interest of the customer.
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 14, 2014 at 11:47 AM, Travis . <tgott at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The alt pulley takes 1/2 hour if you have never done one before. Taking
> > the whole alt out takes likely 2 hours to do and the much greater parts
> > cost. As for them failing at the same time-I replaced my alt pulley at
> > around 70K miles. I was at 150K miles when my 04 started on fire shorting
> > out at -35 outside and there were no pulley issues yet nor alternator
> > issues (fire near starter-not alt). I know I would only do the pulley
> again.
> > Travis
> >
> > From: tadc at europa.com
> > Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 11:01:49 -0700
> > Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] 2003 Golf ALT symptoms - any other possibilities?
> > To: malkire at gmail.com
> > CC: tgott at hotmail.com; vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> >
> > Sounds familiar - my alt pulley started making funny noises and broke a
> > few minutes later.
> > The guy at my shop recommended just replacing the whole alt because it
> > often doesn't last much longer than the pulley and the labor isn't cheap
> to
> > do twice.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Aug 13, 2014 at 2:55 PM, Matt Alkire <malkire at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > This happened to me. My pulley started chirping, so I ordered a new one.
> > The day after ordering, the old one exploded. Took the alternator belt
> with
> > it.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > It was around $30 for the pulley and $35 for the tool.
> >
> >
> >
> > The sad part is, 6 months later the alternator died.
> >
> >
> >
> > -Matt
> >
> >
> >
> > > On Aug 13, 2014, at 4:56 PM, "Travis ." <tgott at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > >
> >
> > > The alt pulley is a clutched pulley. Sometimes they fail and lock
> solid.
> > Sometimes they start to slip and don't turn the alt over enough to
> charge.
> > Rarely but it does happen-the pulley explodes. Pull the belt off, put a
> > screwdriver into the inside fan blades and then turn the pulley. It
> should
> > turn one direction only. If turns both or neither it is bad. $65 is
> cheaper
> > then $400. You need a special tool/s to get the pulley off (another $35
> or
> > can be rented from someone).
> >
> >
> >
> > > Travis
> >
> > >
> >
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