perrys4

Does it make sense to replace say the fuel pump, alternator and known parts that fail before they give up the ghost? Do you think that is money better spent than fixing things that won't leave me stranded?

Just want to spend my cash wisely and get the most benefit for the buck. I was going to complete the last real mechanical issues left on my car (motor mounts and shocks) but they don't feel that bad and I got to thinking that money or less of it could be better spent on other more critical things. This is my daily driver now so reliablity is a concern.

joejoe

I changed the alternator on my '81 to upgraded version a few years back. Now I have a perfectly good paris rohn with no where to go. Think you should wait till something breaks unless obvious.

perrys4

Just thinking these parts do wear out and my car has 87k on the clock so I am sure there isn't a lot of life left in them.

imfinlay

Mine has 112K with the original alternator and one original fuel pump. Don't worry about it, just have a good recovery service.

SeanR

I guess that would depend on if your pan gasket is in good shape, if you are dripping at all, replace it all at once. Then you have another 15 or so years where you don't have to worry about it.

H2

I change out most of the critical components that could strand me on the road if they were to fail while on a trip....and carry the old working parts as spares. Peace of mind. I'd much rather replace a fuel pump in my driveway than on the side of the highway 10 miles outside of Resume Speed, Montana in a rainstorm with weak flashlight batteries. I also carry spare brains and MAF and right tools. ****? Yeh. Have I ever been stranded yet? I suspect I will when something happens that I haven't pre-planned for.

H2

leperboy

I replace wear parts if they are hard to get to if I am already in there. But the fuel pump, alternator and some other parts are easy to get to and replace, and both usually will give you some warning before they go completely. Relays and other parts that can fail instantly and catastrophically may be a different issue.

If you were going on a 3000 mile cross country trip, it may be worth looking into, but if it's just means getting a tow home one day on your regular commute, seems like too much worry and hassle to replace something that works fine.

Matt

Alan

I would not and have not done any of these. Carry some spares - relays, bulbs, jumpers etc and replace things at the first sign they are actually going south. Do listen to and test things regularly (e.g. sound of fuel pump, alternator voltage, battery voltage)...

Some things like an alternator can often be fixed by a good shop - so much cheaper than a replacement new unit anyway...

Alan

worf928

My rule of thumb is that if the part is pretty easy to R&R then I'll wait for it to fail or show signs of failure. The fuel pump and alternator fall into that category.

On the other hand if the part is NOT easy to R&R then if I'm in the vicinity of the part it becomes a WYAIT item unless I know with certainty that the age of the part is less than 2/3 of its expected lifetime.

Bill Ball

Nearly all of my car is original at 187K miles. I did just change out the alternator because the original started to make bearing noise in October. I'm not sure the rebuilt alternator is going to last very long, but at least it's not making bearing noise. I will replace the bearing on the original alternator when I have the time and reinstall it. While it's out, I'll replace the regulator and brushes, as that is dirt easy to do.

I think the problem with replacing working parts prophylactically is knowing whether the repalcement part is going to last any longer than the original. My AC compressor partially seized at 130K miles. I've been through 2 replacements in the 60K miles since then.

I almost always leave well enough alone until I get a clue that a problem is developing. Sure, a catastrophic failure could strand you, but you can say that about 1/2 the parts on the car and the odds are very low of it happening.

I would carry a jumper for the fuel pump relay or a spare relay, but that's about it.

IcemanG17

Perry
The car will run for a little while with a dead alternator......a dead fuel pump is another story.....mine died last year after only 96K miles.....its pretty straight forward to change too......one way to test it is to check its internal resistance...when mine was dying it spike to over 14 ohms and not run....the new one was around 1.5 ohms.... You also have the benefit of living really close to 928intl and Greg Brown...so getting something fixed quickly shouldn't be that hard

perrys4

Ever tried to get into see Greg on short notice? He does take care of me in emergencies but it is typically a two week wait.

Bill....prophylactically? Off to dictionary.com

blown 87

The only things that I will carry when I get done with mine is a cell phone with my tow truck number and a custom 1911 and two extra magazines.

Giovanni

My father does just that. He stocks alternator, p/w pumps, brains etc etc in case his car breaks down. He also lives 3000 miles from me and parts there are generally 300-500% more expensive. I am the type that believe in replacing only broken parts. Unless you purchased the car brand new, its senseless to replace an item as a preventative item. The PO might have replaced it before selling you the car and forgot to document it.

Andre Hedrick

Upgrades are a reason to replace.

Full set of rotors and calipers and a 5spd /w LSD were all replaced with newer versions, replaced the '81 parts with '88s4 parts