I pulled into my driveway last night and noticed my charging light was starting to light up. Bummer. I pulled out the DVM and checked the voltage across the battery which showed 11.5V while the car was running. Looks like I need a new alternator. I guess after 17 years and 137K, its time. I know it could be a bad connection some where, but I haven't had any problems so I doubt it.

I see there is a lot in the archives on changing them. Anyone have a good source for a rebuilt one? Also, I read there is a fan bearing that maybe should be replaced also. Is this a good time to do the RS setup? Any other suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Shawn

 

I got mine from autohausaz . Just went over for a looksee at the price $202.94 - 150 core plus shipping .

 

Hi Shawn,
Replaced mine last year with a recon. Was straight forward. Took the oppotunity to refurb the aluminium housing at the same time. Had thought of painting the fan but it cleaned up like new, so left it with the original look.
Thing to remember when dismanteling is the order of pulleys and the shims in between. I kept everything in the order that it came off. Obviously if things get mixed up you have to check belt tension on rebuild. Don't forget to disconnect the battery!
The only problem i had was removing the alternator from the housing. You remove alternator and housing as one unit, then separate them off the engine. I used a hot air gun to warm the aluminium housing tapped the shaft with a copper/hide hammer the alternator sliped off.
Hope all goes well.
Best of luck

Have attcahed a couple of photos:

 

I just replaced mine a few weeks ago. I bought one from the local Porsche stealer for $270, $33 Core. The fan bearing was $150. A 3 prong gear puller works nicely for separating the fan from the alternator and the fan bearing from the alternator. There's a little spacer on the alternator shaft that's for properly seating the fan bearing on the alternator shaft. Make sure to save that as the new alternator doesn't come with one. Also to note, the 3 studs and locknuts that secure the alternator belt pully halves and shims through the fan to the fan bearing have been supercede by hex head screws. Took me a while to figure that out. Save the studs though, to align the holes in the bearing with the fan holes when you're putting it back together. If you break one (like I did), you'll have to go to the hex head screws unless you have a rennlister (MrRisky in my case) that's willing to give you their old ones. Not a super tough job.

Of course you could take the RS route and eliminate the bearing if you so desired.

 

I took the route of eliminating the upper pulley and adding the RS upper hub. I was thrilled that Steve could use my left over bits I read that some people have replaced the fan bearing without replacing the whole fan hub. Steve, correct me if I am wrong, but I think $150 is the price for the bearing and hub together. If I had not wanted to get rid of the dual speed / 2 belt arrangement, I would have tried to replace the bearing and kept my original hub. It's worth researching, although the parts catalog does not show just the bearing alone. You will have to get one from an industrial supplier.

I researched alternators as I thought I was going to need one. I also read what 993James mentions about only getting one that has been factory rebuilt and not rebuilt at the corner alternator shop. Apparently there are brush issues and features that make it hard (impossible?) for the corner shop to do properly.

 

FYI - I did the research and you CANNOT find the proper bearing for that hub. I checked with all the local and foreign manufacturers. The maker of the OEM bearing stopped making them a long time ago, and only made them for Porsche, and only made enough for the replacement hubs they go in. You simply cannot find a replacement bearing of the proper dimensions. You could get a pair of bearings that together would be "close" the right axial width, but in the end it just ends up being not cost-effective so you're stuck with getting the OEM part or the RS style alternatives - of which I would select Gamroth's as it is cheaper and he generally makes great stuff.

 

That's good info Chance. Thanks for the research. Had I seen the lower priced Rothsport hub I would have used that one when I changed mine a few months back. I see that Pelican carries it for under $100. Bottom of this page. I bought the 993 RS hub from getporscheparts.com for around $125.