QuestionOkay, I brought my part in and (pep boys oops) and they said that the replacement part was what they gave us. The original part was as you described, it was huge. This new thing is way shorter and sounds just like what you described..so apparently its an alternator. The guy just said the holes match up so we were good to go.
It's definitely exactly how you described. I'm just trying to do it by myself because we dont have the money to go to a mechanic, but I know what you mean about gray hair mechanics..
Pep Boys kept the old one to give a coring (?) refund. So.. I guess we should go get that back? Wow.. They said this was the match--so much for pep boys.
Kimmy
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Followup To
Question -
hahah Well we know its a bad car!
Ok, turns out we think its the alternator but Pep Boys cant check it because its so old. Its the original 62 one.
SO we bought a new alternator and they gave us a 68 falcon alternator. THey said that was the part their computer gave them as an interchange --
Ok, so its on and now the V Belt is too loose. About 2 inches. We adjusted it and slid it to the furthest end of where it could go.. still loose.
Do we need a different size belt or a different alternator? Do you know if that is the reason the belt won't tighten? So confused.
Kids and whole bunch of grandkids?! What a helper!
Kimmy
Answer -
I think you are headed down the wrong path here. Pep Boys is not the place I would shop for things like this. They are great for car wax and floor mats, but for anything remotely technical. I advise going to a locally owned repair shop which has been in business in the same location for at least 20 years, and has mechanics with gray hair!
Your 62 did not have an alternator, it had a generator, so installing an alternator is going to cause an incompatibility with the rest of your car's electrical system, even if you find a way to make it fit. An alternator is a much different critter, and requires a different regulator and different connections.
It is possible that some previous owner has converted your car to use an alternator, and if that is the case, your best bet is to take the old alternator in to a competent shop (not Pep Boys) and ask them to repair it or match it up to a replacement that will work in your car. For this sort of thing, you need to locate an automotive electrical shop, or a generator/alternator rebuilder in your area. Probably you will find one in the yellow pages in the phone book.
Since you feel the generator in your car is the original, I think the wisest course is to take it in to a generator rebuilder and just let him fix it. If you cannot locate a generator rebuilder in your area, take it to your local NAPA store and ask them to get it rebuilt for you. Generators are actually very simple devices - and very likely all it needs is new brushes.
If what Pep Boys gave you is an alternator, it will not look anything like the original generator. The original generator would have been a heavy, plain steel cylindrical device, painted black, about 5 or 6 inches in diameter, and around 10 inches long. The electrical connections will come out of the sides of the cylinder, toward the rear of the device. If this is what the old one looks like, it is very likely the original one, and it is a generator.
An alternator is also round, but it is not a simple shape - it is much larger in diameter (like 7 or 8 inches), and much shorter (like 6 inches or so), an aluminum casting, grey bare metal in appearance, with openings on the front of it for air cooling - it is sort of shaped like a large hamburger, sitting on edge, with the fan belt pulley sticking out the top of the bun, and wiring coming out heel of the bun, and some laminated sheets of metal where the meat would go - I hope this is clear. It certainly is not a plain cylindrical device such as the generator.
An alternator makes AC current, which is rectified into a sort of DC to charge your battery. A generator makes DC directly - it is an older technology, but very capable of keeping your car going for another 42 years without problem.
There is one other (remote) possibility, and that is that the device they gave you IS a generator (I was pretty sure that Ford switched over to alternator technolgy before 1968, but I'm not positive about that), and if it is, it will look like the one I described above. In that case, it is OK to use it, and yes, you can just get the right size belt to drive it. I wonder, though, why it doesn't fit with the old belt - what is different about it? Pulley size? Pulley location? Tell me about this, please.
Tell me what the old one looks like, and what the new one looks like, and we'll decide where to go from here. Don't try to connect the new one until we figure out what you've got there.
Dick.
AnswerThey gave you an alternator, which is not a replacement for a generator.
Take the alternator back and if the counter man won't give you back your old generator, keep screaming until you get to a supervisor. Tell him you brought in a generator, not an alternator, and that you don't want to modify your car to accept an alternator. You have to insist on getting your generator back so you can get it rebuilt. He may not be technically sharp enough to understand the difference, but he must have someone to fall back on for advice - at least I hope so.
When you get your old generator back (and don't let them tell "we lost it" or "it's already been shipped out" or any other such Pep Boys nonsense) - they're just trying to cheat you. Scream, swear or cry, whichever works best for you until you get your old part back. Then take it to a rebuilder, or NAPA if you have to, and get it repaired.
These people make me sick! Take it all the way to Pep Boys corporate offices, if you have to, but don't wait too long, or they will "lose" it!
Just be tough!
As an aside, what are they going to do with a generator core? They probably don't even know the difference. The clerk who dealt with you is probably following some computer listing that says you can convert your car to use a 68 alternator, and doesn't understand what is involved in the changeover, or that it ruins the originality of the car. They are not trained to know technical things, they simply follow their computer/book instructions. That's what I don't like about the chain stores. NAPA is the only chain store I would trust with something tricky like this.
Dick.
