Gurgly-bearing noise after serpentine belt popped now no charging of batt

Alright so here's the low-down. Driving home one night. Heard a weird sound under the hood like some bearings where being tossed around inside a container. Moments later, the serp belt went and the car stopped charging. I had the tensioner replaced, tensioner pulley, and serp belt. I went out to start the car at the dealership afterwords, and that bearing-in-a-container noise came after 2mins or so of idling. I went and got a tech. He drove the car around, brought it inside the bay, said there's no noise. I tried starting it etc and there was no noise.

Well today I brought the car in again because last night it started doing this bearing-in-a-container noise almost nonstop, but the battery light never illuminated, but I was pissed because the car was NOT doing this before going to the dealership. They said it's not a big deal, and that its my alternator pulley that prolly needs to be tightened; it's slipping over the shaft and skipping around.

Well tonight after a delightful valentines day date, I start the car and the batt light is on almost constant now. And it's clear that my juice is low due to several reasons.

So I'm pissed right now. Pissed. Pissed. Sorry JC, and Joe from Norfolk But now I'm like w t f?? What do I do? Make the dealer fix it? The alternator is about 6mos old and brand-new Bosche oem. What the eff yo! PISSED!!


Oh, so whats occurring do you guys think?

So apparently not too many people think anything...

Your alternator pulley was the cause of the whole mess, probably been bad for a while and it finally let go.

The alternator is brand new though... 6mos old.. oem Bosche...

My guess is that you got a rebuilt Bosch and the pulley WAS NOT replaced.

You need this:

http://idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=123_129&products_id=1118

And this to replace it:

http://idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=564

Or you could try to warranty your alternator and get another one.

--Nate

those pulleys can wreak all sorts of havoc when they start to go. new alternators dont come with a new pulley either unfortuneately

PDJetta said:

My guess is that you got a rebuilt Bosch and the pulley WAS NOT replaced.

You need this:

http://idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=123_129&products_id=1118

And this to replace it:

http://idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=564

Or you could try to warranty your alternator and get another one.

--Nate

Click to expand...

Mine absolutely did have a new pulley

mlemorie said:

those pulleys can wreak all sorts of havoc when they start to go. new alternators dont come with a new pulley either unfortuneately

Click to expand...

Mine did come with a new pulley... but what I'm getting as a common consensus is that the alternator pulley more than likely caused all this bs, and probably still is...

Bosch reman alternators come with new-style INA pulleys, yes. Does not mean yours could not have failed already, but it would be highly unlikely, unless you've been running around with no splash shields and the winter salt brine has been allowed to be blasted all over the front of the engine.

Well truth be told, there are no splash shields on. But the motor and engine compartment is actually very clean...

So are you changing your answer to it probably not being the alternator pulley? Keep in mind, my idler pulley, tensioner pulley, and serp belt are all brand new...

You need to have the splash shields in place. I am not sure what is wrong with your car, but the alternator and pulleys were never designed nor intended to get water blasted into them, so all bets are off there. Your alternator could already be toasting its bearings. Could be the PS pump (less likely).

I see this a lot.

Would the PS pump cause my no-charge issue though?

alternator pulley -test

Loosen the serpentine belt and reach in there and wiggle the alternator pulley. If that odd pulley clutch failed, or if the bearing in the alternator are bad, it should be obvious. If it is good, it will spin freely and silently with a nice heavy feel, and the pulley will be solidly on there. If there is a squeak, or if the pulley wobbles at all, you'll know.

I tried to replace the pulley only, but the special tool I bought from metal nerds could not hold up to the overtightened/seized pulley retainer bolt. I ended up buying a new/rebuilt bosch, and still have the brand new pulley (and sold the car!). Those pulleys are a pain in the neck!

Then I had to do the capacitance dump trick to regain comfort module (got scrambled). Remove the two cables at the battery, connect the cables with a good solid copper wire or 12 gauge stranded copper wire, wait at least 15 seconds to discharge capacitance. Then clean and replace the positive clamp/cable, and then thump the negative clamp on in one swift deliberate motion (to prevent arcing). Module(s) will reprogram from eprom, and you'll get your windows, locks, trunk etc control back (sometimes fixes remote functions too, which are controlled by comfort module)

So if my bearings are bad do I have to replace the whole alternator???

The pulley is mounted with some sort of "clutch" (makes it an expensive pulley to replace). It is replacable as a separate part IF you can remove the old pulley, which requires a special tool. As I mentioned above, I could not remove the pulley, so ended up just replacing the entire alternator, even though it was only the pulley clutch that failed. And it came with a pulley, so I got stuck with the brand new pulley I could not replace...AND I had to return the core, so I didn't bother to remove and replace the busted pulley after I got it off, save the alternator with new pulley for next fail or sell it. A thoroughly stupid experience

But you can tell if it's the pulley by turning it with belt off. If it is the pulley, you'll feel the wobble under the pulley (could be minor), whereas if it is the alternator bearing, you should be able to hear a noise from the housing, and the pulley will feel solidly mounted.

The whole thing (rebuilt Bosch) costs about $170. After my experience waiting for special tools and failing, only to eventually just get a rebuilt Bosch at O'Reilly's, I was disappointed that I just didn't buy and alternator and be done with it!

Well I appreciate yours and everybody elses input; it turned out to be the clutch was shot. So thats being fixed. Yay for that, boo for a $240 repair I would have done myself if it was 10*f out.

Then add the $50 piece of plastic (minimum) to cover the right side of the engine so it won't keep happening. Then pray your VNT actuator isn't the next thing to sieze itself into a ball of rust.

Underside protection should be a requirement in Ny.

No I like my cummins..

dubStrom said:

The whole thing (rebuilt Bosch) costs about $170.

Click to expand...

I guess I am not living right!

Best price I could find 3 months ago for a 120A Bosch rebuilt was $375 (with pulley).

I am about to replace the same on my wife's NB - once again - $375 online or $359 picked up at NAPA.

I sure wish I could find one for $170!

^i must agree my alternator was right around $400 somewhere.
My vnt does need a good lubing every few weeksa... Needs one right now actually. Where would one aquire this plastic cover? I'd parts?

Your local dealer probably has 5 of them in stock, people rip them off so often (this is why Volkswagen also has a steel under cover, as well as several aftermarket companies that make them).

The Bosch 120A alternator, Bosch number AL0189X, lists for $410. Many places sell them for around $300 to 375 retail. My wholesale cost on one is $225. Volkswagen sells their reman one (which is just a reboxed Bosch unit) for $385 retail, part number 038-90-018-QX.

I'll have to look into this. Thanks 'hammer.

dadsdiesel said:

I guess I am not living right!

Best price I could find 3 months ago for a 120A Bosch rebuilt was $375 (with pulley).

I am about to replace the same on my wife's NB - once again - $375 online or $359 picked up at NAPA.

I sure wish I could find one for $170!

Click to expand...

Go to O'Reilly's website and follow the parts selector. Below $180 The one I installed last year was a rebuilt Bosch. This is a different label, but the price was the same for a rebuilt Bosch. This stuff seems cheaper in KC though. I gave the buyer the receipt or I'd scan it and show.

Maybe this link will work.

I payed like 400$ at car quest... or close to it anyhow...

I wonder if your "snowplow adventure" awhile back had anything to do with this......

hahaha I dunno! I doubt it though... i've been having a bastard of a time with these alternators. I just replaced it 6mos ago because the clutch went bad. The clutch went bad this time also. And a year or year and a half ago the clutch went bad again! They must just be pos's or something... i dunno man?

And yet you continue to drive around with missing splash shields.... hmmmm......

dubStrom said:

Go to O'Reilly's website and follow the parts selector. Below $180 The one I installed last year was a rebuilt Bosch. This is a different label, but the price was the same for a rebuilt Bosch. This stuff seems cheaper in KC though. I gave the buyer the receipt or I'd scan it and show.

Maybe this link will work.

Click to expand...

That is NOT a genuine remanufactured Bosch alternator. "Ultima" is the brand, full of Chinesium... and they are of poor quality as the cheap price would suggest. Also, a quick google search of 'ultima alternator' revealed nothing but pages and pages of automotive forums of every make complaining how crappy they are and how many times they've had to RE-replace them. That black pulley in the pic is the dead giveaway, that is the Chinaloy knock-off that flies apart... hehe, it is a "prothe" level part!

oilhammer said:

And yet you continue to drive around with missing splash shields.... hmmmm......

Click to expand...

Yeah, well you can lead a horse to water but your can't make him drink......

oilhammer said:

And yet you continue to drive around with missing splash shields.... hmmmm......

Click to expand...

turbocharged798 said:

Yeah, well you can lead a horse to water but your can't make him drink......

Click to expand...

Or you can lead a horse to his apartment that burned down a week before Christmas and doesnt have money to toss on splash guards right now

But you can keep throwing money at alternators and turbo actuators? Sorry, I am bad at math. I'll leave you be now. Your mod list looks impressive, too. You paid for that, correct?

Just trying to help you out, seriously. I sometimes have some extra plastic bits laying about I'd gladly give you, but don't have any besides the left side ones now (somehow I ended up with 3 of those...)