How many miles till your alternator pulley siezed?

[spiceredwagon]

How many miles till your alternator pulley seized?

At a young 74.5k miles my Jetta started making a bad noise in the engine.
When I looked at the belt while idling the tensioner was vibrating like a bell hammer. So I checked the alternator pulley and it is seized solid.

 

[aja8888]

My alternator quit at 70K before the pulley had a chance to seize. What does that count for?

 

[oldpoopie]

Most every one that I've replaced was at around 90k to 120k miles

 

[TDIJetta99]

mine was still good at 230k when the factory alternator stopped charging.. I took the pulley off and saved it for when the one on this reman alternator fails..

 

[blizzak]

I voted more than 211K miles, but it was actually 141-210K...can't change it now though. Mine didn't seize either, it came flying off!

 

[oldpoopie]

The one I changed out 2 days ago hucked the pully off, but the belt was intact and in-place with car still running!

 

[PDJetta]

Mine locked solid at about 94,000 miles and I replaced it. I replaced the tensioner 6,000 miles later with the timing belt goodies because the tensioner wheel was beat up a little from the bouncing alt. belt.

Are the replacement pulleys any better?

--Nate

 

[T_D_I_POWER]

Mine seized @ approx. 85k miles.

 

[Ian F]

201K... still original... although I did have to replace the tensioner about 50K miles ago. The damper blew and puked it's oil all over everything...

 

[xracerbob]

My alternator died before the pulley at about 145,000.

 

[Canadian_Grizzly]

Never did and alternator died at 300,000 miles (500,000 kms)

 

[Cosmic Green]

I just turned 700,000km today!

Original alternator and starter.

CG

 

[Powder Hound]

My alternator gave up before the pulley seized. I replaced the alternator at about 195k miles. Or so. I don't remember exactly and I'm not OCD enough to keep a log.

 

[Ski in NC]

Mine failed at 137k miles. Didn't seize, but began slipping so alt did not spin. Put new pulley on old alternator. Working fine.

 

[andreigbs]

Mine was making chirping noises and giving me the battery warning light from time to time, replaced it and everything's back to normal. This was at 113K miles.

 

[JPR]

Alternator pulley replacements

Did both of mine while changing the timing belt this summer since both alternator pulleys were seized and seem to have worn the tensioner piston. I found it easier to lower the engine enough to engage the pulley removal tools through the intercooler bracket, sparing me the hassle of removing the alternator from the cars.
This added maybe 30 minutes to my timing belt project.
I also replaced the tensioners. One jetta was at 192,000 miles and the other at 104,000 miles. The higher milage jetta had been making some intermittent squealing noise in the serpentine belt area for awhile and I was suspecting the alternator pulley as the source.

 

[merk]

104,000, pulley shot.

 

[PDJetta]

I think the driving cycle is the biggest factor, with idling causing the shortest life and highway (constant) RPM allowing the longest.

--Nate

 

[EddyKilowatt]

Somewhere around 95k mi. Pulley grenaded and fell onto belly pan.

Surprised NTSB hasn't shown a bit more interest in the outright pulley failures, since it kills power steering unexpectedly.

 

[Tarbe]

I just turned 700,000km today!

Original alternator and starter.

CG

Holy cow!

 

[benIV]

uh oh, i've got 136K and mine hasn't yet...

 

[aja8888]

All you folks who are bragging that your pulley hasn't siezed up yet just jinxed yourself!

 

[mrGutWrench]

__. I'm pretty sure that mine grenaded at about 150K miles.

 

[drradon]

Mine's started making funky sounds and it hasn't rolled 40K yet. In the wet tropics, and not many long trips, and so that may have something to do with it.

 

[Ski in NC]

I bet the pulley clutch "works" more at idle and low rpm. At highway speeds, the cyclic variations in crank rotational speed are much less, so the clutch is probably engaged. If I get super bored, I may hook up my oscilloscope and measure alt volt ripple hertz and compare it to engine rpm. If the clutch is disengaging, the hz will be higher than if engaged steady. Not that bored yet.

 

[MustangEric]

My Passat's "Alternator Workshop" light came on twice in 1 day and then didn't come on again for about 2 week's. At that point i was turning the steering wheel and heard a noise i'd never heard before. Popped the hood and noticed the belt jumping around when the steering was moved. Thought it was a bad power steering pump until i researched on this forum. Alternator pulley seized at 52,000 mile's but alternator live's on. Thanks TDICLUB.

 

[Honeydew]

Mine started squealing so I replaced it before it seized. I voted for the mileage at the time, even though it did not seize.