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I'll go with Gates then. I have used them before and liked them. As far as letting the shop get the alternator is concerned, the thing is I have a $75 discount from O'Reilly if I buy myself since I have a gift card and a rewards coupon.
The reason they say 4 hours (which I agree is a lot) is because the Toyota service manual says you are supposed to remove the front bumper and radiator and some hoses to gain access to the alternator. But there are videos of YouTube that say that is not necessary. Just remove the top metal part above the grill and disconnect a few radiator hoses and move the fan a little. It was so much easier when I used to DIY on my Chevy Cavalier. You could do the job in 30 minutes. The belt, alternator, and tensioner were so easy to reach.
The bad news: the other O'Reilly Auto tested it, and the reader also sad bad voltage regulator and it never read above 13.25 V. The employee said he thinks a voltage regulator is part of the alternator so he said I needed a new alternator. Oh, and the battery tested good. And the starter tested good too.
The good news: I drove to the service center. There was a very nice guy there who was an expert auto mechanic.
He said why do you think you have a bad alternaor?
I said because two O'Reilly's said the voltage regulator was bad, my Harbor Freight Tools 12V plug-in tester says it is bad, and the voltage never goes above 13.25 V.
He said the voltage fluctuates and is automatically controlled. It does not charge the battery above 14V when it doesn't need to to avoid frying the battery.
He then went out and checked my car for free with a specialized reader that can put a load on the alternator. He said BS when I said the voltage regulator was bad. He said as long as the alternator does not go below 12.5 V I am fine. He tested it and said everything is good!! I thanked him immensely. He did not try to sell me anything!
This makes sense, since a Toyota dealer did an oil change a month ago and they give you a complimentary inspection of all the systems whenever that happens, and the alternator/battery/electrical was marked good on the service report. Also the belt tested good supposedly since they are supposed t inspect that and all the hoses and water pump.
Also, my Harbor Freight 12V plug-in tester probably has been reading bad for a long time now. When I first start the car, the alternator checks out good according to the tester, whether I am idling or not, but it tests bad when you idle after driving for a few miles. I had only been testing the alternator for the past year after staring the car, not after driving. So it was probably bad all along and I never knew it, and that is how it is supposed to be.
Also, the Toyota dealer service advisor said it is very rare that he ever sees a Toyota needing a new alternator or starter. Those parts just don't wear out. Toyotas are built to last and are the most reliable car on the market. OTOH, he see Toyota's needing new radiators and water pumps after 100,000 miles. But my radiator has lasted 263,000 so far.
So I have spent the past 3 days worrying and driving around for no reason! As long as you take the Toyota in for preventive maintenance on a regular basis, it will never break down or leave you stranded. There will always be a warning sign before something goes wrong. No catastrophic failures, unlike with my Hyundai Excel and Chevy Cavalier I used to own.
Just be sure your shop is OK with you bringing in your own parts. Ask first.
Generally bringing your own parts to a shop is considered gauche at best.
Ok, I learned something new. Thank you. But some shops do not seem to mind and even advertise on theie coupons that you can bring your own parts. Even Pep Boys said bringing your own parts is fine, as long as they are new.
Service manuals always specify doing things the long way.
I agree. I had a spark plug change, ATF change and coolant change and full inspection at the dealer. It is supposed to be like a 6 hour job, and the mechanic did it is 2.5 hours!
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldoak2000
Prolly only need to replace the PULLEY on the tensioner, and not the whole tensioner assembly; will save you $$
Thanks! On my old Chevy Cavalier, it was the belt tensioner that was bad since it wouldn't maintain belt tension. The pulley itself seemed fine. And in my case, the tensioner for my Toyoat comes with the pulley attached. You can't buy the belt tensioner pulley separately from what I looked up??
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbohm
when it comes to belts, gates and dayco are the best. on a few of the race cars i worked on, we used dayco belts exclusively with only one belt failure, and that was because the supercharger went off like a roman candle due to an intake valve sticking open.
I agree. That's what I have always heard. Everyone seems to like Gates. I always save my old serpentine belt in my car in case I break down and the shop is in the middle of nowhere doesn't have a belt in stock.
The good news: I drove to the service center. There was a very nice guy there who was an expert auto mechanic.
He said why do you think you have a bad alternaor?
I said because two O'Reilly's said the voltage regulator was bad, my Harbor Freight Tools 12V plug-in tester says it is bad, and the voltage never goes above 13.25 V.
He said the voltage fluctuates and is automatically controlled. It does not charge the battery above 14V when it doesn't need to to avoid frying the battery.
He then went out and checked my car for free with a specialized reader that can put a load on the alternator. He said BS when I said the voltage regulator was bad. He said as long as the alternator does not go below 12.5 V I am fine. He tested it and said everything is good!! I thanked him immensely. He did not try to sell me anything!
sounds to me like you found an honest mechanic, and you should go to him from now on if you think you have any issues. take care of him, guys like this are gold.
He is wonderful rbohm! Their entire shop has all 5 star reviews.
At least now I found a good place that a lot less than the dealer!
Thank you for your help!
anytime, we do what we can.
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