jim beam wrote:
> 1. you /do/ need to remove the driveshaft! don't waste time messing
> about. if you go straight there, it's quicker and simpler than messing
> about "trying to find a way". because there isn't one.

Havent had to remove the shaft on either of my 89's. Separating the
lower ball joint will give you enough room to remove the alternator.

> 2. mitsubishi alternators are unmaintainable. just toss it and get a
> nippon denso.

Had both and really didnt see any difference in build quality.

> but here's the real kicker:
>
> 3. had noticed the usual pre-failure symptoms - dim lights, slow to kick
> in after starting, etc., hence replacement before complete failure. but
> it also completely cured another seemingly unrelated problem. when
> started, and allowed to roll, my car would speed up and slow down
> repeatedly from idle, just like the symptoms of low coolant affecting
> the tw sensor. i'd spend a couple of months idly speculating about this
> and had bled the coolant system a couple of times to no avail. but with
> the new alternator, this problem disappeared immediately. now i figure
> that the electronic load detector [eld] was detecting low current and
> boosting revs to kick up output from a weak alternator. now, with a
> good alternator with new brushes, electrical output is strong from idle,
> so no need for the eld to raise revs, hence problem solved.

But THIS little item is interesting. I'll have to add an alternator
output test when I had a wacky idle problem just to see if this happens
often.

Thanks for posting.

-SP