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Alternator heat shield |
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Patrick 
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Joined: 19 April 2008 Location: Vancouver Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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 Topic: Alternator heat shieldPosted: 21 August 2009 at 12:21pm |
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The alternator on my '86 GT is in the process of packing it in. The volt light is coming on more often, sometimes dimly and sometimes full brightness. (For this reason I informed Tristan that a drive to Whistler probably wasn't a good idea for me this weekend!) Anyway, after doing a bit of research, I discovered that my alternator is missing a heat shield. Just thought I'd mention this in case any of you are missing yours as well. With the alternator literally only an inch away from the exhaust log, it's definitely worthwhile having a heat shield in place to help keep alternator electronics temperatures in check. Here's some images I found at Pennocks...
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ZeroC
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Joined: 12 February 2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 346 |
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Posted: 21 August 2009 at 3:08pm |
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or ceramic coated headers ..they help too :) ..my gt hasn't ever had the shield on ...i have it sitting in the garage..but never used it :)
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Romeo
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Joined: 16 November 2008 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 3033 |
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Posted: 21 August 2009 at 3:09pm |
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Are ceramic coated headers an economically viable option though? lol
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Never shift into reverse without a back-up plan.
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ZeroC
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Posted: 21 August 2009 at 3:15pm |
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if your putting headers on yes lol :) i Had Mine Coated ..Didn't Cost Eff All Really
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Capt Fiero
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Posted: 21 August 2009 at 5:09pm |
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Out of all the Fiero's I have replaced alternators on, I have not noticed any perceivable gain or loss when it comes to that heat shield. If you really want to get an improvement though, find some place that sells the CS wiring adapter and install an alternator from an 88 V6 Fiero. 100amp vs 66/94amp, better low rpm output, only about 3/4th's the size. Price was right around $100 IIRC when I changed out the OEM one on my 88GT a few years ago. |
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Capt Fiero
88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
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Patrick
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Posted: 21 August 2009 at 6:04pm |
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Yes, the CS unit is a nice improvement over the original SI alternator, but if a diode trio solves my problem for five bucks, I'll be sticking with the old SI unit.
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Capt Fiero
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Posted: 21 August 2009 at 7:19pm |
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Well if you are going to tear it apart and rebuild it yourself, it would be a hell of a waste to just try the diode, an entire alternator rebuild kit including brushes, bearings and everything was only around 20 bucks the last time I checked. |
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Capt Fiero
88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
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Romeo
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 11:07am |
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Say David, if you combined that adapter kit with the pulley kit you suggested, would the loss in alternator output sort of... Cancel out somewhat?
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Never shift into reverse without a back-up plan.
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Capt Fiero
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 11:15am |
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Sorta, I run the single pulley kit on my 88 and even with everything turned on it never gets below 12v. I would not run the double in the winter though regardless of what alternator you have. When I had the double kit installed on my 85GT with the old style alternator, at idle with all the lights and ran fan on, it would drop almost to the red, (roughly 10v) During the summer it was no big deal, as simply remove the wipers and headlights from the needed list and you were good to go.
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Capt Fiero
88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
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Patrick
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 12:17pm |
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Tristan, are you referring to power pulley kits such as This from Rodney Dickman?
It's debatable whether or not there's any appreciable difference in HP with power pulleys. If I was to use a power pulley kit on my GT, I'd buy just the two pulleys from Rodney (which he's told me he will sell without the other bits) and use them with the belt tensioner kit that Dodgerunner sells.
I have Dodgerunner's custom made belt tensioner on my GT and it's the best $100 investment (for the bracket, tensioner, and belt) I ever made for a car of mine. No more screwing around trying to get the belt tight, and no more squeals... ever!
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Capt Fiero
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 12:52pm |
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First The pulley kit I am referring to, is a single and double under drive kit. You get a billet aluminum crank pulley and a billet aluminum alternator pulley. The crank only pulley slows water pump and alternator down, then when you add the 2nd under drive pulley to the alternator, it "further reduces" the alternator down. I believe its a total reduction of 40%. Now after you have read all the fluff, go to the link below. ASP racing is company that supplies, the kits to the various vendors, and are substantially cheaper than most retailers. http://www.aspracing.com/index.html
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Capt Fiero
88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
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Capt Fiero
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 12:55pm |
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Capt Fiero
88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
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Patrick
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 1:11pm |
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Just for price comparison purposes, in May of last year Rodney told me he'd sell the two pulleys for $55.
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Capt Fiero
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 1:50pm |
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You are aware that Rodneys double pulley kit and the one I posted do totally diffrent things right? |
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Capt Fiero
88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
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Patrick
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 2:15pm |
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No. Explain. Rodney's power pulley kit allows the alternator to charge at the same rate while idling as the stock pulleys (even with the older, less efficient SI alternators). If the kit you mention doesn't work in the same manner as Rodney's, I definitely would not buy it for street use. [EDIT] Okay, I now realize that the double pulley kit you've mentioned requires the engine to be doing at least 1100 RPM(!) for the alternator to be giving a full charge. Sounds like a total pain in the neck to use with a daily driver automobile to me.
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Capt Fiero
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 2:48pm |
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Yes exactly, I think you are figuring it out. With the ASP kit, your alternator spins 25% slower with the single pulley kit However with the double pulley kit your alternator spins roughly 40% slower than normal. For guys that drive in a spirited manor this actually helps the alternator and other accessories. When I am shifting at oh 6200rpms my alternator and its bearings, or water pump are not screaming for there life. I ran the double kit on my old 85GT and had no major issues. During the winter months I would pop the alternator pulley off and pop the stock alternator pulley on. However for the rest of the time it was great. Never once had a dead battery due to the kits. My 88, has the crank only pulley on it and again even towing a trailer with extra lights on the trailer, and powering a DC 750w inverter, oh and a stereo system, with sub and amp, and even running the A/C. I still don't have an issue. If your car can't keep up with only the crank under drive, installed, there is something really wrong with your car / charging system or grounds. |
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Capt Fiero
88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
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Romeo
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Joined: 16 November 2008 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 3033 |
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 4:55pm |
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Hmm... So the vehicle could potentially die if I had the double-underdrive and I was caught in traffic? Does it matter that I don't have to run an A/C Compressor or anything like that?
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Never shift into reverse without a back-up plan.
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Capt Fiero
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 6:27pm |
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Albeit Highly Unlikely, the possibility would be there. In order to discharge the system enough to kill the car, you would have to idle it for I'd say at least 3-4hrs without ever touching the gas, the 1st time you touched the gas to creep forward the engine would go above that 1100-1500rpm spot and charge like normal. Noting that you would have to be stopped, with the lights on, the brakes on, the stereo on, and the rad fan on, in order for it to even be an issue. |
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Capt Fiero
88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
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Romeo
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Joined: 16 November 2008 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 3033 |
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Posted: 22 August 2009 at 11:07pm |
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Hmm... Well, my rad fan NEVER turns on, I almost never have my headlights on and my stereo is so insultingly bad, rarely is it on too... Maybe I should look into a double-under and combine with a superior alternator...
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Never shift into reverse without a back-up plan.
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Patrick
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Posted: 23 August 2009 at 12:26am |
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Tristan, what do you hope to accomplish with this set up? Don't fall for the hype. Seriously, do some research at Pennocks and read about people's experiences with power pulleys. The positive reports are usually - No noticeable change in power. The negative reports are - Battery being slowly drained while idling in traffic, slow blinkers, etc. You can probably get a used set of these underdrive/power pulleys cheap from people fed up with them and going back to the factory pulleys.
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Capt Fiero wrote:
