Part 3 of the alternator saga: mechanic refuses to install 130-amp alt

[timewarped1972]

if nothing else, try to read and do alot of research when it comes to car mods and repair, that way, if you do have to take it into the shop for something you know exactly what it is their doing or should be doing.
i just recently had to take my car in to have the a/c fixed.......it needed 2 lines and since it's r-12 and im not an a/c tech i was forced to take it in and was not happy about it........i hate taking my car anywhere, the first thing i thought of was oh crap, to get to the a/c line that goes to the firewall they have to be right by those little plastic vacuum lines that break if you look at them wrong and expected to have to fix those, luckily and amazingly they lived through it. i musta spent an hour under the hood of my car when i got it home double checking everything.........
i wish they had some kinda do it your self shop where for jobs where it would be esier if you had a lift and certain tools that are not something practical for most of us, you could rent a bay and tool time with it costing extra if you need a certified helper.........lol.........i did my best to stay away from the guys when they were working on my car but i think they knew i was not far away.......lol..........
i also worked in an automotive repair shop when i was younger and seen some of the " fixes " that occur when do do happens and that about did it for me........they certify these mechanics now........makes no difference if you ask me and with labor at 75 bucks an hour, i want my car in a climate controlled bay with pads on the lift, a clean floor and the mechanic wearing a clean white lab coat!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[QDRHRSE]

There are two kinds of mechanics out there, technicians and parts changers.

So true.......

 

[QDRHRSE]

You know- I've got an extra 130 amp alt in the garage. If you drive down to California this weekend and buy me lunch and a six pack of Diet Dr Pepper I'll install it for you and let you have the alt for free!

 

[89MustangGX]

I won't jump on anyone's back for not feeling comfortable doing work on their own car -- that's a personal thing and not everyone has to be the same.

With that said, if you were just going to end up with a stock alternator -- I would have at least tried it myself. Just for price comparison -- I had my alternator go out (I went to AutoZone and had their machien diagnose it). I went to a local junkyard here and got one out of an Aerostar (I think it's higher output, but still the stock style -- but they did have 3G's there as well). I paid $13.50 for it including their core charge and it has a 30 day warantee. It took longer to clean the junkyard one up than to actually change it out. It's a signifigantly cheaper alternative -- just something to think about next time...

 

[Idwitheld-1`]

Hey, common guys, no one here was just born knowing how to work on your car. We learned it. Some with others to teach and some were self taught (cause we're antisocial misfits!).

Start small (wind shield wipers, fluid changes, oil filter etc.) Then work your way up to replacing hoses, TB's, Intake. Then tackle heads, gears, rocker arms and even the dreaded HEATER CORE!
We learn by doing. But I feel I learn faster by researching and reading from INFORMED sources like Probst and THEN doing. Minimize your mistakes by taking the time to label your bolts, label your spark plug wires (common guys who hasen't got two wires switched at least once) and be logical about your task. Oh and most importantly BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. You can do it, but be smart and be realistic about your limitations and work to resolve your short-commings.

I learned all by necessity. I have owned many crappy, old cars that constantly broke down. I had to learn to fix them or walk to work (I'm fat and avoid exercise at all costs).

 

[TheDevil]

...Minimize your mistakes by taking the time to label your bolts.

hahaha, this is good advice especialy when changing out the water pump!

 

[JETHRO]

how many people have had thier 3g go through thier rad. happens to me all the time. if your worried about doing it yourself get together with other stangers. i had a guy tell me that the reason why my 91's camber was way off was because more horsepower meant more weight on the front of the car. the car had aluminum heads no power steering no air pump no ac. yes, i told him he was on crack. he does alignments for a living and i give him the benefit of the doubt seeing how alignments are all that he needs to know. dumb a##

 

[Aftrbrnr]

Fast wise, I haven't done much with cars, but I've done a lot of car audio crap. I started out doing really crappy ghetto installs and eventually managed to do half-decent clean installs. Maybe I should try putting on a set of cat-backs by myself next time.

 

[MustangMuscle86]

Cut the guy a break,not eveyrone knows how to fix cars.

And I can see where the mechanic is coming from.If something were to happen,and the lawyers traced it back to him,him and his shop would be liable.A mechanic has the right to turn down a job if he thinks it can cause harm to others.But he should have jsut told the guy no and done no work than do the work he did.

 

[darthcual]

Idwitheld the heater core was about the third thing i ever did i am so brave. My buddy who is a ford master certified mechanic and owner of an 88 coupe put a 3g alt on his car and was not afraid. This Makes me believe that it is okay. On a side note his heater core popped and he just plugged the water pump, he knew what it would take.

Laters

DC

 

[dastang2]

all a mechanic does is diagnose and replace the parts. anybody can turn a wrench but it's all about covering your ass. covering you ass from customers who say they brought a car in there for an oil change and the tranny started slipping afterwards. people who try to get things done for free. he was just being a little lazy and i was going to say he was covering his ass until you said that he put another crappo alt. on it and then you turned around and paid for it. an alt. swap take what 30-45 minutes to do.

 

[89roadster]

For the guys who don't want to break their baby by doing their own work: join a car club...just for the assistance of finding a shop that will do what you ask them. There will probably be a few members too who wouldn't mind helping out a fellow stanger for the cost of a case of their favorite beverage.

As for the mechanic, he had every right not to install an aftermarket piece, but he certainly should have called you before he just went ahead and installed something you didn't ask for....go get your money back.

 

[88GTsocal]

As for the mechanic, he had every right not to install an aftermarket piece

Agreed. Being a dealership technician myself, if someone comes to me with an aftermarket part and I don't like, I'm not going to install it. If that part fails, the customer is going to blame the installer and not the part and expect free work to put in another one. I put in OE parts and only OE parts because I know they work. It is also very presumptious to assume this mechanic was incompetent and it is very easy to make fun of him sitting in front of the computer. But anyone who has experience in the auto repair industry, knows exactly where he is coming from.

 

[310stanger]

Agreed. Being a dealership technician myself, if someone comes to me with an aftermarket part and I don't like, I'm not going to install it. If that part fails, the customer is going to blame the installer and not the part and expect free work to put in another one. I put in OE parts and only OE parts because I know they work. It is also very presumptious to assume this mechanic was incompetent and it is very easy to make fun of him sitting in front of the computer. But anyone who has experience in the auto repair industry, knows exactly where he is coming from.

absolutely. i work at a dealer too and with the exceptions of certain aftermarket parts like an exhaust for example, we would never install anything electical on someones car. were in the business of installing stock replacement parts that are backed by ford. customers are such dicks these days they will look for any possible reason to totally screw you in the hopes of getting something for free. yet if you refuse them then your an idiot and dont know how to do anything nevermind they are coming to you cause they cant. also why doesnt anyone on this site install a powermaster one wire on their car. for the guys that wanna pay a shop to do a 3 g they can go buy a powermaster one wire and tackle the job themselves. its so incredibly easy its sickening and at 180 bucks they are paying what theyd pay a shop. not to mention the powermaster alternator is 140 amps and comes with a pully installed on the unit already. i tested it and it delivers a lil more amps then powermaster even cliams.

 

[Roland69]

I don't blame him....but we would have done it.

 

[BLADDER92FOX]

I was scared to touch my car at first too. But so far i've done all my tune ups,full exhaust and a few other little things. I'm doing my intake,electric fan,radiator and 3G alt which i'm still a bit scared of. You just need some paitience and confidence in yourself and not let anything stop you.

 

[dec322]

Agreed. Being a dealership technician myself, if someone comes to me with an aftermarket part and I don't like, I'm not going to install it. If that part fails, the customer is going to blame the installer and not the part and expect free work to put in another one. I put in OE parts and only OE parts because I know they work. It is also very presumptious to assume this mechanic was incompetent and it is very easy to make fun of him sitting in front of the computer. But anyone who has experience in the auto repair industry, knows exactly where he is coming from.

I understand and agree with this. The weird part is the man didn't bring in a 3g alt, he told the mechanic to order one.

Then the mechanic just replaced it with a 2g alt.

Aftrbrnr, why did you pay the guy? He installed the wrong thing. He should have known that he wouldn't be able to upgrade the wiring and such. Did he call you before he installed the wrong stuff?

 

[Deleted member 87397]

It's been my experience that any automotive undertaking with the word "conversion" in it is best left to the owner or friends of the owner who can assist with the project and get it right. When you want something like that done you can't just take it to the local mechanic and say do it, which you know now. Buy yourself some tools and start learning or find a specialized mustang shop that will do the work, or as mentioned before, get together with other SN'ers and go for it. About 90% of what I know about working on cars came from just grabbing my tools, going for it and asking questions to those who are more knowledgeable along the way. I don't blame you for being worried about not getting it right if you did it yourself, but you have to jump in the deep end at some point if you are really interested. And know this. You will mess up and you will break things (hopefully not often) but you will learn a lot and not make the same mistakes in the future. Good Luck on the alt. bro.

 

[rd]

A footnote on the do it yourself theme.

I have done it myself since I was born, and my Dad did it himself for most of 90 years, and it helps, if, for no other reason than you will understand a lot about it, and know what has to be done.

Once in a while, caution is appropriate. For instance, in troubleshooting the turn/stop light failure on my F150 trailer plug, I accidently pulled the airbag fuse, setting of the airbag light. No way to reset it except to have the dealer do it.

The best words in this thread were those about doing as much research on the task you want to do before hand.

All that said, you all got me to thinking that I do need to do the alt upgrade on the 82 so the bottle heater won't kill the battery so quickly.