tuner4life Posted September 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 Gloomy day, but this car always brightens things up! Still daily driving the C70 until the V70R gets finished up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted October 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 Alrighty then.... Been driving this car daily while I work on the V70R and it's been hanging in there so far. A few leaks and other small annoyances that I'll tend to later, but been solid enough. Until this morning.. Driving to work the battery light comes on. Thankfully I was nearly there when it came on. Borrowed a multimeter and had 12.1 volts with the car off and 12.1 volts with the car on.. Wonderful. Found a spare battery charger at work and am making sure the battery is as fully charged as I can make it before heading home. It's a 30 minute drive in the country so I should make it home. Wish me luck. I have another alternator on the spare C70 engine at home so as long as it checks out good, it shouldn't be down long. Just wish it could have waited another few weeks until the wagon is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdog Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 Dude, I hope you have free towing with your auto club membership?! Nine times out of ten all you need is a new voltage regulator; specifically the brushes.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 (edited) No free towing at this time, but we are definitely looking at a AAA membership in the upcoming year as we plan to travel a bit more. The weekend was a bust for fixing the C70. The spare alternator that I thought I had didn't actually exist. I must have scrapped it with the car accidentally. So I was left scrambling to find a solution on Sunday. I removed the old alternator and took it to a local Advance parts store to have it checked to verify it wasn't the wires or something else. They tested it and it passed... What?? They didn't have a new one at that store anyways, so I left more confused than I started and started tearing onto the car to check all the wiring, battery and everything else. After an hour or 2 of poking around the cables (which all looked exceptionally good for a P80, I grew suspicious of the positive alternator test so i took it to the next closest parts store, an Auto Zone. They didn't have one in stock, but my alternator did fail on their bench.. At that point it was already mid afternoon and I was not making any progress. I called around and the only store in a reasonable distance (30 minutes away) that had an alternator in stock was an O'reillys. There was also another Advance Auto and another Autozone on the same block so I headed that direction. Got to Oreilly's and had them check the alternator. Failed and their machine said it was only putting out 11.5 volts. (I am still not sure why the first test at Advance came back good) They had an alternator in stock so I told them to grab it and check it too before I left for my peace of mind. Then it failed... 11.5 volts just like my old one. Are you kidding me!! I passed on their new alternator, but went on to the other 2 stores to check my old one just for kicks at this point. It failed at both other stores, so at least I had consistent failures at 11.5 volts and no more false positives on my old one. There was 1 more AutoZone store another 20 minutes that supposedly had an alternator in stock. I drove over there and they did have it. 2 actually. The only issue is that they didn't have pulleys on them and the store worker refused to let me borrow the tools to swap mine over. I could have done it at home, but after the day I had, I refused to leave the store with one unless I could test it before leaving (especially being a notoriously bad Duralast brand). I said forget it and headed home. It was already dinner time and raining by the time I got home and since I was working on it outside (V70R project taking up most of the floorspace in the shop), I called it a night and came inside. I then focused on disassembling the old alternator and I'll probably just replace the voltage regulator. It's already not going to be fixed to use this week, so I guess I can wait for the parts now.. Here is the old voltage regulator. I think this is the culprit: And where it goes: Is the scoring on the shaft something to worry about? Today's project is to see how fast I can get a volt regulator coming. Edited October 23, 2017 by tuner4life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 And now that I've had my coffee and I'm not pissed at the whole situation I can think more clearly and think I have found the obvious temporary solution that I should have realized yesterday but didn't. I'll just use the alternator from the currently-out-of-commission 1998 V70R sitting in the shop.. That should get me through until I can get the new voltage regulator and replace that alternator into the wagon.. Somehow I didn't think about that easy solution all weekend. Wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdog Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 (edited) If you just needed the voltage regulator (worn out brushes) then what I do is call around alt/starter rebuild shops with the bosch part number. Usually someone local has one, or can get one asap. Unfortunately in your case, those slip rings (the copper rings that the brushes ride on) are spent! I've never seen any so burned up! Wondering if you have/had an excessive current draw (like a battery with a dead cell, or one of the bridge diodes in the rectifier failed)? Think you're looking at a new or rebuilt alt at this point and ck out your battery too. Bummer Edited October 23, 2017 by gdog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Dang.. I was hoping I could throw a regulator at it and be good to go. Oh well. I'll use the alternator from the V70R in the C70 to get that going again right away, then I'll just buy a new one for the V70R since that project has another few weeks left anyways. FCP is selling actual Bosch units for less than the el-cheapo remans at the local parts stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Ok. Did some more research, looks like the slip ring assembly is replaceable too: Just bought one from Ebay for $10.75 shipped along with a voltage regulator for $35.. http://info.europartshouse.com/tech-pages/bosch-if-slip-ring-replacement/ I have a access to a bearing puller and a soldiering gun so I think I should be able to handle this. Still spins free.. Should I bother with bearings? Not worry about them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdog Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 (edited) If the bearings are not noisy or show excess play, then they're likely fine, though it's it one of those, "while in there" replacement kind of things. You'll need to test the diodes in the bridge rectifier too; that could have been the cause of the excess current draw..? For the money, those don't sound like OEM parts; let us know how it works out. I'd be interested in what sources you found for alt parts..? Good luck. Edited October 23, 2017 by gdog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 I got them both from Ebay. I understand that they are cheap aftermarket replacements. But for the cost of the original parts, I could buy another Bosch alternator from FCP. Going to give it a try the cheap way and if it lasts a few years then great. Probably going to leave the bearings alone at this point, but will be sure to test and replace the rectifier if needed. This whole situation has got me thinking about my parts stock at home. I try to keep a basic collection of maintenance parts around since we have the C70 and V70R and the in-laws have a 1997 850 as well. I keep things like oil drain plug washers, intake manifold gaskets, fuel pump relays, etc.. Just some basics that we might need in a pinch.. Well this definitely has be considering keeping an alternator and possibly a starter on the shelf too just in case we end up in this situation again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted October 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 I pulled the alternator from the wagon last night and looked under the cover. It looks much better than the C70 alternator. Should be installed and back on the road tonight if all goes well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted October 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 Fixed! Albeit not without more of a fight. Upon reassembly I found the power stud on the starter loose (had it apart to check the wiring) and when I went to tighten it, the whole end cap of the solenoid was loose and spun. So at 9:45 last night we made an emergency high speed trip to the semi local O'reillys where I warrantied out their starter that I bought a couple years ago. Get back home and reassemble everything and it works perfectly. Didn't get to bed until almost 1 AM, but I'm driving it this morning dang it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 Haven't been driving this much over the last year due to kids being hard to put in the back, and some lingering maintenance issues.. Well, I'm hoping to get it back to 100% by mid summer. There was a camshaft seal leak that has compromised the timing belt. I don't anticipate a problem immediately, but that needs to all be replaced in the near future. The suspension and brakes are also in need of some attention. This sill be a slow project like everything I touch, but I did grab a set of Maxpeedingrods coilovers.. Couldn't argue with the price, and I had a chance to try them out on a different P80 in person and I was very impressed. They seem to be getting good reviews from other P80 owners as well, so I'm going to give them a shot.. The biggest complaint I hear is that they rust kind of fast, but since this car never gets driven in the winter anymore, and I don't mind keeping them lubed, they should be fine. More coming in the near future.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted July 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2020 (edited) I have a massive pile of parts in the shop and have started digging into this car again. Thank God for FCP and their lifetime warranty! I am replacing a number of engine, suspension, and other parts that I had previously replaced and had either gone bad or wore out after years of use. They don't care and they stand behind their warranty, if a part is bad, they replace it. Period. I got the coilovers installed several weeks ago and set the initial stance. The fronts are adjusted all the way down without removing any of the lock rings. I may go a little lower later, but I do want to actually drive this car. I anticipate some settling will happen, so we'll see. Once I was satisfied with the coilover install, I pulled it back in the shop for the rest of the projects. I have so far finished up the tie rods, control arms, etc. Upgraded to 302mm brakes with all new calipers, braided hoses, Zimmerman coated rotors, Akebono pads, etc. I got everything cleaned up nice and painted. Love it or hate it, I think it looks good, and the blue compliments the orange nicely. I also finished up freshening up the engine with new timing belt and components, replaced PCV hoses, all new cam seals, front crank seal, oil pump seal kit, replaced all coolant hoses, intercooler hoses, and vacuum hoses to silicone. I also re-polished the parts that I had done previously and polished the OTE pipe as well while I was waiting for the new parts to arrive. Overall just tried to get it back to a stage zero mechanically and pretty enough to show. Still on the to-do list is: -Dash removal including: mounting tab reinforcement, heater core, A/C evaporator (and all other serviceable components), coolant firewall junction and seals, clean up the previous stereo wiring, and a handful of other little projects. -Drop rear axle and replace the delta links, joints, etc, parking brakes, regular brakes, and brake lines as I have destroyed them trying to loosen. I have Zimmerman rotors, Akebono pads, new calipers, and stainless hoses for the rear as well. Once all of that is done, I will finish up some work on the stereo, and cosmetics, and finally figure out the proper spacer situation so that these wheels fit right. Bonus points, I should probably find an exhaust while I'm doing everything else. This one is starting to get crusty. Edited July 28, 2020 by tuner4life 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmsgltr Posted July 28, 2020 Report Share Posted July 28, 2020 what coilovers you go with? LOVE how clean it all is man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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