So today started the truck, no problems, sounded good.

Just about to slap the seatbelt on and drop her in drive when my eye spies on the dash a new light lit on the dash.

First sign that this is not a good thing - the light is red, second; it is the little battery symbol.

I stare at it, waiting, waiting, waiting for it to just go away. Nope. I rev the engine a little. Nothing changes. I am now officially not happy. I of course am running late and have to roll.

The whole trip on the way across town, I have no idea how I got there as the only thing I was looking at - fixated at that stupid red light lit on the dash that looked like a battery….who knows how many people flipped me off…

It did not blink, flutter or dim - it just stayed lit the whole time. Both batteries have been replaced within a month ago and my mind was racing to find any excuse to make it go away. Deep in my heart I knew, the alternator was the problem.

Last month I drove to Burning Man, an event that takes place every year on the playa of Nevada in Balck Rock City, a very fine dusty alkaline ground that is like talcum powder and coats EVERYTHING and I am sure coated the alternator (you should have seen what it did to my air filter) I believe this playa dusting was the culprit that took its toll on my poor alternator.

I stopped by the local diesel shop told them my problems they probably knew the solution before I was even done saying hello. Oh plus about $400.

New alt = $300
Install - $100
My Buckzooka is light on ammo this month…

I get it - these guys are professionals and great at what they do - service like that does not come cheap and I have not picked up a tool in over 20 years.

But financially I could not do it. So I broke down today put on my big boy pants and went to the local auto parts store, talked to some sleepy headed pimple faced 17 year old and asked him if he had an alternator that would fit my truck. I wanted to upgrade the alternator to a 200Amp but the wallet was having none of that and it would need to be ordered and shipped and I am short on time so I got a stock Ford MoCo 110A. Plopped down my $120 bucks and carried my new alt back home.

Popped the hood looked around and kinda figured it out. Really; METRIC? I though I was working on a FORD not a Honda….oh well global economy blah blah blah…

Well the good news is it was easy to replace, less than 20 minutes later after removing three bolts, disconnect the alternator wire and plug, release the tension on the belt out with the old; in with the new - reverse the process with the addition of anti-seize on the bolts and felt good that I did it myself and saved some money in the process - plus I got to see what is under the hood. I love this truck….

Start the truck and the volt meter shows 12.6V put the tools away and close the hood. Job done. Just thought I would share the story. Feels good to know in the future if I need to do this for me or anyone with a cool F250 99-03 I can and will do it and look like a pro!

 

I'm glad I kept reading your post to the end. I thought you were telling us how much you paid, not how much they wanted.

A $100 dollars to install an alt? That's friggen flat out robbery. Flat. Out. Stealing.

There aint no way a shop can justify that amount for changing an alternator on our trucks. It sits right on top for gosh sakes!

Easy access, minutes to remove. It takes longer to drive down and get a replacement.

What a rip off joint.

Stewart

 

I see your point. But I have run a repair shop in a past life. Owned it. Ran it.

You are right, lots of money for an easy breezy fix - IF things go right, IF the owner didn’t screw it up more than by natural causes and tells you nope, I didn’t touch a thing…(yeah right, those bolt heads are rounded off to nothing because of erosion) plus, if the shop is REALLY good they will look at things the shade tree owner might not look at or know of because they see that simple job come in to their shop several times a week year after year, they get the service bulletins /updates they are in the business and deal with other professionals and industry reps to get the inside scoop on the latest and greatest - they see that simple problem in 3D.

The serpentine belt might need to be replaced (installed without being twisted if it is a kevlar belt) the pulley bearings might be shot, might spot a leak in a hose or a potential problem like a wire that is rubbing the insulation away while working in that area etc.

Having the right tools, experience and knowledge, being proactive all leads to a shop that you can trust. I don’t have time or space to do anything but the basics so I see a value in having a shop I trust work on my truck. That comes at a cost. But I had to weigh out the time, cost and my ability to do this job and decided - yeah, this was worth my time. Plus I felt I got a part of my man card back doing some work on my truck.

You make a valid point, especially if the shop you deal with is not honest or trustworthy. I am fortunate the people I deal with for when I need my truck to be serviced are there for me and I know that to have this convenience it will cost me some money.

 

I replaced mine a few years ago, and it honestly took me more time to gather up the tools, and unhook the batteries then it did to swap the alternator. Total time was barely over 10 minutes......Dang, that would be $600 an hour at their rates! Total robbery, glad you fixed it yourself...

 

Same here. At least these alts are super easy to swap out compared to some other vehicles. $100... sheesh...

 

That's good.

Buuuuutttttttttttt............

Are you really trying to justify a $100 dollar charge, more than an hour of labor, on an "IF" as you put it? On a "...just in case" scenerio? On something that would take a competent mechanic with his tools right there, less than 10 minutes to change out?

So you're suggesting the shop was justified in charging a $100 dollars to install what is arguably the easiest alternator swap-out in the history of man, because there MIGHT be another problem present?

Costing some money isn't my point of contention in this thread. It's the shop quoting a $100 dollar for labor to change out the alternator.

There is no way that can be justified.

I can direct my mom, a little Japanese lady 84 years old with multiple medical problems, and with me telling her what to do, SHE can have that alternator changed out in less than an hour.

There's no way that $100 dollars can be justified.

Stewart

 

Hey, if its your money and you don’t see the value, I respect that.

If I had the money avail today - not only would I have happily paid the man for “the easiest alt change in the world"; I would have also paid an additional $350ish dollars for a powder coated Ford blue 200Amp alternator. You know - because everyone is looking under my hood.

Not only that; I don’t even need a 200amp alt - I would have done it just because I could….Actually, I might still do that and just pitch the now perfectly working alternator in the back of the garage for a hot spare in case the Myan calendar predictions are correct….talk about burning good money after bad. But it is my money to do that if I wish…I never said I was smart… just want things my way; sometimes I can’t get them exactly “when” I want; but eventually I get them the "way" I want.

I guess the justification is the standing room only at the shop, the amount of satisfied customers they have and the amount of work they have on the books - doesn’t seem like people are having too much trouble justifying their reasons of a shop rate at r close to $100 per hour…heck; walk into any Ford or Harley-Davidson stealership and check out what the going hourly rate is for even the most basic services and if you scoff at that they will tell you to step aside because your holding up the line…just saying..

 

As an hvac technician I have to charge a minimum for a service a call. Regardless of if it takes me one minute or an hour to find and fix the problem, the charge is the same. Who's paying my gas, insurance, etc.?

I think there should be a fixed rate for certain things that they know what the issue is and the time it takes to have it repaired. I know the shop I take my truck to (or will be if and when) charges one hour labor minimum. They need to stay in business, who's going to be there for the major repairs when I need it, knock on wood..?

Certainly am not taking it to Ford.

 

$100 is most shop's one hour labor, normal. Regardless of it the job only takes 20 minutes, that's their right and I'd be more than willing to pay it if I took mine in.

Just my opinion as a blue collar worker.

 

Agreed, plus my Dad always told me: “nothing is ever a 10 minute job”

 

We just changed the one on my son's 2000 F350. It took us 30 minutes, but that does include the 20 minute drive to O'Reilly's, buying it, and then driving back.

Just so we're clear, you know I'm not knocking you, right? I'm knocking the shop for overcharging for a simple parts change.

If I had your money I'd thrown mine away.

Stewart

 

I hear what your saying!

ooohh big mistake… .hang on to your money - you REALLY don’t want mine… you don’t think it is easy to become this broke by just sitting around here saving money all day - do you? I am trying my hardest to be the one man/truck economy jumpstart machine! Cheers Stuart.

PS - don’t ask me how that is working out for me….it’s not….

 

Glad to hear you got it fixed for 1/3rd the repair shop price. As for the OEM alternator...it's actually a FANTASTIC alternator, much better than the in-shop brands. A few years ago I had to replace my OEM alternator with 10+ years of service. I needed it done quickly, so I bought an aftermarket one. That one lasted about 1.5 years...I just replaced it last week. However, in the interim, I had done some research on finding a highly reputable alternator rebuild shop, and had them rebuild my OEM unit. Cost me $90 out the door.

So, don't think you did bad by getting a Motorcraft alternator...will likely last you many years.

 

Stewart

 

I have two alt. on my truck. They just went bad. So I called down to action alternator and they will rebuild both with better rectifiers and now china or mexico parts for 328. Just for future thought. Can be cheaper to rebuild them.

Riley