My friend and I started talking about what “normal wear” items are, you know windshield wipers, brakes, tires, etc.


My question to all of you is this:

Can you rate the service life of an alternator just like you rate the life of a windshield wiper? For example, you need to replace a windshield wiper every six months now is it safe to say you need to replace a alternator every 10 years, or 200,000mi.?

By putting a life expectancy on such parts what you create is a base line “normal wear” for you truck. So when you talk to your friends and say “ I have only done normal wear work to my truck” you are saying brakes, tires, wipers, lights, (and after you establish the life expectancy of other parts) alternator, rear end, etc.

I will list some parts and if you want tell me at what point you have had to replace them on your truck. If you have not replaced them just list never..and please let me know what year and mileage you have on your truck.


ALTERNATOR

POWER STEARING PUMP

RADIATOR

STARTER

OIL PAN SEAL

CLUTCH

VALVE COVER

WATER PUMP

DISTRIBUTOR

COIL

EXHAUST, MUFFLER
EXHAUST, CAT. CON.
EXHAUST, PIPE

FRONT END PARTS (ex. Drag link, king pin etc.)

REAR END (SEALS ETC.)
LEAF SPRINGS

SHOCKS

Please feel free to add anything else you have replaced in your truck.

 

For example I will fill it out using my truck and my fathers truck


Part: 1995 F250 4x2 351ci. 1995 F250 4x2 300ci.
8600 g.v.w. under 8600 g.v.w.
90,000 mi. 220,000mi.

ALTERNATOR never never

POWER STEARING PUMP never never

RADIATOR never never

STARTER never 4 times 150,000mi
NAPA had lots of
trouble with replacement starters

OIL PAN SEAL need it now 100,000mi.

CLUTCH auto 150,000mi

VALVE COVER never needs it now

WATER PUMP never 180,000mi

DISTRIBUTOR never never

COIL never never

EXHAUST, MUFFLER 50,000mi. needs it now
EXHAUST, CAT. CON. never never
EXHAUST, PIPE never never

FRONT END PARTS never never
(ex. Drag link, king pin etc.)

REAR END (SEALS ETC.) never never
LEAF SPRINGS never 200,000mi

SHOCKS never 210,000 mi

U JOINTS never 60,000mi
needs it now

 

MOVED and member notified

 

I'll refer to my last truck since I just bought a new one.

94 Ranger XLT SCab 4x4 4.0 5 SPD, almost every option. Bought new (2.7 Miles), Sold @ 181949 Miles


ALTERNATOR---never

POWER STEARING PUMP---never

RADIATOR---125K and warrantied at 175K. IMO, life of a radiator is a function of the # of hot/cold cycles, whether the vehicle has a faulty radiator cap (overpressurized) and cooling system maintenance. For me it was just bad luck on radiator life.

STARTER---never

OIL PAN SEAL-never and not leaking

CLUTCH---165K, replaced only due to having to get in there to replace the $10 pilot bearing.

VALVE COVER---never

WATER PUMP---never

DISTRIBUTOR---N/A

COIL---never

EXHAUST, MUFFLER---never
EXHAUST, CAT. CON.---never, and truck easily passes emissions @182K
EXHAUST, PIPE---never

FRONT END PARTS (ex. Drag link, king pin etc.)---never

REAR END (SEALS ETC.)---never never
LEAF SPRINGS---never, but two nylon rub plates replaced around 150K

SHOCKS---due to desire only, upgraded to Ranchos @ 125K

Please feel free to add anything else you have replaced in your truck.

**wheel beraings while doing front brakes (first time) @ 129K. Bearings regarded as a wear item impacting reliability. No need to wait for problems.

**rear brakes---never

**flex brake lines---129K; showed some aging, replaced for reliability reasons.

**hoses/belt---every 80-90K

**battery cables---never

**A/C service/charge---never and always ice cold

**Lights replaced during ownership--- one rear license plate light, two third brake lights, and three fog light bulbs.

 

93 Ranger 4x4, 4.0 5-spd
128,000 miles

ALTERNATOR-never
POWER STEARING PUMP-never
RADIATOR-never
STARTER-just replaced at 127,000
OIL PAN SEAL-never
CLUTCH-never
VALVE COVER-never
WATER PUMP-never
DISTRIBUTOR-(DLS)never
COIL-never
EXHAUST, MUFFLER-cat back system stock was fine, just bent from someone hitting my truck in a parking lot
EXHAUST, CAT. CON.
EXHAUST, PIPE
FRONT END PARTS (ex. Drag link, king pin etc.)-never
REAR END (SEALS ETC.)-never
LEAF SPRINGS-never, but it really leans to the drivers side
SHOCKS-never, but they are due

I kinda think of the 150k mile mark as a point where things might start going wrong, but that's just me. All I've had to do is brakes when I got it at 90k and starter at 127k, I feel that that is pretty good as I know that the previous owner ran it hard, and I've put it through some abuse as well as doing mostly city driving trips of under 3 miles at a time.

 

All of my trucks have unknown true mileages, they are beyond mechanical limits...

I do, however, sell auto parts.

Having your battery tested every six months will help protect the alternator. The number one cause of a failed alternator, is because of an undersized or improperly installed battery. Forcing the alternator to work hard is also a common cause.

Batteries need to be maintained too. If they are stored for a long time, don't leave them on concrete, and use a maintainer if you can, check the electrolyte levels every once in a while. You do not need to check the electrolyte if you use the battery frequently.

Starters are another frequent problem, every brand I have sold, I have had several problems with. I suggest trying a local rebuilder if you can, they have a lot more reliability.

Shocks and struts should be replaced at 50-75K miles.

Front end parts should never be replaced on a vehicle that doesn't go off road or tow heavy loads a lot.

Springs should never need to be replaced, many struts have integral to them.

U-Joints should be replaced at 100K.

Exhaust parts are pretty dependant on your local climate...

Catalytic convertors should last the life of the vehicle. Fuel system cleaners should be used to keep the convertor from plugging, Sea Foam is the only cleaner that won't contribute to the carbon buildup.

The power steering pump should never need to be replaced, a flush is recommened at 75K.

Clutches depend on the driver.

Water pump should last 100K, cooling system cleaners and flushes are recommended every 24-30K (every two years).

Gaskets should be replaced if an item is removed... otehrwise they should last the life of the vehicle.

 

Expected service life is too hard to figure. Belts werent on the list neither were lights. Most drive belts are supposed to be changed 30-60K some even beyond that point. Most light bulbs are only expected to last 1000-10,000 hours some less. Ive seen cars with timing belts on them that have never been changed an example would be a 85 Misu pos that a friend of a friend owns. I changed the water pump @240K and that was the first time it had been replaced. The timing belt had never been replaced, looked awfull too but the car still runs 2 years later.

 

Alt---never
Power steering pump---never
Radiator---every 3-5 years
Starter---never
Clutch---once @ 50,000 mi. (because of leaking v/c gasket)
Valve cover gasket @50,000 mi.
Water pump---when ever I change the radiator
Distributor---never
Coil---never
Muffler---twice
Rear end seals---changed ratio @50,000 miles
Front/rear springs---never
Shocks---every 40-50,000 miles
Battery---3 times so far
A.I.R. pump---once(frooze up)
U-jounts---when I changed the clutch
Steering parts ---in 1997---14 years after my 1983 trip to Alaska and back
(They said driving the Al-Can highway was like putting on 100,000 mi. They were right.)




My truck is a 81 F150
4.9L (300 I-6)
T-18 trans
156,000 miles

 

'93 Ford F150 S/C, 198K miles

ALTERNATOR---110K. Replaced because of bad battery, also replaced. Battery replaced again at 185K.

POWER STEERING PUMP---never

RADIATOR---never

STARTER---never

OIL PAN SEAL-never

VALVE COVER---never

WATER PUMP---never

DISTRIBUTOR---N/A

COIL---never

EXHAUST, MUFFLER---175K from the Cat back.

CAT. CON.---never, and truck easily passes emissions @190K

FRONT END PARTS Drag link, 185K

REAR END (SEALS ETC.)---never never

LEAF SPRINGS---never

SHOCKS---replaced (upgraded) @ 60K, again at 135K

Please feel free to add anything else you have replaced in your truck.

*wheel beanngs while doing front brakes (first time) @ 90K, again @ 190K.

**Front Brakes--about every 30K miles. Rotors every other time.

**rear brakes---80K, again at 170K

**flex brake lines---never

**hoses/belt---every 80-90K. Serpentine Belt every 60K

**battery cables---never

**A/C service/charge---A/C compressor/evaporator replace @ 100K. Getting noisy again.

**Headlamp Switch--about every 5 years

**Power Window Motor--@190K

 

It's easy to determine the "life" of a part - wait until it breaks

 

> Can you rate the service life of an alternator just like you rate the life of a windshield wiper

Certainly, most fleet companies do. When I worked at Ryder, you would replace an alternator while doing a P.M. so it would not fail on the road. You go by flow charts that show when each particular component and brand is likely to fail and you replace it before it does so it can be rebuilt.

For a Ford OEM alternator on anything built after 1995, on a regularly driven stock vehicle I would expect at least 100k if not 150k before it needed attention. Assuming you changed belts and batteries when needed.