Hugo

Hey folks, long time no post...

Last summer, I had a little fun in some water/mud holes near my place. Long story short, immediately after really getting it on repeatedly in the muck, I hear a whining noise from my engine, but didn't think much about it.

Last December, the same whining noise REALLY got loud, and sure enough, my alternator was dead.

So it had been whining since last summer... of course, the truck has some 85k miles on it, but I'm sure my little off road experiments didn't do too much good for its longevity.

Just so that I don't fork over some major $$$ to have it rebuilt 12k miles after every session of wet fun, what can I do? Can I just put a rubber bag (like an old tire tube) around it?

Highland Runner

The only way is to stay out of the mud. The water alone should not hurt unless its done a lot. I think the bag or whatever will only hold the water/ mud in, causing more problems. Use a pressure washer to clean mud out as soon as possible.

Hugo

Won't happen!

So it'S safe to use a pressure washer on the alternator?

4x4Lamm

Anyway, umm after a long day on a dusty trail I pour a gallon of distilled water all over it while the engine is running. Picked that one up in a sweet book. As they say, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

85runner

Build a shield aroung the alternator to keep the big chunks out...just don't build it too close or the alt will overheat.

Highland Runner

Yea I'd figure you would say that. I have pressure washed my engine MANY times with no problems. Just don't stick the high pressure stream directly into connectores etc. and you should be fine. I leave my engine running also like 4x4Lam said while washing.