Alternator heat sheild?

[endeffect0]

I bought a 95 talon tsi about six months ago and I'v been slowly trying to get this thing back on the road after doing a complete six bolt swap but I keep running into lots of small problems.
This time my alternator is cooked. I went through some of the service records that came with the car and the dude before me had replaced the alternator at least 4 different times and even twice in the same year. I'm thinking this is because the thing just about touches the o2 housing and the down pipe. same with the oil filter, I'm using a miata one at the moment because the tiny stock one is too big...

I really want to avoid cooking another one of these alternators because im just about out of cash to put into this car. has any one ever tried to put a heat shield between the alternator and the down pipe? If i were able to mount a sheet metal shield between the downpipe and the alternator would that help at all or would that just get hot enough to not make a difference... any thoughts?

 

[hereitcomes]

If he is burning 4 alternators up there seems to be a problem more involved than heat. Ive had an oldie alternator on my car that finally took a crap and stopped spinning this winter. An alternator should last as long as your battery if both are new.

 

[nightspeed87]

I was thinking of this myself because I had a alternator die on me not too long ago
but now my alternator has a life time warrenty from autozone so therefore I will just keep replacing it free if it happens again...
But if you come up with a idea for a shield let me know, the only problem I can see is if the sheet metal is too close to the alternator it possibly could spark off of it or do something crazy like that. For starters you can heat wrap your down pipe like I did,
then you can wire up your a/c fan and coolant fan to always stay on soon as the ign is hit like I did also ( but I dont have the a/c fan anymore because I removed a/c )

That might help your situation with those two things I mentioned...

 

[drivemusicnow]

Heat kills alternators, and the problem typically comes due to people not re-installing heat shields on their turbo and manifold. another solution is to relocate the alternator, however this is more involved and requires losing A/C

 

[endeffect0]

well I've already removed my Ac compressor and core so relocation might be an option that would free up some space up front which i would love. I will wire up the second fan on my radiator to be on constantly i was thinking of doing that either way. If i were to make a shield I'm sure i could brace it so that it never comes in contact with the back of the alternator so that their are no shorting issues. but I'm still not really sure if it would really do an effective job of keeping it cooler. It would be one of those things that i would never be able to tell if it worked unless the next alternator never dies....

thanks for the quick responses... I love this site

 

[nightspeed87]

Heat kills alternators, and the problem typically comes due to people not re-installing heat shields on their turbo and manifold. another solution is to relocate the alternator, however this is more involved and requires losing A/C

This is true, as I didnt have one on at the time mines was going out,
but mines also had power steering fluid leaking all over it at the time ...

well I've already removed my Ac compressor and core so relocation might be an option that would free up some space up front which i would love. I will wire up the second fan on my radiator to be on constantly i was thinking of doing that either way. If i were to make a shield I'm sure i could brace it so that it never comes in contact with the back of the alternator so that their are no shorting issues. but I'm still not really sure if it would really do an effective job of keeping it cooler. It would be one of those things that i would never be able to tell if it worked unless the next alternator never dies....

thanks for the quick responses... I love this site

This site helps huh!
Well anyways you could also spend like 180 and by the bushur racing alt. relocation kit
and it moves the alternator in the back of the motor were the a/c condenser goes...
My friend did this on his 1g gsx and cleared up a lot of space in the front...

 

[endeffect0]

yea that would be nice and maybe i will some day but at the moment thats 180 bucks I don't have, especially considering that i have to buy a new alternator now. (side note: does any one have any bad experiences with refurbished as a posed to new ones?) My car doesn't have the heat shield on the turbo manifold I guess the previous owner took it off, how much of a difference does that make as far as under hood temperatures? is it worth getting a new one from SBR or making one?

 

[SoonToBeDSM06]

I had the stock manifold shield on but it still killed the alternator. The o2 housing shield will really help it since that is the thing next to the alternator. The last owner took it off so I don't have it.

I do have an Advance Auto alternator that I have had for a year and it hasn't gone bad yet. Although the last alternator I had on was a 1g alternator and that came with the car. I guess the last owner went a little overboard on the 6 bolt swap and swapped in the 1g alternator as well and cut the 2g plug off and soldered in the 1g plug so I had a big mess.

 

[nightspeed87]

yea that would be nice and maybe i will some day but at the moment thats 180 bucks I don't have, especially considering that i have to buy a new alternator now. (side note: does any one have any bad experiences with refurbished as a posed to new ones?) My car doesn't have the heat shield on the turbo manifold I guess the previous owner took it off, how much of a difference does that make as far as under hood temperatures? is it worth getting a new one from SBR or making one?

I have a sbr heat shield.. I suggest you get one also, and my alt. is " refurbished " but it works fine.. You should get a warrenty with it so you shouldnt have to worry about it then.

 

[endeffect0]

I was planning on getting one off ebay, but now that u mention it its probably worth going to pepboys or autozone to get a refurbished one with a warranty.

A few questions about that SBR heat shield, how thick is the metal they used to make it? its just one sheet right? if i do make a heat shield for the alternator ill want to make it at least as thick as theirs is. and any chance you have a pic of it in your engine bay just kinda curious how it would look.

 

[DSMunknown]

But if you come up with a idea for a shield let me know,

Get a local shop to make a custom shield for you. Won't cost you very much at all (most can do it with scraps lying around the garage). Or you could be a true DIYer and make a go at it. Your choice. (Perhaps you can find a "universal" shield on eBay you could fab up, but I've never seen a shield for specifically the alternator for wholesale.)

the only problem I can see is if the sheet metal is too close to the alternator it possibly could spark off of it or do something crazy like that.

Ground that SOB to the frame if you're worried about that possibility.

 

[DGajre777]

My factory alternator on my car lasted for 9 years. I bought a Mitsubishi one, not a Autozone one which have a history of failing. Put all your heat shields on, spend some money on a Mitsubishi one and you'll be fine. Even though the Mitsubishi one is rebuilt, it is a lot better quality than the Autozone type stores.

Also, the alternator power wire should have an orange rubber cap over it. It shouldn't short anything out if you put a heat shield. I'm sure the alternator needs some air to cool too, so if you have a heat shield too close you might kill the alternator up with its own heat instead of killing it up with the engine heat - something to think about before you fabricate a heat shield.

 

[endeffect0]

Ground that SOB to the frame if you're worried about that possibility.

Maybe I just don't understand electronics (true) but wouldn't it be better to isolate it from the frame so that it has no ground and thereby no reason to short out across the a heat shield... ya can touch the positive side of the battery just fine unless your touching the negative at the same time and it has a place to ground to...

I'm sure the alternator needs some air to cool too, so if you have a heat shield too close you might kill the alternator up with its own heat instead of killing it up with the engine heat - something to think about before you fabricate a heat shield.

thats a good point I'm probably going to keep it as close to the o2 housing as i can. I don't have a o2 housing shield because of the massive size of the after market o2 housing thats on their right now. so in a sense ill be making a new o2 housing shield/ alternator heat shield...

anyone have any coments on the thickness of the metal i should be using or any other ideas...

how effective is heat wrapping and how is it held onto odd shaped pipes..

 

[DGajre777]

If you know that the o2 housing is causing alternator problems, have it jet-hot coated.

 

[endeffect0]

So my little brother (16!) just bought him self a mid 90s BMW 325is, the little bastard saved up the last five years to get that car now he has a running car and i don't so i gota bum a ride from him to go get that new alternator when i get home... sigh...

The reason that this is at all relevant is when i was look looking under his hood checking the thing out and i noticed that the car has an entirely separate intake for cooling his alternator!!

so that got me thinkin.. heh... i don't have any fog lights for the nice 2gb eclipse bumper i have, what would u guys think of trying to run an intake from the foglight hole to the general are around that alternator... is it worth it? is their any room back their in the first place, what are your thoughts

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couldn't find any better pics of it on line... let me know if anyone is able to find them..
basically that pipe runs to a dish thats bolted to the back of the alternator..

I'm honestly kinda surprised we don't have some sorta cooling system for the alternators in dsm's we already have water cooled throttle bodies, turbos, and oil coolers.. hell we even have cooling loops for power steering... when you think about it the alternator is the only thing thats belt driven on the car that isn't hook up to some form of cooling...

 

[drivemusicnow]

the throttle body is water "heated", but anywho. running some air ducting to the alternator would help.

I would also create some sort of heat shield around the 02 housing/turbine housing, or wrap them as well just to keep underhood temps down.

 

[endeffect0]

so the verdict is.... I'm gonna order a SBR heat shield the next chance i get probably not for a week or two but whatever... I'm also going to see what i can come up with as far as a heat shield for the alternator and o2 housing and ill throw some pics up of what i can come up with, if i cant come up with anything good I'm just gonna heat wrap the down pipe and get a heat wrap for the turbo.

Thanks for all the help guys ill let ya know what i come up with...

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

I can't believe nobody has suggested this yet. Just get a DEI or Thermo-Tec starter heat shield and use it for your alternator. Also, DEI heat wrap your manifold, o2, and dp. If you're really serious, add a Thermo-Tec exhaust manifold blanket over all of that. Problem solved. That's my setup.

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...&part=THE-14150&N=700+400356+115&autoview=sku

 

[endeffect0]

I will probably use something like the DEI turbo and down pipe blanket/ wrap. but the SBR heat shield should do fine for my stock manifold. I don't really like the idea of wrapping the alternator in a blanket because the alternator itself produces quite a bit of heat and needs to be able to breath.

do you have any pictures of your set up? i would be very interested in seeing how it came together.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

The starter heat shield isn't a blanket. It reflects heat out and does not keep it in. It's also open on the ends. It's big enough to use for an alternator.

Heat wrap is better than any metal heat shield. I can literally touch my exhaust components after a drive. Ideally you use both though. Wrapping will give you the most benefit and should be done first.

I'll have some pics up as soon as I finish the rest of my setup. I'll be covering my intake and all ic pipes with heat shield sleeves shortly.

 

[endeffect0]

I can literally touch my exhaust components after a drive. Ideally you use both though. Wrapping will give you the most benefit and should be done first.

wow that must really drop under hood temps!
Would you say that would be enough heat insulation for the alternator by it self or should i still plan on doing that blanket or shield?

I plan on wrapping the turbo manifold once I get a tubular one, but that wont be till much later this year as I have a lot of things on my to do list before that. I don't really see the point in wrapping the stock one because of the ability to just throw the metal one on their and the odd shape that would be a pain in the ass.

eventually I plan on making a cold air box for my intake and then wrapping the pipe in one of those intake sleeves, i hadn't given any thought to the intercooler pipe because I'm planing on doing a water to air unit and the cold side of that will only be about 2 feet of pipe right to the TB, if i can put it where i want it. But again thats way off in the future because of my limited income.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

Everyone thinks wrapping the 2G manifold is hard for some reason. It's not, you just have to take your time and use an effective pattern to cover the whole area and cut a small slit for the bolt heads. A metal heat shield alone is good for keeping heat from affecting your hood paint and the stock lower heat shield is good for the alternator, but they both don't do much for engine bay temps. Metal conducts heat so it just stays there. It just doesn't directly radiate as much on nearby components. Thermal wrap keeps the heat insulated inside the exhaust so it can exit the car. Wrapping an externally gated O2, now that can be a pain because of space.

 

[endeffect0]

thanks for the help all, ill be ordering the parts this weekend and ill post some pics probably next weekend when i have it all done.

 

[DSM LoVeR 96]

i made a heat shield out of a sheet of stainless steel. cut a big rectangel drilled a hole in it. then curved it aroun the o2 housing it covers up the alternater well and also protects my fan as well. works great

 

[DSMunknown]

i made a heat shield out of a sheet of stainless steel. cut a big rectangel drilled a hole in it. then curved it aroun the o2 housing it covers up the alternater well and also protects my fan as well. works great

Please tell me you have a digital camera (or can get your clammy hands on one). I like to watch.