how to protect my alternator?

well, after some mudding, I had to replace my alt, and well now I have a new one that I dont want to have to replace when I go wheeling again, so how can I protect it?

thanx

I dont think theres ayway to protect it if submerged, stock skid and engine protector is probably the best bet. I went through a few alts in my mud days. My jeep rarely sees deep mud now,gets into eveything

no deep mud, really just what it splashes up,, my engine bay is brown,, exept for the new alt.. LOL

Most often the reason they stop charging is because the brushes are jammed with mud. I've washed mine out with really hot water on numerous occasions. I use hot water because it works better and evaporates faster.
Installing a diverter splash guard under the front of the motor may direct some of the mud away from the alternator. The OEM splash guard gets torn up fairly easily. I made mine from an old truck mud flap. I used the old OEM splash guard and a piece of cardboard as a template and improved it a bit.
Some people have talked about moving the alternator to the top using TJ alternator mounts, likely doable if you don't have A/C.
I keep an alternator on the shelf in my garage, along with a spare starter. Both are vulnerable to getting packed full of mud and not working, for pretty much the same reason, muddy brushes. I take my spares with me, when I go mudding.

thanx I will be making a splash sheild for it,,, that mud flap sound better and cheaper than with cheat metal,,, thanx


also any good tips for cleaning the engine bay from all that mud?

peeJnikcufesin said:

thanx I will be making a splash sheild for it,,, that mud flap sound better and cheaper than with cheat metal,,, thanx


also any good tips for cleaning the engine bay from all that mud?

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I use the quarter wash, soak it lightly and let it sit a bit, be careful where you spray with full pressure. You'll want to avoid the distributor and the TB and maybe have a plan and some tools if water gets into something critical and she won't restart (a problem I've never had, likely due to luck more than skill).

The "quarter wash" works well - put some variety of plastic bag over the distributor and make sure you don't hit the TPS (it really doesn't like getting wet!)

Have a can of "Wire Dryer" (basically an aerosol can of alcohol) handy in case you get the dizzy wet - and just plain don't hit the TPS with a full force spray (and try to not catch it with overspray/sidesplash)

If you're paranoid about it, you can usually use a regular garden hose with a stream nozzle to good effect - and you're less likely to hose your TPS that way (but cover the dizzy anyhow.)

Look into grand cherokee (maybe just WJ) or 2.5L brackets for a more permanent protective fix... both mount your alt. much higher, but the GC will require longer A/C lines and such... You'll have to go dual electric fans if you get either brackets I think.