After going thru a few altenators 4 wheeling I made a home made shield. It worked or atleast my alt didn't go bad. The first attempt was made from plastic out of a coffee can lid and a windshield washer jug and I used it last time we went with no problems. I made a new one this evening out of a coffee can and I am going to try it out tommorrow. Of course ita a prototype and could be pefected but this is the progress so far Here's some pics.

 

Saving money and doing it yourself is the way to go.

 

nice idea. too bad they didn't make beer cans that big.

 

lol yeah but then could they get you for an open container...

 

rock on brother, especially if it works

 

Way to go McGyver!

 

it's not in the truck is it? my bed probably has three bucks worth of empty beer bottles in it. ain't it in the cab, good to go.

 

lol open container haha thats siggable

 

i got pulled over last month for running a stop sign (didnt even see the ****in thing) and i had like 3 - 4 cans in the bed and the cop asked me if i been drinking, i said no and i hadnt that particualr evening .... ended up not getting a ticket for the stop sign either cause he couldnt look up my ca lisence or truck registration from wisconsion .... that was a city cop though im sure state troopers dont have that problem

 

the only thing that would worry me is the alternator needs to cool and that looks like it blocks the air inlets.

 

It does restrict airflow but I will remove it after we are done 4 wheeling...one day shouldnt hurt it and the vents are open on the bottom.

 

That is going to overheat on a long trip dude. That's why alternators aren't shielded. There is a fan on the front of the alternator for the reason. If the brushes and bearings overheat you're only going to get a few months or one good long trip out of the alternator. If I were you and I went mudding, I'd look into building a splash shield to keep all of the pulleys dryer. You can get a nice piece of plastic and bolt it from the bottom of your front bumper to the frame where the rack mounts very cleanly like they do with the Chargers and Magnums and all.

 

dude make me one. . .i just droped 140 on a new one lol

 

Its only on there for 1 day. The way I look at it is its a gamble either way. With it, it could overheat, without it the mud could kill it. 50/50 chance either way but I have killed 2 altenators without it.

 

I'll make one in the morning if I get time, if not you can use the plastic one I used the last time.

 

would that make it overheat?

 

it didnt with the plastic one, first trip with the metal one. I'll let you guys know this evening

 

should we be taking bets?? lol, sorry man but that will burn up the alt...id say about 1 hour into wheeling easy

 

Yes it has the one on the gas tank and the transfer case but not up front. It does have the square plastic shield under the bumper and the rubber splash shields under the fenders.

 

Im on my 4th alt and I think I may have to try this but I may change it up a bit to let it cool a little better. Im working my truck hard for a couple hours at a time when offroading so it would probably over heat on me. Although I am building a skid plate right now for the front so that may fix the problem with sand and mud getting in it. Ill have to take it out a couple times with the skid plate and see if the alt holds up.

One thing I did do is get a alt. from oreillys with an life time warranty so now when it does die I get another one for Free!!

 

Just got in, left the house at 11am and got home at 9pm so thats a 10 hr day of 4 wheeling and freeway driving...no problems!!!
I'll post a dirty pic tommorrow, its dark and raining.
John

 

Here's a couple after pics

 

+1 on the careful for overheating it. I just made a little 'splash plate' that goes under my engine bay to keep most of the mud splash from getting up on the belt/engine bay. Does a pretty good job at it. I'll be doing a few more things to keep water from jumping up in the bay.