Well..... As the title says, my alternator locked up this morning and broke my serp. belt as well as melted 2 of my plastic pullies. I think 1 is a Nissan pulley and I am thinking the other is part of my Vortech setup. Can someone with the Vortech confirm this by the description of the pullies. The 2 pullies that I fried are at the very top of the SC bracket in the middle of the car. If I am not mistaken, they are the last 2 pullies that the belt goes around prior to it getting to the blower unit itself.

Is an alternator a warranty item? If so, is it by some miracle of a chance covered under the powertrain? I ask because the car has 35900 miles, but the 3 year part was out on 8/30. I don't think I will be able to be covered and I am definitely not really wanting to spend $300-400 on a new Nissan alternator. Does anyone have a spare alternator laying around they would want to sell me cheaply and quickly??

Zach

 

Vortech supplies 4 pulleys on the front of the mounting plate..Starting on the upper right the jackshaft pulley and down to its left 2 grooved pulleys and the very last is a smooth pulley

If the alternator were covered its likely they will argue your supercharger set up placed a load on the alternator that caused it to bind up...

 

Man Zach, sorry to here that hopefully everything works out.

 

jpc, so it sounds like both pullies that have been rounded over are from Vortech.

 

Dealer will say the belt caused excess pressure on the pulley shaft and caused the failure of the alternator bearing. Bet on it.

 

I spoke with the dealer and they will not warranty the alt. because my 3 yr/36k warranty ran out on 8/30 and they will not honor it with it being that close! My mileage was ONLY at 35,913 I believe. So, Nissan gave me a price of $325 +/- for a new alt with a 2-3 day lead time. I knew that Z1 Motorsports is parting out cars so I called them and I am going to get a used one with approx. 5k miles on it for $150 this afternoon after work! Much cheaper than the Nissan alternative. Now, I just need to get the 2 Vortech pullies on order.

 

I thought all Nissans now carried a 5 year 60k mile power train warranty though. Certainly the alternator can be considered part of the power train.

 

Text from Nissan's site:

 

yea no factory pullies are plastic, so if you melted 2, they are both vortech.

 

Yes that should be covered under the powertrain warranty. But with the S/C on there, you know the answer to that. But it seems like you have found a better deal!

 

Goos news guys!!! I got a used Alternator off a 2005 parts car at Z1 Motorsports for $150 + tax. Thats a lot better than the $325+ that Nissan wanted. Additionally, I took the 2 melted pullies off and they are made by Dayco which Advance Auto Parts sells. They are 76mm 6 rib pullies FYI. I was able to buy both pullies and a Dayco belt for $67.20 OTD! Now, if labor just does not kick my **** I will have escaped very nicely. J+I will try to post photos of the pullies tonight or tomorrow.

 

Good job Zach, get that thing back on the road now.

 

Thanks man. She is back up and running!

 

Alternator , A/C compressor, etc are all engine acceesories and are not considered to be powertrain components like the block, trans, differential, etc.

 

Well thats crap. The motor won't run without the alternator.