Thread: Life of TD5 alternator

Wow!
To me the life of an alternator depends. Mine died at about 130kk ( the week I bought the car!) because the big plug at the front of the camshaft leaked into the brushes. I fitted a new brush pack and the bearings were all OK. Since I had bought a new one to get back on the road I just stored the spare but didn't have to use it by the time I sold the car after 8 years.

Water pumps can last a long time as there is no side thrust on the bearings. From reading most die from the seal leaking or the gear on the back of the power steering pump wearing away. I replaced mine at about 220kk for reliability rather than a fault. Be sure to replace the hidden oring between the bracket and block.
Regards PhilipA

Mine got to about 280, but I have no way of knowing if it was the original. On a cold, dark and wet July morning in Melbourne. My Disco didn't take long to eat the volts left in the battery and failed to proceed. Vac pump seems pretty reliable. Mine was a Denso.

I get the following:

Water pump: 294,000km. The pump was perfect, the drive dog had worn away.

Alternator: approx 100,000km. I think this really depends on how much dust, mud and leaky oil your alternator sees. You can also kill them almost instantly by playing in mud.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

You can also kill them almost instantly by playing in mud.

A wise man, or perhaps it was Tombie, once said that Mud = Money.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

I get the following:

Water pump: 294,000km. The pump was perfect, the drive dog had worn away.

Alternator: approx 100,000km. I think this really depends on how much dust, mud and leaky oil your alternator sees. You can also kill them almost instantly by playing in mud.

Thanks!
I hate mud, I had my fair share of mud in my young years on the farm, getting bogged trying to get from one side to the other every time. I am over that brown stuff.

Originally Posted by Tins

A wise man, or perhaps it was Tombie, once said that Mud = Money.

Amen to that!

My old D1 saw it's share of mud. You grow out of it. Nice to know you can get through it if you have to, but we used to go out looking for it. This was called "fun".

IMG_1744.jpg

Fascinating that this has come up today as I too was contemplating this.

LR replaced mine under warranty at about 30k - but it was because they forgot to do up the earth strap on the engine. None the less was replaced.

So I think mine has done about 150k. I asked the mechanic about it and he was "don't stress.. they usually do 300k".

We are getting a camper which has a 30amp charger, and we have a new lithium house battery in the car which can charge up to 50 but can be turned down or off by bluetooth. I'm a bit worried that the 120a will struggle.

A new denso genuine is 895. An aftermarket one which I'm told seems to go ok is 575.