Alternator clutch pulley warning

kidjedi · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 1:21 pm

This thread is great.

My '06 is at 120k, and I started to notice a rattling noise under the hood (mostly at idle). A couple of people have mentioned a "bird chirp," but mine was definitely more of a rattle/grind (somebody said an aluminum can full of rocks which is a pretty good description).

Yesterday as I was driving the battery light came on and my glow plug light (the lightning bolt) started flashing). Finally, the lighting cluster lit up like Xmas and the car stalled out. Somebody gave me a jump and I made it a whole 4 blocks before stalling out again. It was about the time my wife got home from work, so I called her and we had a good hour of stall-and-jump getting home... in rush hour traffic. Super fun. P.S. I'm going to start carrying a metal rod in my car to smack a-hole drivers who won't move over from the right lane into the EMPTY left-hand lane when there are TWO cars with hazards on parked on the side of the road.

I'm sure this thread is going to save me a LOT of "diagnostic" time with a mechanic (and save me from purchasing a whole new alternator --although maybe I SHOULD replace the alternator --see comment below). I'm going to get a quote, before attempting anything myself, because I don't have a lot of the tools mentioned here (belt removal, impact wrenches, Miller tool, etc.). If they want too much, I'll adjust my game plan, but I'm hoping I can get away with less than an hour of labor (from what I'm reading here it seems like they can remove the serpentine belt without taking the front end off) and around $60 for the decoupler/pulley.

My biggest question I guess is this: is it really better to just replace the decoupler/pulley or would it be best to go ahead and replace the alternator with one from a place with a lifetime warranty like others have mentioned? You spend not too much more and get a brand new alternator WITH the decoupler/pulley and a lifetime warranty on a part that seems to go out anywhere from 40k-100k miles.

Thanks all who've posted about this issue!

UPDATE: $145 for 150amp rebuilt alternator with lifetime warranty from Advance Auto (includes decoupler/pulley and dust cap) This means for around $80 more than just the decoupler/pulley you get a "new" alternator with a lifetime warranty.

evolDiesel · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 2:05 pm

kidjedi wrote:

This thread is great.

My biggest question I guess is this: is it really better to just replace the decoupler/pulley or would it be best to go ahead and replace the alternator with one from a place with a lifetime warranty like others have mentioned?

Answer: Yes, from a cost point of view but only if (A) you had half as many miles and (B) you would have noticed the bearing going bad a lot sooner and replaced it immediately.

You are definitely on the hook for both pulley & alternator at this point.

kidjedi · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:26 pm

evolDiesel wrote:

Answer: Yes, from a cost point of view but only if (A) you had half as many miles and (B) you would have noticed the bearing going bad a lot sooner and replaced it immediately.

B would have been pretty tough considering the vehicle still has the temp tags on it.

evolDiesel · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:57 pm

You bought a Liberty CRD w/ 120K? Somebody is an optimist :wink:

kidjedi · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 7:25 pm

evolDiesel wrote:

You bought a Liberty CRD w/ 120K? Somebody is an optimist :wink:

I love it. And it's got a Mercedes motor that should go half a million miles no problem.

Not to mention, as much or more torque than most V6's and even some v8's while getting 20mpg in town and 30/35 on the highway.

I don't really see the issue.

evolDiesel · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:09 pm

How did you get a Liberty CRD with a Mercedes engine? They are VM Motori :shock:

. And where are you getting your MPG data from. Fuelly data is nowhere near 35 hwy :!:

.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Sun Mar 24, 2013 11:01 am

evolDiesel wrote:

How did you get a Liberty CRD with a Mercedes engine? They are VM Motori :shock:

. And where are you getting your MPG data from. Fuelly data is nowhere near 35 hwy :!:

.

Another "newb" that has not filled out their profile :ROTFL:

kidjedi · **Posted:** Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:16 pm

Joe Romas wrote:

evolDiesel wrote:

How did you get a Liberty CRD with a Mercedes engine? They are VM Motori :shock:

. And where are you getting your MPG data from. Fuelly data is nowhere near 35 hwy :!:

.

Another "newb" that has not filled out their profile :ROTFL:

Me? As far as "newb" status, I'm 6 posts under the guy acting like a troll. I'm just trying to figure out why someone who doesn't even own a CRD anymore is still visiting the boards, seemingly only with negative things to say.

So I got some misinformation about the "Mercedes-ness" of the engine. Doesn't change anything for me. VM Motori makes a great diesel engine that I still expect to get me well into half a million miles. And just because I got that wrong doesn't mean I'm not getting 35mpg (calculated 34mpg, so maybe a slight exageration) on the highway.

And as far as "filling out the profile..." you really need to know my AOL instant messenger name?

This is supposed to be a place where people share information about CRD's to help make life easier and more fun, not act like 3rd grade bullies.

evolDiesel · **Posted:** Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:00 pm

Sorry man; truly. I just don't want people to be misinformed about the engine or the fuel economy. I just checked fuely and the median of the bell curve looks to be right between 22/23 MPG. The population contains 63 data points for the 2005 CRD. Seems statistically significant to me.

If you are proud of your rig, that's all that matters. I didn't mean to break your balls. I came to chime in on the pulley/alternator question as I had first I hand experience with it on my rig.

Good luck w/ your CRD! (Once again, no sarcasm meant)

kidjedi · **Posted:** Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:33 pm

evolDiesel wrote:

Sorry man; truly. I just don't want people to be misinformed about the engine or the fuel economy. I just checked fuely and the median of the bell curve looks to be right between 22/23 MPG. The population contains 63 data points for the 2005 CRD. Seems statistically significant to me.

If you are proud of your rig, that's all that matters. I didn't mean to break your balls. I came to chime in on the pulley/alternator question as I had first I hand experience with it on my rig.

Good luck w/ your CRD! (Once again, no sarcasm meant)

Thanks for the clarification and for posting instead of just letting it slide. I really appreciate the candor.

I know MPG is an area of great variance and people have a lot of questions. For the record, I'm getting around 19mpg average in the city and on the mountain roads (which is the majority of my driving), but I was getting 35mpg on the super-flat (slightly downhill going east) highways of KS. FWIW, the trip computer (not manually calculated) usually reads about 32mpg on the highway between Denver and Colorado Springs.

19mpg seems GREAT for an "SUV," especially on mountain roads and in the city and especially with the amount of "fun" this little 4 cylinder torquer puts out. The huge MPG increase during highway mileage is just the cream on top.

Regarding the issue this thread is actually about, I went with a new alternator (and thus a new decoupler/pulley) with a lifetime warranty installed by a mechanic with a year warranty on labor for less than $300 all-in. The pulley by itself would have cost me nearly $80, and a new lifetime warranty alternator is $145 with a $60 core charge. We got nearly 10" of snow this weekend, so having somebody else swap the alternator for only $150 more than the part rather than me curse cold fingers and dropped tools/parts in the driving snow seemed like the right way to go.

Thanks again for your follow up comments.

mungewell · **Joined:** Tue Jan 11, 2011 6:04 pm **Posts:** 48

My wife's '06 CRD suffered a 'loss of charging' issue last night, fortunately just 5mins from home and she was able to drive it off the battery. Confirmed 'no charging' with volt meter (down to 9.5ish volts by the time I got to it).

Pulled the alternator this morning and found that the pulley was siezed, with a little (hand) force on it it broke loose and spins in both directions. Time for a new pulley, however no-one in Alberta has them 'off the shelf' and I don't even know if the alternator is good. Local parts place is getting in an alternator for tomorrow (couldn't order pulley), stealerships wanted $150 for pulley or $400-800 for alternator!!

Battery looks like it's toast as well, won't charge (out of car) past 12V so that's more expense.... it's the original (as is the alternator) so it's probably not too much of a surprise.

The only vaguely amusing bit about this story is that I was due to drop it off today to have the timing belt changed (160,000km)... guess that's not happening til next pay check. Moral of the story, get one of these pulleys on mail-order for when yours goes. I understand you can also get the tool for changing then for around $30....

What do people think about glueing up the pulley so we can test the alternator? Might as well keep it if it's good rather than get $40 core charge for it.

kidjedi · **Posted:** Tue Mar 26, 2013 3:58 pm

$145 gets you a lifetime warranty 150amp alternator (in stock locally AND with pulley included). That was what I decided to go with.

neff12v · **Posted:** Wed Aug 27, 2014 6:54 pm

I tried renting a decoupler pulley tool set from autozone, but none of the sizes fit. Any idea what sizes for inner and outer?
I purchased the replacement litens one from idparts.com

neff12v · **Posted:** Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:41 pm

I ended up buying a Lisle kit from Kragen for $33. I think it is online a few bucks cheaper, but they got it to me within a couple hours. Fit perfectly. 17mm outer hex and 10mm inner hex.

VAdave · **Posted:** Fri Sep 12, 2014 4:43 pm

Had the same noise as everyone else. Little rattle at start up then progressively worst with the A/C turned on and the red/brown dust under the dust cap. Decided to purchase re-maned alternator from Advance Auto with decoupler already installed for a few $$$ more to save the hassle of replacing it myself. Installation of alternator was pretty easy, took maybe an hour. Hardest part was turning the tensioner to reapply the belt to the pulleys. Chirp and all other associated noises are gone!

As far as I know this was the original alternator and decoupler. CRD has just over 114,000mi and I bought it with 78,000.

Squeeto · **Posted:** Sat Jan 16, 2016 12:38 am

Remember this:

Well:

Can't wait for the proper pulley tool so I just hammered in a couple of washers and crushed it in a vise:

Turn the 10mm hex head of the shaft clockwise!

jagster936 · **Joined:** Sun Aug 04, 2019 3:06 pm **Posts:** 210

Hmm, I just tried to do this and it was a normal 10mm bolt in the center; using a good quality socket and powerful impact it just stripped it out, great. Not sure what to do now, probably new alternator.

Alternator clutch pulley warning

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