who out there is mudding without alternator problems?

[amick1995]

what is the airdam tuck?

we arent cowboys. but since we go far from the beaten path i did invest in a spare alternator and belt. i assume it works... from a parts yard and it looks ok. cost about a third of the new alternator cost and given i figure im unlikely to actually need it didnt want to spend top dollar.

interestingly, if anyone planning on going that route, none of the junk yards anywhere near the cities ive been thorugh have any 2019-21 rangers yet. i hope that is a sign of their durability

also, i was told there are two types of alternator that fit this truck. one is a higher amperage rating i think. i assume this is not a newer alternator that is less likely to succumb to the threatened mud death?

cant help but wonder what is on the tremor, since its marketed for offroad.

The tremor had a higher amperage alternator so it can run the factory Aux switches.

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[Cabose-1]

Its not mud. But have driven through many flooded streets. In at least 8 inches of water for about 10 15 miles, when my ranger was but a wee lad at 4 months. Father stuck in mud and we had a really big storm drainage for all the small towns i went throug was flooded. I say 8 inches because thats our clearence on these trucks and my side steps where in water. Should probably change diff oil. Same thing hapoened to my father in a hurricane. His diff got water in it. A lot of water. But breather was broken off. Anyway. I drove in high water.

Have been in mud since then, maybe 30miles total ive driven in mud??

My pickup has been just fine. Driven in watery parts of a field too, in a 4x2 momentum is king. Lots of water and grass.

So far so good. Hope that helps a little. But if you are really worried, maybe take a spare alternator?
I am more worried about my diff collecting water. And that all so famous video, i dont do water fording. Not in my truck anyway

 

[Stangman570]

I offroad in Mud, water, and dirt frequently from week one when I first bought the Ranger back on May of '19. Not one single problem with the alternator, currently sitting at 42k miles on the ticker.

The key is each and every time you off road is a proper flush and hose down and get all of the mud and dirt out. If I end up back at home at 3am, welp just too bad. I take the time and not allow the mud and debris time to dry. Works for me. Trust me, I'm one of a hand full of people on the forums who put the Ranger through the gauntlet consistently.

I drive it like I stole it and I don't baby it. When it breaks I fix it, simple as that. I don't run to the stealership and whine and complain that I broke it while I'm off road. That's the price of fun. Gotta pay to play. Follow me on the ole ticky tokie @fordfreakingranger for all my shenanigans.

 

[9zero1790]

i hit mud about once a week but its not "mudding". i look at it like mudding is where the goal is to find mud to drive into on purpose and fapp around in it lol. when i go through mud its more like it happens to be on the path or trail im on so its just part of the route, an obstacle to get past. every time i ask my self is this the one where the alternator gives up. very annoying . takes some of the fun out.

 

[Squatchranger]

ah i see, doenst apply to our FX4 where there is no air dam to speak of. sorry i missed the previous thread.

i will say that after this week i do feel a little better about things- one day we did about 5 miles of continuous puddle wading and watery ruts. interminable slow moving in the snowmelt in the mountains. easily over 100 puddles (?ponds) up to a max couple inches over the tire. i waded each one slowly without blowing through them and there was no appreciable water or dirt on the alternator at the end of the day.

a few days later did a couple miles of horrendous mud- couldnt stop until i ploughed to the end of the road otherwise i felt confident with no momentum i wasnt going to get out and i didnt want to back out of this narrow single track a half mile. thick gooey water logged clay mud which turned the entire front end into an impacted mountain of sludge. spinning our wheels like crazy the whole way and sliding all over the place. once we limped our way out i checked under the hood. still- nothing on the alternator. the fx4 bash guard without any modifications keeps water and mud out if you arent fording deep stuff i guess.

yeah honestly im 95 percent sure a lot of these instances are gonna be user error.

 

[SilverSlugger]

Very interested on the possibility of a sealed alternator.

 

[Squatchranger]

Very interested on the possibility of a sealed alternator.

I dont think we have a setup that is conducive for it, generally those are water cooled and we don't have the hardware or space for that, spray it with some of that grease stuff that was mentioned earlier, get a skid plate and dont drive like an idiot and you should be just fine, ive been in some deep water and mud and not had any issues *knock on wood*

 

[Marpater]

If one was looking for a spare there is some available on good ole Ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1443301485...op1zp9jS28HmMd3SnrzsraiYDNpiVMikaAg10EALw_wcB

On the other hand it would be an interesting project to fit a liquid cooled alternator like this
https://www.amazon.com/DB-Electrica...lternator&qid=1649977742&s=automotive&sr=1-51
by building bracktry to mount it to a Ranger

 

[RoadBoss]

very educational video. i learned that i should continue approaching water like i already do, and that if i ever go to an OHV park i need three jerry cans and a roof tent to fit in.

but yes its lame that this is even an issue.

honestly dude in that video is lucky he didn't flood the engine submerging the whole front end/grill like that.

I've done plenty of water crossings in my truck, with water up at just about the door sills, and some small splashes over the hood, and haven't had any issues with my alternator

 

[Dr. Zaius]

Found something interesting that I may delve into if I can find the time.

The Cadillac XLR (2004-2009) alternator is sealed and water cooled. Made by Hitachi.

It's also rated at the same 150 amps as our alternator.

I'm wondering what kind of bracketry could be used to make it fit?

Just look at that beautiful sealed face and the cooling hose connectors

About $100 used/rebuilt and $300 new.

Edit: And HERE is a link to the connector.

Doggone I am seriously thinking about this now.

The parts don't seem too hard to come by.

 

[Frenchy]

One problem with that. How is the alternator controlled? Or where is the regulator located?

If its an internal regulator type it wont work.

 

[Dr. Zaius]

One problem with that. How is the alternator controlled? Or where is the regulator located?

If its an internal regulator type it wont work.

I'm sure there's more than one problem getting it to work.

I'm sure the pulley is different, mounting is obviously different, and the connector is different.

But it's a sealed alternator and who knows, the entire guts from the Ranger alternator may fit in there.

It's currently just a thought experiment with a reasonably priced and readily available sealed unit.

 

[RoadBoss]

One problem with that. How is the alternator controlled? Or where is the regulator located?

If its an internal regulator type it wont work.

true
I would guess the entire ranger electrical/computer system is dependent on variable alternator, and swapping in a standard on/off type would probably cause the computer to throw a fit.




And unrelated to that,
Have any of you looked at the height of the alternator on other comparable 4WDs ? I noticed the other day on a friend's 99 4runner it's at almost the exact same location as my ranger. Also, my 95' Isuzu Trooper it's in a significantly lower position, and I've gone through a ton of super deep water crossings with that.
Just got me wondering where other vehicle's alternators are positioned...

 

[Dr. Zaius]

true
I would guess the entire ranger electrical/computer system is dependent on variable alternator, and swapping in a standard on/off type would probably cause the computer to throw a fit.




And unrelated to that,
Have any of you looked at the height of the alternator on other comparable 4WDs ? I noticed the other day on a friend's 99 4runner it's at almost the exact same location as my ranger. Also, my 95' Isuzu Trooper it's in a significantly lower position, and I've gone through a ton of super deep water crossings with that.
Just got me wondering where other vehicle's alternators are positioned...

My Jeep alternator is where an off road oriented 4x4 alternator should be.

 

[SteelWheelDeplorable]

My Jeep alternator is where an off road oriented 4x4 alternator should be.

SO TRUE! Why couldn't this be the case when Ford dropped the 2.3L in the North America Rangers....?

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