Something to note from the immortal TAH and others:
Originally posted by Terry Haines:
The two major things that fail on this alternator are the brushes and the regulator(mounted with the brushes) very rare for the bearings to give out or the stator & rotor to give out...rule of thumb...just change the brushes and reg...clean the slip rings....
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Wouldn't it be nice if this could be done on the car without removing the alternator?
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Pssst!!!..if you can get to the rear support bracket when you are removing the alternator should be able to change the brushes & reg 'in situ'..!!!
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Pigeon:
The Ford plant I worked at manufactured the IAR (Integral Alternator Regulator) for a time. It's the part Terry was talking about. IIRC, the brushes are mounted inside the little electronic unit. The Haynes manual details its removal and installation from the alternator with some pics of it (little unit with "Motorcraft" on its cover).
This part should be serviceable without replacing the alternator; however, you still have to go through the exercise of removing the alt to get at them. The IAR will have a seperate part number than the alternator coil, but the "alternator" assembly itself most likely has a part number that includes the IAR as part of the assembly, which probably leads to some confusion at dealers. OR, the alternator is listed seperate from the regulator and brushes which would make sense if it shows as "having no serviceable parts".
The IAR lists at $59.18 and sells for $34.62 from
www.fordpartsonline.com as "Alternator, Voltage Regulator" when I looked for a 96 Contour (V6). The entire alternator lists at $179.48 and sells for $140. They also show the brushes (which don't show if I look for a 98 ???) listing at $69.98 and selling for $40.94. Assuming a new alternator includes the IAR and brushes, you can save $65 by buying from there and only getting the IAR and brushes (if that's all you need which according to Terry souds likely). Give your local dealer a call and ask if buying a new alternator from them requires you to purchase new or re-use the regulator from your old unit.