here's my dilemma. i figured since i pulled my bad compressor i might as well change out the alternator even though my was bosch was working fine. i went to swap the pully and fan from the bosch to the reman delco that i received from rockauto only to discover the shaft on the delco unit is smaller than the bosch so the pully/fan/washers etc can't be swapped. and i also discovered that rockauto doesn't offer customer support (live operator or chat). i can't even find an email contact option. this is my first order with rockauto and i learned you better be 100% certain their parts can be installed so they are 100% functional (the delco alt will mount but that's no good since the other parts won't swap). and with no customer support, you are on your own.

so now i am faced with a decision. i want to get my cart on the road. my alt was working properly. i have 3 options:

1) just install what i already have

2) wait the week or two that it will take to order another bosch reman alt so i can swap the fan/pully

3) wait the week or two that it will take to find an alt complete with the fan/pully

sh..... why can't things be simple????? sh.... why didn't rockauto post a note that fan/pully swaps aren't interchangeable between brands... sh....why don't remans come as a complete assembly????? sh.... sh..... sh.... can you tell i'm peeved just a little.

 

Look at their returns policy on their website. You should be able to just send it back for a refund.

Dave

 

that is exactly why I never order from Rock Auto, no support, and non-specific parts.

you could have ordered a specific used alternator from Everyday XJ and you wouldn't have to be exchanging pulleys. That is not a fair job requirement when purchasing an alternator.

Return that alternator to Rock Auto, request a refund.

there are Jaguar-specific, new parts suppliers all over the USA: SNG Barratt, Terry's Jaguar, Motorcars Unltd, etc.

 

jose: i will be very careful with future rockauto purchases. i'll buy just the basics where there can be no question that it will fit and work on the car like spark plugs, oil filter, etc. here goes a portion of my rockauto savings by having to pay the return shipping.

now i have to decide whether to re-install the bosch or purchase a reman that is 20 minutes from my house. i just want to minimize the chance of a failed alt due to the difficulty of replacement. meanwhile i'm not bolting parts onto the car while i decide.....decisions....decisions....

 

in my opinion Rock Auto should send a UPS Call Tag to pick up the deffective alternator, OR they should reimburse you for the cost of the return, after all, the alternator is not the correct one for your car. It was not YOUR fault.

Businesses that refuse to do the right thing when they send incorrect merchandise should not get your business. And you should let everybody know. I do. I have had similar experiences with XKs Unlimited, (thankfully now out of business), and with Welsh Enterprises who threatened me with a lawsuit if I posted anything in the forums about my experience with them, so I told them SO SUE ME ! And of course they never did. At least with me, sending me garbage parts won't fly, I fight back.

Second: you do not need to get a Bosch, you can get a Lucas alternator from David at www.everydayxj.com David is honest and helpful, he might even have a Bosch alternator and he won't rip you off.

Also beware of Moss Motors in Goleta California, they purchased all of XK's Unltd. remaining rusty stock and are selling it like "original Jaguar parts", Beware! they are garbage reproductions. "Original" my foot.

 

There's a very old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
In your shoes, which I'm not, I would reinstall a working component and move on.

Much less Drama that way.
(';')

 

I lost three posts Each not as good as the earlier effort.


I missed any indication that the Rockauto surced Delco was a irect replacement for the Bosh on the Jaguar. It can be in a couple of ways.

I am not surprised that the Delco came sans fan and pulley. The unit will replace the original on many GM cars. Using the original pulley enables that.

Decades ago, the SMOG pump in my 79 IHC bit the dust. Cut the belt and enjoyed it's abscence. Til SMOG time came!!! I bought a replacement. Same as on many GM cars !!! But, sans pulley ! I had not learned how to swap them!! . That parts house now gone. Family operated. I was sent to the service bay A tech whizzed the pulleyoff the old and on to the new with his impact gun. Slic. Job done and I learned something.

A decade or so a Jaguar owner turned in his faile dump as a core. Only to find his replacement lacked the pulley!!! For some odd reason, I had the one from my DOHC. he got it. Why the useless but functional pump is in my i shed beats me.

OH, in rhe lump proceess, I did swap in a new OPtilite. Proactive... Glad I did,

 

Carl,
my engine still has the Delco Air Pump, It works! Amazing feat. I drove an XJ-6 without the air pump and felt zero difference.

 

Do you have an alternator repair shop nearby? If you do, I’d take both alternators to them and ask for a pulley, washers and nut to fit your reman unit with same or similar pulley size as the original. I had the opposite problem. My Bosch replacement came without pulley, etc and the original one couldn’t be swapped on to it due to the difference in shaft diameter. I knew this when I ordered the Bosch though so I didn’t mind spending the $15 to get what I needed.

I’ve been burned by Rock Auto also a year or two ago and learned they had eliminated their customer service department. What a business a model!

 

a lack of acceptance that they are screwing up customers is always the reason to eliminate customer service.

 

I used a piece of1/2 copper pipe with a slot cut in it for the key way. Worked fine after that.


Larry Louton

 

Larry: now that's some creative engineering that i appreciate. thanks for the tip.