Joe,

For what its' worth, when the alternator went on my 85 GL (1994), I
installed a Bosch rebuild.  The Bosch has been totally trouble-free since.
I would install nothing else if the need arises to replace it again.  The
replacement was very easy.  The only miscue I had was removing the old
alternator before discovering that the pulley and fan must be swapped from
the old to the new.  Having no way to lock the rotor, I re-installed the old
unit, tightened the belt, then broke loose the retaining nut.  Other than
that, it was a smooth operation.

Good luck.

Chip Beckham
85 GL Weekender

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Tu [mailto:joetu@PACBELL.NET]
Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 5:03 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Alternator wobble? questions...

I noticed my alternator naking some light knocking noises so I checked it
out today. Turns out there is some play in the shaft, I think it's from the
bearing in the back of the housing. Also I noticed one of the little
connectors came unsoldered in the back, it's the one that connects to the
little black rubber box thing. What does that little box do anyways? There's
two of them actually, another one connects to the little binding post for
the little wires. Are any other people experiencing this play in their
alternators? If I recall it's a rebuilt one I bought a while ago. I tried to
take the darned thing apart, but the screws are on so darned tight and I
stripped the phillips heads trying to get them off.

Joe