Q: How much oil needs to leak into an Alternator to cause the Alternator to go bad

asked by on April 29, 2017

I sent my car with my Mechanic Friday afternoon to fix brakes, change fan and computer. My mechanic said car would be done and returned Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, he calls to tell me that I need a new battery and alternator. He said he drove it made several stops and Saturday morning took it to pick up parts. Upon returning to my car it would not start. He removed the battery took it home to charge and found battery and alternator needed to be replaced. Alternator had oil leakage in it. He replaced battery and alternator made several stops again and dropped my car off Sunday Evening. My husband drove the car Monday morning to drop my son off at work and upon returning home battery lights came on radio died and car died. He had to push car into parking stall. I called the mechanic and he came to diagnose the problem. Took the alternator, battery and its been a week. He now comes and says I now need a new battery, alternator and gasket valve.

My car has 100000 miles.
My car's transmission is unknown to me.

Alternator Replacement $166.62 - $1297.14 Get a Quote

It would be difficult to say exactly how much oil it would take to cause the alternator to fail. However, oil leaking on the alternator due to leaking valve cover gaskets can cause it to fail. It seems as if the technician who is servicing your vehicle may not have performed a courtesy inspection to check for other potential issues prior to starting the other repairs you had requested. I would recommend having the alternator replaced if it has oil leaking on it as well as resolving the valve cover gasket leak to prevent it from happening again. You may try to use a different mechanic who is more upfront and honest in the first place. Consider YourMechanic as services such as this can be completed from your home or office.

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