Alternator failed on I-90 in the middle of South Dakota on a Sunday morning. Worst time and place for it to happen. Had to be towed 25 miles, then rent a car and drive 120 miles round trip to fetch a new alternator so the mechanic could fix our car. Super inconvenient since we were in the middle of a family vacation, in the middle of nowhere, on a weekend. Turns out the valve cover gasket had been leaking oil directly onto the alternator, ruining it. I have just purchased the new gasket and am going to replace it this weekend.

Every 25,000 miles the front valve cover gasket needs to be replaced due to an engine bad design of alternator position. Front valve cover design drains oil and falls directly on the alternator causing a very premature damage. At first I don't know about the problem and tried to buy a new one from AutoZone but the aftermarket ones don't really work on these units, they don't simply give the appropriate amount of power for those. What I end up doing was to re-manufacture the original and it worked perfectly..

Please notice if you have a partially damaged alternator it will give the unit a lot of failure signals on the dash and by riding it also. Take a look at your alternator and if it has shows of oil and dust it's is almost certain this is one of your major electric power issues. Alternator working properly at excellent values are a must in this van.

A tip I receive from a local mechanic was to hand make a mid cover for the alternator, this could be made from an aluminum can nicely cut and use the imagination to create. This will cover your alternator from the oil dripping. And don't forget to constantly clean the alt cover to prevent any accumulation of oil and dust which could also creates fires. Clean periodically and inspect.. Don't be lazy. Hope this helps..