stick a new belt on at the same time saves time incase it dies at a later date and then keep the old one as a emergency spare.

Actually.... I did that the last time I had the belts off the car... when was that? Oh, when I blew a head gasket at 145,000 miles and had a factory-rebuilt replacement engine installed.

I started to replace the alternator this afternoon, got as far as pulling the connector plug off the alternator (as opposed to just wiggling it to make sure the connection was tight) and found it all corroded and dirty. After cleaning the connector and the spade terminals on the alternator, I plugged it back in, started the car, and guess what? 14.6 volts at the battery. Turned on every electrical thing I could find (lights, rear window defroster, windshield wipers, heater blower) and voltage dropped to 12.6 volts... revved the engine a bit and even with that load it went right up to 13.6, this with a fully charged battery. So, I'm back in business, all I have to do is talk the folks at NAPA into taking the new alternator I bought back. They don't like to accept returns on electrical equipment... but seeing as it was never even out of the box, and me being a pretty good customer....

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"