My recently purchased 86 Montero 4x4 turbodiesel has an unusual alternator equipped: it has an oil pump on the back of it. This pump appears to be a circulating and cooling pump. Hoses are routed from the oil pan to the pump and thence to an auxiliary radiator in front of the main radiator and back to a port on the side of the engine.

Can anyone advise, how critical is this additional oil cooling? I have never seen such a contraption so I am guessing it would be hard to replace if the alternator fails. The alternator is putting out high voltage, so I think I will be removing the device to replace the regulator (or is 14.7 volts normal?!), or has an external regulator been discarded by some confused mechanic troubleshooting electrical problems? There have been many wiring changes made over the years...

While I'm at it. The other side of the engine space has a pair of old relays that are interconnected by a sealed device with two #6 wires. The entire circuit has been abandoned, but I wonder what it was? Maybe power for an air conditioner? This Montero used to have A/C but no longer... any clues would be appreciated.

Cade

 

14.7 volts is a bit high but under 15. It should be charging at 14.0-14.4v. Take a pic of this contraption, I have never heard of this setup before.

 

will photograph soon when my camera is available. I hear this sort of alternator - pump rig is also used on some older toyotas, and that it is more common with diesels that may benefit from more oil cooling. But this is just from chatting with sailors, who are known to lie!