Headed south on I-5 about 75 miles north of Bakersfield, CA yesterday when my alternator seized .... With a serpentine belt system & one belt - no cooling fan, no power steering or power brakes. I limped into the Pilot at the Lost Hills exit (Hwy 42 to Paso Robles). I lucked out, AUTOZONE out of Lamont by Bakersfield had an alternator - serpentine belt - tensioner tool and they made the 120 mile round trip to deliver it to me at no charge .... I had parts by 10:30 p.m. and was on the road by 9:00 a.m. this morning. Thank you Autozone ! Jim
Did the delivery person look like the lady in your Profile picture ?Either way good to hear it worked out for you man.
Sometimes the big chain stores are great. My local O'Reilly's has picked me up to go buy a part and driven me home when my car was down. It's cool Auto Zone was able to deliver that far for you.
Breakdowns on the road ****. Gotta be a great feeling getting a helping hand like that. Was the part actually delivered from the store you called or from a warehouse that was closer to you? Great service either way.
The correct alternator - belt - even the tensioner tool had all the pieces to it .... Just under my name - not a business name. Directly from the store too ! I had never thought to ask before. Its' just nice to report success for a change when you experience and hear such bad things today ... Jim
My local Auto Zone is great. O'Reilly's on the other hand not so much. Glad to hear you got some help.
Actually I like AutoZone - the only complaint they rarely have enough oil on hand when it's on sale - especially for a diesel. Got a hold of the district manager thru their website to complain - and she had all the oil I needed and then some sent to the store of my choice. Same thing on fan belts - need 2 the same size like I did for my 472 in the COE recently - they will only have one per store. So I get them 2 different days and they are not quite the same length - not good for a double pully. Ended up getting Gates at O'Reilly's - had them both - exactly same length - even the rubber felt better than AutoZone's "premium" brand. They did just build one a few blocks from where I work on my way home.
They don't (not supposed to) deliver to the general public anywhere as far as I know... they have commercial programs that deliver to garages. Although when I run commercial for Autozone here, I did on occasion take a part to someone that was broke down. I've also taken things to elderly people who have called and even installed a few batteries at their house for them. Glad to read that there are others out there that do the same thing! I don't work there anymore though... now I'm on the other end working in a garage ordering the parts
Yeah, Lost Hills is easily 60 miles from the Lamont Autozone. I am very grateful indeed. I was able to let the engine cool down enough to drive a few miles at a time to the Pilot, I didn't want to be on I-5 with afternoon fading to night and have to be towed. Could have been worse, left Ft. Bragg on the coast and took 20 Saturday across to the I-5 from the 1 past Willits and Clear Lake. Nothing really along there, not even cell service. Saw a big herd of elk by the 20 and 16 cutoff before Williams. Very pretty drive ! Jim
Well as a Manager at Autozone that is great to hear.....You can put those persons in for a ExtraMiler award thru the company.
What was your DD? I worked at a GM store, we had a lot of problems with some of the alts locking up due to a rear bearing failure.
If she did I still wouldn't be on the road, I have absolutely no self control. Truley vintage good for you. Now not to be an *** but maybe thiis is a good time to think about going V belt and simple.
That is the drawback with the serpentine system - I agree totally. I could have just cut the alternator belt on a v system and easily driven the 60 miles. Not much draw on the electrical system after the glowplugs warm, just the electric to the diesel IDI pump. But, everything else is good .... I love my F350 IDI .... 340K and still going strong Jim
I don't want to get the manager or store staff in trouble by going thru corporate, it would not be good if they were given **** for doing something against policy. I was going to buy lunch for the store ..... Jim
A lot of people complain about Auto Zone but it may depend on the store itself or the relationship you build with them. Ive had a lot better luck with them than most parts stores. Even when i worked for Pep Boys.
The Jalopy Journal
