Recently had to replace my alternator, the wife drove though a major rain storm and we have very rutted roads that hold water , the engine started to make a whistling noise that sounded like a supercharger ,
Infact there was no way it sounded like it was coming from alternator , after much research i was stumped and feared the worst like timing chain or something , then a few days later battery light came on so i loaded the parts cannon and fired an alternator out of it , it was a direct hit and solved the noise .


This brings me to the issue , there is a hole in inner fender shield that is a direct hit for splashing water to hit alternator , I didn’t take before pic but if your reading this I assume you have your own a 5th gen so go look .

I cut a piece of rubber floor mat and installed it with ty-raps and washers in existing holes , this will deflect any water from hitting alternator and hopefully prolonging this ones life cause alternators and water don't mix

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Nice DIY! There's usually already a flap there in that spot, maybe it got ripped out at some point? Not my pic, but an example:

It takes a close look to see but he's added a second apron on the inside behind that one to cover the alternator more.

I used rubber roofing ... 3/16INCH thick ..put under the wheel wells ..
I also used the rubber roofing under the floor mats .

Kind of wondered about this because I had to replace mine sooner than I'd expect and I've seen other threads of alternators dying. Is there a history or concensus theory behind this or just a "for good luck" thing? How many miles were on the old alternator?

Thanks for pointing that out! Really can barely see it in the pic...

Yes that’s correct i added to behind the existing one to close the hole and a direct shot right into the alternator windings for water