My old alternator crapped itself the other day. My volt meter in the car was pegged at 16 volts. I replaced the voltage regulator less than a year ago and when i took it out one of the brushes was completely spent and the regulator itself was brittle. We figured a diode blew in the alternator and bought a new one from mercedes. After getting everything off the shaft of the old one, I started attempting to put it on the new one. How ever, the woodruff key would not go all the way in. I then read on the store here at mercedes shop that it does not require a woodruff key. If that is true, then why is there a milled place to put one? Also, The shaft looks shorter than the old one, this could mess up the alignment of the drive belt and shred it.

Does anyone know that this alternator is acceptable as is, or is there something else I must do before I install it?

Thanks,
Jim

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1985 190E 2.3-16v Euro
1980 300GD SWB