My 1st MM was assembled in mid Feb 2003. I dug out this photo of the front of the motor when I'd had it about a month, tops.



Is this the clutched alternator that early 2003 cars got? I understand the PCM calibrations from factory (all four?) never took advantage of this function?

My 2nd MM's alternator looks 100% the same. BUT... when I got my alternator replaced last month on the 1st MM, the alternator that was put on there appears to look the same except for that black 'disk' up front (the one with the white dab of paint pointing down to the crankshaft hub). There is no such disk on the replacement alternator... I can see the big nut holding on the pulley.

Question: did they replace my clutched alternator with a non-clutched unit or is that black disk simply a plastic cover?