Replacing the Alternator

[Philgag]

My alternator is going down and I'm looking foward to replace it.

Is it a hard job to do? it seems not too hard..my concern is having to remove and re-route the whole belt...is there somehting I can do to only remove the belt and the alt and then get it on the new alt ...? What Else could be tough while doing these? If you got experience please post it :)

Thanks!

[straightupmad]

It's not that hard really. And yes, you can just loosen the tension on the belt and slip it off the alt. pulley.

Some words of advice....

Having helping hands is always a plus, especially if it is your first time.

Rent the serpentine belt tool from your auto parts store. There isn't much clearance to get to the bolt on the tensioner to release it's tension.

Remove the radiator overflow tank to allow room to work and maneuver the alt. out.

Remove the electrical connections on the alt. before you loosen the bolts (there are 3 bolts that hold the alt in place). Don't pull on the wires as you can pull them out of the connectors. There three things to remove the charging wire going to the battery (10mm nut), 3-wire connector, and a single wire connector.

Look in the D.I.Y Performance section under the knowledge base section on this site for a diagram of the belt routing (Poor man's a/c and p/s delete thread). Just don't pay attention to the colored routings.

[scort2498]

all goood helpful tips...just rememer the tensioner is on the far right hand side of the belt system in the middle and only take it off the alt. pulley that will save you alot if time for your first time... HOwever the most difficult part is ti get the belt back on the pulley.
When and if i have to do mine again(knock on wood) i would remove the whole belt die to the fact it is easier to get it over the crank pulley, and isn't really that hard to reroute

[Philgag]

thanks for the tips!

[mechtech]

serpentine belt tool?
A short 13mm socket on a 3/8 flex head ratchet or 3/8 breaker bar works great.
Put/route the belt on the crank pulley last, NOT the tensioner pulley.
You do this from the bottom after taking out the fender splash shield.

[arkarsk]

serpentine belt tool?
Put/route the belt on the crank pulley last, NOT the tensioner pulley.


Why's this? I just changed my second belt today (first time was just on and off with the same belt, this time i put on a new belt), and put it on the tensioner pulley last - seemed easiest that way.

[straightupmad]

serpentine belt tool?
A short 13mm socket on a 3/8 flex head ratchet or 3/8 breaker bar works great.


if someone has tools such as these, then i would imagine they would think of these first before rushing out to rent or buy another tool to fit in tight places, such as the serpentine belt. on the other hand, i would think one with tools outside of the normal screwdrivers, ratchets, etc would not be asking if replacing an alt. or routing a serp. belt is hard. i would, however, expect someone in that situation to ask if there are any tricks to get the job down faster that may not be obvious doing it for the first time, but i do not see this as being the case.

[scort2498]

... my breaker bar wouldn't fit.

[ImCrazy]

my ratchet fits on there just fine.... its an easy job just a tight job i think i had to remove something like the coolant and windshield washer tanks.

[mechtech]

Why not put the belt on the tensioner pulley last?
Because it is much harder. Of course you can do it, but why not do the same job the easy way?

[Hypnose Zx2]

LOL ITS GAY!!!!!
thay give u no room!
took me 4 hours my frist try but i was also opn the side of the road and i didnt know how to losen the belt.