Alternator

  • Removal - all L4 models
  • Removal - 85-87 V6/manual transaxle models
  • Removal - 88 V6 models
  • Installation Tips
  • Rebuilding
  • Removal and Installation

    Removal - L4 models

    I also had to replace the alternator on the '85 2M4 yesterday (what fun!!). I have a few pointers for others on this matter so here goes:

    1. be sure to test the battery first - it is cheaper and easier to replace.
    2. buy an oil filter and enough oil to change thew oil in your engine since you ARE going be changing the oil (at least you need to remove the filter to get the alternator off so you may as well change it).
    3. step 1 of removing alternator - disconnect BOTH battery cables from the battery - you WILL blow something up if you don't. (Do it - I always find that electrical stuff has no sense of humour on this kind of thing).
    4. the alternator comes out from below and you will need a set of ramps or stands to accomplish this.
    5. remove the little triangular plastic cover (pops off with a pen knife) - it is right near the alternator just aft of the passenger side strut tower - you need it to get at the alternator and hold on to it later.
    6. use a 1/2 inch wrench (yeah, I know - the car is supposed to be metric) and loosen the alternator tensioning bolt - in fact, remove it entirely.
    7. tie the alternator up to something from the topside so that it doesn't drop on your head when you are below (this is a sensitive point with me).
    8. put on a set of safety glasses to keep all of the dirt and rust and other shit out of your eyes when working underneath the car and looking up.
    9. go below and reach up and remove the two conductor connector that sticks out of the side of the alternator.
    10. using an 11 mm socket (yeah, I know etc...) remove the BAT connector from the stud on the backside of the alternator - don't lose the little nut/washer assembly!
    11. using your 1/2 inch wrench and air ratchet (oh - you don't own one - how very sad!) remove the alternator pivot bolt and nylon insert nut - don't lose these either!
    12. Now for the tricky part! the alternator is now "loose" but it will NOT come out (believe me, I tried for an hour or so). You must remove the little cast aluminum bracket that the pivot bolt passes through - there are two bolts - one you can see from below and one you can see (but not access) from above. You must also remove the oil filter (cool eh??). Using a 15 mm (feel better now??) socket and extension on your air ratchet (see snotty crack above) remove these two bolts and the bracket itself. Both bolts are accessed from below - even the upper one which you cannot see. Do not allow the bracket to fall and hit you on the forehead (don't ask).
    13. remove the oil filter and drain the engine oil
    14. now you can remove the alternator fairly easily.

    Once I had figured out the jigsaw puzzle - it took me about 45 minutes to get the old alternator out and put the new one in (not including oil change time).

    From: Peter Frise

    Removal - 85-87 V6/manual transaxle models

    1. Remove the alternator heat shield (13mm bolt). If you tilt it toward the firewall it will fall down onto the ground. (easiest way to get it out!)
    2. Raise car, and remove the alternator adjustment bolt. (14mm?) You can now tilt the alternator forward and remove the belt.
    3. Remove the pivot bolt at the top of the alternator. (15mm) You can see it from the top, but you may have more room to maneuver your ratchet from underneath. Watch out, the alternator is pretty heavy. It probably won't fall, but you should hold on to it just in case. You'll probably have to maneuver it around a bit to get it out. It has to come out the bottom.

    From: Sketch

    Minor additions to removing the alternator: one does not need to raise the car to loosen the adjustment bolt on the lower side of the alternator--with the car parked and on my back, I could reach in quite easily with a ratchet and a socket between splash shield and control arm (depending on how long your drivebelt is there may be a clearance problem with a brake line--use wrench instead). For the upper (pivot) bolt, I removed the aluminium vent tube for the alternator to gain some more room (heat shield left on, dog-bone and alternator brackets untouched). It's nice to be able to sit in the trunk whilst working on the engine! Alternator comes out on the bottom, after electrical connectors have been removed (press in tab with needle-nose pliers to release catch), heat shield on. For re-installation leaving the heat shield off is easier. Tightening the (new) belt was easiest by using a long wrench, placing it between alternator bracket and alternator, and holding up the belt tension by propping up the wrench with a big screw driver against the trunk wall.

    Of all the removal suggestions I've seen, this one seems to involve the _least_ pain: no raising the car, no disconnecting dog bones (the vent tube comes out very easily), no removing brackets et al.

    From: Nikolaj Peddie-Richers

    Removal - 1988 V6 models

    Alternator removal on the 88 V6 is the same for both the 5-speed AND auto. Remove the RR tire, disconnect battery, remove 2 elec. connectors to alternator, remove top bolt of alternator mount [15mm], remove adj. bolt [13mm], belt, drop alternator out the bottom rear between the suspension components. No need to remove anything else!

    From: Paul Vargyas

    Installation Tips

    When re-hanging the alternator on the V6, that top bolt is a bit of a pain to get started. I found that the following helps quite a bit:

    1. Have a helper. (my son does just fine...)
    2. Position the alternator in the top bracket and have the helper slide a Phillips screwdriver into the bolt hole.
    3. LOOSELY install the bottom bolt to keep the alternator approximately in position.
    4. NOW install the top bolt, but leave it loose enough to pivot the alternator.
    5. Tension the belt (use a gauge) and tighten the bottom bolt [13mm].
    6. Tighten the top bolt [15mm].
    7. Reconnect the alternator wires, reconnect the negative battery lead, and you're ready to go.

    BTW...I like to pull the right rear wheel...it is NOT "necessary" to do so, but makes access a lot easier, especially if you are on a "creeper" and have to roll around under the car.

    From: Alan Ritter

    Rebuilding

    PEP Boys sells a generic kit for Delco alternators. It contains new brushes, front sealed bearing (you just grease the rear needle bearings) and a new regulator. The whole thing takes very little time. If your alternator is broken, you can go to an alternator shop and buy any part you need. I recently rebuilt my wife's alternator (same one as the 4-cyl uses). The cost was $32 for a new field winding which had a broken wire (it's the large coil that fits against the case) and $15 for the rebuild kit. That $47 rather than $49.95 for a 1-year warranty, rebuild, generic, who-knows-where-it-was-built piece of ...

    I prefer not to remove and reinstall the alternator in a few months because it was not correctly rebuilt in the first place. Remember, I was repairing a bad alternator. Of maybe 10 or 12 alternators I have rebuild this was the first time I had to replace that coil (stator). With out that part, the price is $15. The kit contains a new regulator module and that or the brushes is where the problems usually locate. What do you think about 20 minutes work (4 long screws, 6 small nuts, and one large nut) and saving $35 for your efforts?

    From: Lee Brown

    For a first-timer like me, it took quite a bit more time than the 20 minutes suggested by Lee Brown. I have no doubt that he can do it, but my humble self couldn't match this. The big nut on the pulley can be on very tight. Having just picked up the rebuild kit and new belts, I had the right Allen key and a breaker bar, but no suitable wrench for the big nut. Two adjustable wrenches didn't do much except mar the nut and get me agitated. Plan ahead for that 15/16" wrench and breaker bar...

    One of the four bolts holding the two halves of the casing together torqued off--drilled it out and replaced it with a longer bolt and a nut at the end. I'm sure I could have re-tapped the hole, but didn't have the approrpiate tool and then you end up with the same problem: a steel bolt in a cast aluminum housing (or some such thing). There was white powder on the three bolts that came out, product of electrolysis.

    Keep the various spacers in their proper order and do one step at a time, following the instructions in the rebuild kit. I spent a bit of time sanding off corrosion on terminals and putting on a bit of silicone spray where I thought it would help keep connectors corrosion-free for a bit.

    The rebuild kit from Canadian Tire ($20CDN, about $14US) did not include the rear needle bearing. I tore my alternator apart because it had a bad bearing. It was the rear one--picked one up for very little at an alternator rebuild shop. These alternators are very common. If you re-use your rear bearing, make sure none of the rollers are scored. If the bearing goes bad on you, the whole alternator has to be torn apart again (getting quite good at it by this point ;-). Use the green wheel bearing grease for re-greasing, but don't put in too much, because it'll prevent the rotor from sliding in all the way (this one had me stumped for a bit when I couldn't reassemble the housing).

    From: Nikolaj Peddie-Richers


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