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Alternator / Voltage regulator
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Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Tue, 13 Aug 2002 08:36:52 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: Any "easy" way to replace alternator on '91 9000CS?, Rick Boyer, Tue, 13 Aug 2002 00:46:39
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In my experience, most of my 'alternator' failures are voltage regulator/brush back failures. Simply replacing the VR (which contains the brushes) fixed the problem.

Most of the time you can replace the VR from above, in about 15 minutes. Unless I know I have a true alternator failure (diode pack diagnosable with an oscilloscope, bad alternator bearing by sound/stethescope), I replace the VR first.
To replace the VR, remove the ground wire on the battery. I then undo the bracket that holds the top of the oil dipstick tube in place. With rope, I CAREFULLY pull the dipstick and power steering fluid lines from the firewall, and tie it off. Wearing an old shirt, I take a plastic garbage bag and put my hand through it, wrapping it with duct tape, and a glove on the end. It gets very dirty back there, and this helps. I reach down between the firewall and back of the engine, and with a stubby standard screwdriver, undo the two screws holding the VR in. Pop it out, wrestle the new one in (an inspection mirror helps), and after putting the ground cable back on the battery, I'm good to go.

Occasionally you just can't get the screws out. In that case, you need to pull the alternator. If I have to go through the effort of pulling the alternator, I'll drop in a rebuild, just to avoid needing to do the job again for a while.

If the VR trick doesn't work, I just replace the alternator. Yes, I can send it out for rebuild, but I prefer to get it done in one sitting. A fresh Bosch rebuilt can be purchased for $150 (for the 115A unit) from the folks that advertise on this BB - last time I got mine from Sobstory.

The easy way to replace the alternator is to remove the fender inner liner. There is a big difference between Easy and Quick. I'll take Easy even if it's slower. The time I've 'saved' by not moving things out of the way is usually more than used up in failed attemps, busted knuckles, and rounded bolt heads.

I remove the belt and replace it if it's worn. I've never had to remove the power steering pump. There is some prying involved, because the bottom ear of the alternator is usually an interference fit with the 'yoke' that it fits into. Two wires, and you're done. Don't forget to remove the ground wire on the battery!

My last alternator job took about 2 hours, from picking up my first tool to washing my hands.

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