1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
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Thought I would report on my attempted alternator repair ('93) for posterity.
Here is the procedure for removing the alternator: First, you have to remove the wheel and arch liner. Disconnect the battery. Use a breaker bar and extension on the tensioner pulley to slacken the serpentine belt so you can slip it off the idler pulley. This is ridiculously easy if you have the breaker bar extension, so don't even consider another method. Disconnect the electrical connections from the alternator. Remove the lower alternator bolt. Loosen the top one so that it comes out of the bracket at the back - at the front there is just a slot so that you don't have to remove the bolt (which bumps up against the body if you try to remove it in place). Now drop the alternator down and back (gently) behind the power steering pump. Now you have access to the two rear bolts for the bracket that the PS pump attaches to. But you have to remove the pump from the bracket too, so first remove the two bolts holding the PS pump to the bracket. These are behind the pulley so must be removed through the holes in the pulley. Mine were rusted, so I zapped them with WD-40 from below (the slot is open). I took off the idler pulley for better access too. With the PS pump disconnected, the bracket comes off the block pretty easily (4 bolts). Now you can get the alternator out. Installation is the reverse, but be careful that you have the PS pump in the right position (pulley out roughly where it needs to be) when you reattach the bracket, otherwise you will have to take it off again and start over. Don't have any tricks for getting the alternator back into the right position - it's just damn tricky holding that heavy sucker up.
I had ordered bearings and brushes for my alternator from Bosch through an autoparts store as they wouldn't sell to me directly. I trusted the Bosch guy on part numbers, but I was sent just some loose brushes and springs instead of the voltage regulator with integrated brushes that are required. As for the bearings - the one I got to see looked right, but I was unable to get the alternator completely apart. Don't even attempt to open an old alternator without an impact screwdriver. The screws were immovable by hand. But then once I got them off and the cover off, I was completely unable to get either the rotor or the stator out. I ran out of time and patience. I needed my car, and I was not at all confident that even when I got the rotor out that I was going to be able to get the bearings off without special tools. If I had another set of wheels, I would have turned the project over to the place that ordered the parts for me, but they were not close by or open on Sunday. I hate to admit it, but I gave up and went and bought a rebuilt one (which didn't come with a pulley, by the way).
Can I interest anyone in some alternator bearings and/or brushes?
posted by 66.27.8...
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