Removing Alternator

January 19, 2007

Hey Guys,

Had a horrible noise from my TS's engine bay which was diagnosed by the local Mr T as the alternator bearing - In fact is embarrassingly noisy..... they quoted £217 fitted for a replacement unit..... wrong side of x-mas for me to spend THAT sort of dosh so i used www.1stchoice.co.uk to source a 'used' unit for £47 inc VAT & Delivery....

Decided last night to swap the units over thinking it'd only be a 10 minute job.. after all .. it's only attached by 2 bolts ! :wacko:

Top 12mm bolt out no problem..... bottom 14mm bolt.. hmmm... couldn't get a socket on it.... could only get a ring spanner on it...boy is this baby tight !! 2 sets of knuckles later and still can't budge the darned thing...tried lubricant.... tried to tighten it to 'crack' it....tried extension bar....still no joy :crybaby: ....was trying not to damage the bolt with the ring spanner (it'd slipped off a couple of times) ....inspected the replacement unit which showed signs that whoever had removed it from the donor vehicle had obviously suffered similar issues....looks like someone on the assembly line has a sick sense of humour! :angry:

I work in a college which has a motor vehicle dept so i thought i'd ask them to sort it for me instead... along with fitting my 2 new Toyos tyres.... i asked them today.. no problem but will be a week on Wednesday due to OFSTED inpections...... ooooerrr.. can't wait THAT long as the noise is driving me potty !!

Gonna try again tomorrow.... was wondering if jacking up the engine itself would create any clearance to allow a socket onto the bolt? I feel reasonably confident that with a socket i could get this bolt to move... has anyone had similar problems?

Rolf

January 19, 2007

Well well well.....

Managed to change the alternator tonight... not as straight forward as originally thought!

Used a 6 sided ring spanner to 'crack' the 14mm problematic bolt (my gonnads are now embedded in my neck!) but that highlighted another problem... to withdraw the bolt from the bottom of the alternator i had to remove the LHS engine mounting bolts and jack up the engine a few inches..... not rocket science but something i'd never done before.... once the bolt was removed it was a doddle to refit the replacement unit...

So...2 sets of knuckles later and a couple of lumps in my throat... i confidently fired up the engine only to discover that the noise was still there! Gutted - Turns out that the problem was the WATER PUMP and NOT the alternator.... my mate is sorting this out for me for on Monday for £80 inclusive....

Considering that i only went to Mr T's for someone to listen to the noise for daignosis i walked away from them with a document stating the following:

1. Brake discs/pads need replacing (£303 + VAT)

2. Exhaust back box (£101 + VAT)

3. New Alternator (£188 +VAT)

Touting for business or what?

I wonder what would have happened if i'd have let them change the alternator only for the noise to still be there?

Makes me want to take the car to the AA for a second opinion.... and if they can't find anything wrong with the exhaust or brakes take this matter further..bearing in mind the car only just passed it's MOT on 17th Dec and 2 of the above are MOT failures!

Anyway, i hope the above at least informs anyone who's interested what's involved when changing the alternator lol ...

Regards

Rolf

January 20, 2007

Ah !Removed! hell! that was problematic to say the least!

Thanks for giving us the info, I'll probs think twice if my alternator ever goes!

Good your getting it sorted soon, I wouldn't recommend driving the car too much between now and then though- you might open the impeller case to find that the impeller itself is mullered..... which would mean that there is no water being circulated in the system at all=no cooling! :o

January 20, 2007

Sounds strange - Ive seen Earpl slacken and adjust Chuck04s alternator in a pub carpark using my spanners and Chuck04s wheelbrace?

Ive given up with MrT completely now unless if to order bolts that snap, round off or generally are so soft that need replacing after anywork.

Last time went in for some fault diagnosis they said it was all due to my decat ... I have a sports cat and its been MOT'd twice since it went on ...

January 20, 2007

Agreed - gonna use my van until Monday..don't fancy encouraging any more 'issues'...

Re: Alternator.

Funnily enough, even though the bottom 14mm bolt on the alternator was initially solid it was still possible to adjust the belt tension by just loosening the top 12mm nut along with some 'gentle persuasion' with a bar ;)

Removing the engine mounting bolts sounds quite scary (well it did to me when my mate told me that's what i should do) but in fact it was simple... i wouldn't hesistate to do it again on my lonesome should the need arise.

As for using Mr T again.. i thinks there's more chance of me pushing smoke up a bull's @ss with a pencil ! :D