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Had to take my alternator out again, so I figured I would throw together a guide. There are a few people that jack up the motor and take it out from the bottom, but I prefer this direction. it took me about 50 minutes today, including taking pictures and making notes of tools used. This will also show how to pull the alternator out through the top without disconnecting any coolant lines. Anyways, on to the pics...
Step 1) Put the car on ramps or jack stands. You will need access underneath the car.
Step 2) Using a 10mm socket or wrench, disconnect the main battery in the trunk. If you have a problem doing this, stop right here and take the car to a shop.
Step 3) Pop the hood. Starting on the passenger side of the engine bay, peel back the hood seal around to the opposite side.
Step 4) Remove both intake snorkels.
Step 5) Using a bone tool/interior clip removal prybar, remove all 4 plastic clips on the radiator header panel. Take care not to break them as you pry them up. The clip has a top that pushes into the body of the clip. You will be pulling the top up in order to pull the entire clip.
Step 6) Using a 10mm socket, or wrench, and a T30 Torx driver, remove the seven hex bolts and two Torx bolts from the header panel, then remove the panel from the car. Take notice of the routing of your hood release cable under the panel, in order to place it back correctly on install.
Step 7) Squeeze and unplug the electrical connector for the fan on the passenger side of the shroud.
Step 8) Using a flat blade screwdriver, pop the two clips holding the top of the fan shroud in place.
Step 9) Unclip these two heat exchanger coolant lines.
Step 10) Using a reverse-Torx E10 socket, remove this corner valve cover bolt, which holds the clips for the hoses in step 9. This provides us with more working room later.
Step 11) Now, we move under the car. Start by removing the front two underbody panels. These are held on by a total of ten 8mm hex screws; four in the wheel wells and six underneath.
Step 12) On the passenger side of the car, above the swaybar, you will see the back of the alternator. Squeeze the clip and remove the plug, then unbolt the cable using a 13mm socket or wrench.
Step 13) On the passenger side bottom of the fan shroud, unscrew this coolant line hold-down screw with a T20 Torx driver. Due to space, a T20 Torx socket would be better. There is a coolant line that clips onto the shroud directly above this screw. Make sure you unclip it as well.
Step 14) On the driver's side of the fan shroud, lift the two coolant lines, connected by the silver block, in the direction of the orange arrows. You will be lifting it off of the plastic hook marked by the blue arrow. Lower the lines back down in front of the hook.
Step 15) Checking to make sure all lines are unclipped from the fan shroud, move back to the top of the car and begin pulling it out from the top. This will be a tight fit, but if you bring the shroud halfway out, then start angling the driver's side up, you can remove it without removing any coolant hoses.
Step 16) With the shroud out of the way, it's time to remove the belts. This could have been done much earlier, but it's easier with the shroud out of the way and removing the belts earlier would not make the shroud removal easier. Using an 11/16" 12pt socket, release tension on the supercharger belt tensioner and slip the belt off.
Step 17) Release tension on the accessory drive belt tensioner, with the same 11/16" socket, and slip the belt off the tensioner.
Step 18) If you have a belt wrap kit, use an 8mm hex key wrench or socket to unbolt the double idler pulley on the passenger side. With the bolt removed, loosen the other bolt and swing the stabilizer arm up and to the other side of the supercharger pulley. With this done, you can remove the belts.
Step 19) Carefully unclip this coolant line from the clip in front of the alternator.
Step 20) Following the same coolant line towards the passenger side, lift up on the rubber mount shown below, in order to free it from the bracket and allow wiggle room for the coolant hose.
Step 21) With the coolant line unclipped and free to move about, push it up and out of the way as shown, to provide room for alternator removal.
Step 22) Using a reverse-Torx E14 socket, remove the two long mounting bolts for the alternator.
Step 23) With the alternator bolts out, move back under the car. Using a reverse-Torx E10 socket, unbolt this bracket from just below the alternator . This will provide more room for alternator removal.
Step 24) Use a prybar to gently move the alternator out of it's mounts. Prybars shown in the picture to point out where to pry.
Step 25) Begin pulling the alternator out the front, through the hoses. It will pass underneath the large, lower coolant hose. as shown in the pic. Take care not to run the alternator into the back of the radiator and flatten any fins. Once the alternator is clear of the hoses, you can lift it up and out.
*Tip from BoostedAero...place a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator to help prevent damage
Step 26) To install, reverse the order of the steps above.
I hate seeing shiny new parts coming off cars for RMA... This reminds me of my AC compressor that I had to do 2 times :-/
One Edit I would add is to have a piece of carboard in front of the radiator... I mean you have practice but I could see some people trashing their Rad :-/
Great write up and contribution!
my favorite part:
"Step 2) Using a 10mm socket or wrench, disconnect the main battery in the trunk. If you have a problem doing this, stop right here and take the car to a shop."
I hate seeing shiny new parts coming off cars for RMA... This reminds me of my AC compressor that I had to do 2 times :-/
One Edit I would add is to have a piece of carboard in front of the radiator... I mean you have practice but I could see some people trashing their Rad :-/
This will be the second alternator being parts warrantied and the fourth time I've pulled one out of the car. Alternator measures ~14v at the back on start-up, but as soon as the a/c kicks on, it drops down to 11.5-12v and doesn't recover.
This will be the second alternator being parts warrantied and the fourth time I've pulled one out of the car. Alternator measures ~14v at the back on start-up, but as soon as the a/c kicks on, it drops down to 11.5-12v and doesn't recover.
Added the tip and gave you credit.
Thanks for the cred not really needed but greatly appreciated
Ouch no wonder it only took you less than an hour!
What make and part number did you use. All OEM gear?
*** So I did this about a week or two ago...***
Get a bucket under the car and remove the top radiator hose, the big one. It makes the job a bunch easier once that thing is out of the way
Last edited by BoostedAero; 05-24-2017 at 11:28 AM.
Dude, this could not have come at a better time. I got to the point of getting the alternator through the water hoses but I could not so I gave up and decided to tackle it another day. Thanks so much man!
Man. I am stuk here trying to get the alternator out of its mounts. Is there some trick I am missing? There looks to be a metal sleeve that is going through the motor portion of the bracket does this slide out of the hole?
Are you talking about the sleeve you see in the next to last picture? If so, that stays in the mounting bracket and is not connected to the alternator.
Thanks a lot for this great DIY!! After replacing the regulator and being able to drive for a few days, things got worse again. Exchanging the alternator finally fixed my voltage issues/ flickering.
Alternators seem to be a common issue on our cars...
Great write up I had to change my cooling fan out today because I was getting the Coolant Warning visit shop error. And SDS was saying it was an open ground Only thing that I found is that it seemed easier to wedge it up from the alternator side rather than the driver side.
Thank you for the write-up, did this the other day and it worked like a charm. Smelled the plastic/electric burning a couple days before it threw the workshop message.
Thank you! Ive used this excellent guide twice in a few months time, under 20 minutes out the second time! I omitted the removal of the belly pan this time. I was able to get it out without jacking the car up. I hope this next autozone alternator lasts longer than a few hundred miles!... lifetime warranty or not, shoulda bought a bosch!
Thank you! Ive used this excellent guide twice in a few months time, under 20 minutes out the second time! I omitted the removal of the belly pan this time. I was able to get it out without jacking the car up. I hope this next autozone alternator lasts longer than a few hundred miles!... lifetime warranty or not, shoulda bought a bosch!
LOL I did mine about a year ago but opted to go with a Bosch unit definitely happy I went that way.
Alternator, A/C compressor, Power steering pumps -
You get 100k and want to replace - where do you get the part with the requirement of it lasting another 100k like the original did? I took out my accessories and wish to renew/replace. Multiple brands, some better than others. I do not wish to go back in again. That is the point of removing all of this during an extensive maintenance.
Alternator actually looks fine. I may just put it back in - but another thought is to better understand who makes them, and pay the probably higher cost for the best part.
I have had units rebuilt locally with luck as well.
If Bosch is the alternator when they make the car - may as well buy that again.
Alternatively, you can purchase the Bosch rebuild kit and rebuild the alternator yourself. It works best if you do so before the bearings fail and trash the rotor/stator assembly. $63 plus shipping and it's something I don't mind doing myself. The following is the rebuild kit for the Bosch alternator on my car (which, strangely enough, has a "rebuilt" sticker on it even though there is no record of an alternator replacement in the service records). Might have been when the first owner had it as the car was a repo at 44K miles and sold to the USAF pilot from whom I purchased the car.
I've saved this thread for when I pull the major maintenance on my car in a few weeks. A most excellent DIY. If interested, I'll rebuild my alternator with photos and add it to this thread if the OP doesn't mind.
one option regarding that 100k mile plan..if the original alternator is still good, you can get good money selling it on ebay. Put that money towards a mew (rebuilt?) Bosch replacement for peace of mind
02-28-2017, 01:08 AM
not really needed but greatly appreciated
