I realize a lot of people already know how to do this. I'm posting it because I didn't, and I'm sure plenty of new people come here looking for instructions on DIY maintenance and repair. Had I known at the start what I know now, the 3 hour job would have been a 20 minute job.
For the uninitiated - "STB" stands for Strut Tower Bar. This is an aftermarket support bar that is bolted across the top of the engine, and anchored near the firewall and above both front wheel wells. It is difficult to remove without taking off both front wheels, and makes working on your engine a pain in the butt.
Tools you will need:
A medium sized ratchet wrench with short, medium, and long extension rods.
A 13/32" small socket.
A serpentine belt tool (you can get one of these at Sears. A 1/2" ratchet with a long handle will work in a pinch, but splurge for the tool if you can. It will save your knuckles and your patience)
A medium sized flathead screwdriver.
A magnetic pick-up pen (for retrieving small metal objects that you drop. And you're probably going to drop some)
A small crescent wrench or open-ended wrench for your battery connectors.
A can of battery cleaning foam.
A battery brush.
A can of WD-40 for stubborn nuts and bolts, and for something special (later)
A rag.
Two or 3 small containers to hold loose nuts and bolts.
OPTIONAL: If your alternator has been on the blink for a while, you may need a new battery too. No time like the present! Ditto for a new drive belt if you need one.
First off, this is what an engine with a STB looks like:
You can see the alternator to the lower left of center, with the 4 parallel cables running across the top of it. The reason this is difficult is because of the lack of space between the forward crossbeam of the STB and the coolant pipe crossing the front of the engine. Without the STB in the way, the Alternator lifts straight up and out.
You should already be following the directions from a Haynes or Chilton manual for removing the alternator, but I'll do a brief recap. If you don't have one of the above mentioned books, GET ONE. You can buy them for about $30 from Autozone, Napa, or most Hastings bookstores. It's your bible.
What to do:
Step 1: Disconnect the battery. You don't want to get french fried, so take off at least the negative terminal before you start. Spray the battery, terminal, and cable heads with the battery cleaner and wipe it off as directed. Clean the cable heads with the battery brush to make sure you have a good connection later. If replacing the battery, just take the whole thing out.
Step 2: Disconnect the rigid hose running directly under the front crossbeam of the STB. The coupling point is on the passengers side, just to that side of the alternator. Gently pass it under the STB bar, and pull it slightly up to get it out of your way. Be careful not to crush, bend, stress, or otherwise damage it.
Step 3: Using your flathead screwdriver, GENTLY pry up the plastic lock that holds the electrical plug connection to the alternator. This plug is on the top-center of the alternator. There is a plastic clip/lock on the back of the plug that keeps it anchored in the socket. Pry this clip away from the back of the alternator VERY gently, and wiggle the whole plug up until it pops out of the alternator. Pull it free and move it out of the way, but don't pull on the wires it's attached to.
Step 4: Remove the drive belt from the alternator. Down below and to the left of the alternator (facing the car from the front) you will see some engine pulleys. One of these is mounted on a metal swing-arm. This is the belt tensioner. As it's name implies, that swing arm pushes the pulley against the belt, keeping the whole engine belt tight. At the base of the arm is a metal plate held on with two nuts. Remove the nuts with your ratchet and take off the plate to expose the base of the arm. In the center of the base is a 1/2" square hole. Put the head of your belt tool or long ratchet into that hole and firmly pull the tool handle to the driver's side. The belt will start to go slack and can be slipped off the alternator pulley. If replacing the belt, wiggle the whole thing out of the engine. If not, slowly release your pull on the belt tool handle and let the belt go slack.
Step 5: Remove the alternator bracket. In the picture above, 4 parallel wires run across the top of the alternator's upper mount. This piece is the bracket. There are 2 bolts and 2 nuts on it: Two bolts that anchor the alternator to it, and two nuts behind those that anchor the bracket to the block. Take your 13/32 ratchet and remove all 4. Lift the loose bracket up and twist it gently out of the way to expose most of the alternator's top.
Step 6: Now you can reach the last electrical connection to the alternator. At the top of the alternator, on the driver's side, is a single electrical wire held on by a small nut. Remove the nut and disconnect the wire. Bend it gently out of your way.
Step 7: Now is where things get a bit frustrating, especially if you have big gorilla hands like mine. Try to maneuver your ratchet below the alternator, and using the combination of short and long extensions on your wrench, start ratcheting out the two bolts anchoring the bottom of the alternator. These are a pain because there's very little room to work with, especially on the driver's side bolt (it's obstructed by part of the radiator hose) and the bolts are long and may be stuck in there pretty good. I did the most cussing at this step and the next one.
Step 8: Now that all the bolts are out and the connections unhooked, the alternator should just be sitting there loose. Mocking you. It's pully rolling back and forth in teasing as it's burnt-out bearings laugh and squeak... *ahem* This is the hardest part. There isn't enough room in the alternators cavity to twist it to any kind of convenient angle to maneuver it out between the coolant pipe and STB. If the pulley isn't getting hung up on something, it's the anchor bolt protrusions or the back end of the casing. Expect to bust your fingers a few times wiggling it around in there. What doesn't help is that the thing is bloody heavy on top of being unwieldy, so just when you think you might be on to something, your arm is too tired to hold it up, you drop it, and the game starts again. Well here's the secret: Take that can of WD-40 and lube up the coolant pipe and the STB beam with it. Lift the alternator STRAIGHT UP and angle the top slightly towards you. The tip of the pulley will hit the coolant pipe, and the edge of the back will hit the STB. It looks like it might fit, but feels like it won't. Get your hands under the alternator, brace your foot on something, and pull HARD in a straight line towards your forehead. The STB will flex slightly backward, and the coolant pipe slightly forward, and combined with the WB-40, the alternator will come popping out with a satisfying *clank*. And maybe smack you in the face, for one last laugh. But hey, at least it's out.
Installing the new Alternator is the same process in reverse. I used a rubber mallet to gently tap the new alt into the space between the coolant pipe and STB until it falls into place. Position it and anchor the two bottom bolts. You want them good and tight, but don't strip them, and put a little WD-40 on the threads to keep them from rusting. Reattach the small wire connection with it's nut (or a new nut, if one came on your new alternator) and reconnect the locking plug to the top-center of the new alternator. Reattach the upper mounting bracket to the block with the two nuts, then attach the alternator to it with the two bolts you removed earlier. Put your serpentine belt tool or wrench into the belt tensioner hole, pull to the driver's side, and slip the belt back onto the alternator pulley. Now STOP. Check all the other pulleys and make sure the belt is seated correctly on all of them. Once that is all five-by-five, put the cover plate back onto the belt tensioner arm with the two nuts and either reattach your old battery or install your new one. Lastly, pull the rigid hose that you disconnected at the beginning back under the STB and reconnect it. Make sure it's good and snug.
Now start her up, and she should be good as new.
For the uninitiated - "STB" stands for Strut Tower Bar. This is an aftermarket support bar that is bolted across the top of the engine, and anchored near the firewall and above both front wheel wells. It is difficult to remove without taking off both front wheels, and makes working on your engine a pain in the butt.
Tools you will need:
A medium sized ratchet wrench with short, medium, and long extension rods.
A 13/32" small socket.
A serpentine belt tool (you can get one of these at Sears. A 1/2" ratchet with a long handle will work in a pinch, but splurge for the tool if you can. It will save your knuckles and your patience)
A medium sized flathead screwdriver.
A magnetic pick-up pen (for retrieving small metal objects that you drop. And you're probably going to drop some)
A small crescent wrench or open-ended wrench for your battery connectors.
A can of battery cleaning foam.
A battery brush.
A can of WD-40 for stubborn nuts and bolts, and for something special (later)
A rag.
Two or 3 small containers to hold loose nuts and bolts.
OPTIONAL: If your alternator has been on the blink for a while, you may need a new battery too. No time like the present! Ditto for a new drive belt if you need one.
First off, this is what an engine with a STB looks like:
You can see the alternator to the lower left of center, with the 4 parallel cables running across the top of it. The reason this is difficult is because of the lack of space between the forward crossbeam of the STB and the coolant pipe crossing the front of the engine. Without the STB in the way, the Alternator lifts straight up and out.
You should already be following the directions from a Haynes or Chilton manual for removing the alternator, but I'll do a brief recap. If you don't have one of the above mentioned books, GET ONE. You can buy them for about $30 from Autozone, Napa, or most Hastings bookstores. It's your bible.
What to do:
Step 1: Disconnect the battery. You don't want to get french fried, so take off at least the negative terminal before you start. Spray the battery, terminal, and cable heads with the battery cleaner and wipe it off as directed. Clean the cable heads with the battery brush to make sure you have a good connection later. If replacing the battery, just take the whole thing out.
Step 2: Disconnect the rigid hose running directly under the front crossbeam of the STB. The coupling point is on the passengers side, just to that side of the alternator. Gently pass it under the STB bar, and pull it slightly up to get it out of your way. Be careful not to crush, bend, stress, or otherwise damage it.
Step 3: Using your flathead screwdriver, GENTLY pry up the plastic lock that holds the electrical plug connection to the alternator. This plug is on the top-center of the alternator. There is a plastic clip/lock on the back of the plug that keeps it anchored in the socket. Pry this clip away from the back of the alternator VERY gently, and wiggle the whole plug up until it pops out of the alternator. Pull it free and move it out of the way, but don't pull on the wires it's attached to.
Step 4: Remove the drive belt from the alternator. Down below and to the left of the alternator (facing the car from the front) you will see some engine pulleys. One of these is mounted on a metal swing-arm. This is the belt tensioner. As it's name implies, that swing arm pushes the pulley against the belt, keeping the whole engine belt tight. At the base of the arm is a metal plate held on with two nuts. Remove the nuts with your ratchet and take off the plate to expose the base of the arm. In the center of the base is a 1/2" square hole. Put the head of your belt tool or long ratchet into that hole and firmly pull the tool handle to the driver's side. The belt will start to go slack and can be slipped off the alternator pulley. If replacing the belt, wiggle the whole thing out of the engine. If not, slowly release your pull on the belt tool handle and let the belt go slack.
Step 5: Remove the alternator bracket. In the picture above, 4 parallel wires run across the top of the alternator's upper mount. This piece is the bracket. There are 2 bolts and 2 nuts on it: Two bolts that anchor the alternator to it, and two nuts behind those that anchor the bracket to the block. Take your 13/32 ratchet and remove all 4. Lift the loose bracket up and twist it gently out of the way to expose most of the alternator's top.
Step 6: Now you can reach the last electrical connection to the alternator. At the top of the alternator, on the driver's side, is a single electrical wire held on by a small nut. Remove the nut and disconnect the wire. Bend it gently out of your way.
Step 7: Now is where things get a bit frustrating, especially if you have big gorilla hands like mine. Try to maneuver your ratchet below the alternator, and using the combination of short and long extensions on your wrench, start ratcheting out the two bolts anchoring the bottom of the alternator. These are a pain because there's very little room to work with, especially on the driver's side bolt (it's obstructed by part of the radiator hose) and the bolts are long and may be stuck in there pretty good. I did the most cussing at this step and the next one.
Step 8: Now that all the bolts are out and the connections unhooked, the alternator should just be sitting there loose. Mocking you. It's pully rolling back and forth in teasing as it's burnt-out bearings laugh and squeak... *ahem* This is the hardest part. There isn't enough room in the alternators cavity to twist it to any kind of convenient angle to maneuver it out between the coolant pipe and STB. If the pulley isn't getting hung up on something, it's the anchor bolt protrusions or the back end of the casing. Expect to bust your fingers a few times wiggling it around in there. What doesn't help is that the thing is bloody heavy on top of being unwieldy, so just when you think you might be on to something, your arm is too tired to hold it up, you drop it, and the game starts again. Well here's the secret: Take that can of WD-40 and lube up the coolant pipe and the STB beam with it. Lift the alternator STRAIGHT UP and angle the top slightly towards you. The tip of the pulley will hit the coolant pipe, and the edge of the back will hit the STB. It looks like it might fit, but feels like it won't. Get your hands under the alternator, brace your foot on something, and pull HARD in a straight line towards your forehead. The STB will flex slightly backward, and the coolant pipe slightly forward, and combined with the WB-40, the alternator will come popping out with a satisfying *clank*. And maybe smack you in the face, for one last laugh. But hey, at least it's out.
Installing the new Alternator is the same process in reverse. I used a rubber mallet to gently tap the new alt into the space between the coolant pipe and STB until it falls into place. Position it and anchor the two bottom bolts. You want them good and tight, but don't strip them, and put a little WD-40 on the threads to keep them from rusting. Reattach the small wire connection with it's nut (or a new nut, if one came on your new alternator) and reconnect the locking plug to the top-center of the new alternator. Reattach the upper mounting bracket to the block with the two nuts, then attach the alternator to it with the two bolts you removed earlier. Put your serpentine belt tool or wrench into the belt tensioner hole, pull to the driver's side, and slip the belt back onto the alternator pulley. Now STOP. Check all the other pulleys and make sure the belt is seated correctly on all of them. Once that is all five-by-five, put the cover plate back onto the belt tensioner arm with the two nuts and either reattach your old battery or install your new one. Lastly, pull the rigid hose that you disconnected at the beginning back under the STB and reconnect it. Make sure it's good and snug.
Now start her up, and she should be good as new.
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