Alternator Replacement Help

[mdisalvo]

Yesterday my check charging system light started going off like crazy, every 5 seconds minimum. I went to autozone and they said their machine wouldn't even test the alternator so it must have gone bad. I was going to replace it myself, but I was hoping to find a how to on here somewhere and after searching around I don't see anything. It looks pretty simple...just a few bolts and a couple electrical connections right? Can someone point me in the direction of a write up on this? If not, what tools will I need? I just moved from home and all I have are my set of socket wrenches with me. Also, any recommendation on alternator brands or where to pick one up at a reasonable price?

 

[Exproblems]

just a few bolts and a couple electrical connections right? Can someone point me in the direction of a write up on this? If not, what tools will I need? I just moved from home and all I have are my set of socket wrenches with me. Also, any recommendation on alternator brands or where to pick one up at a reasonable price?

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Advance Auto Parts has online coupons you can get from www.couponcabin.com. I just checked both web sites and there is a bunch of Advance AutoParts coupons at coupon cabin of various discounts you can use. The two that would help you the most in buying a new alternator is a $40 off coupon from a $100 purchase or more or a $50 off coupon from a purchase of $200 or more. The coupon codes are as follows: $40 off is "CCabin" and the $50 off coupon is "Big50". The price for alternators at Advance varies from $129 up to $229 and I think you will need the 130 AMP alternator for your EX. Double check this for yourself. The "Worldwide" brand is "remanufactured" alternators and the "Remy" brand are "new" alternators. Personally, I would buy a new alternator. To use these online coupons just go to coupon cabin.com and type in Advance Auto Parts into the search bar and it will pull up the list of coupons for them and just "peel off" the label for the code. You can connect directly to Advance Auto Parts web site right from coupon cabin, then place your order and apply the coupon code during the ordering process. There is a box to type the code in to on the ordering page and you'll see the discount applied right after that. Just select a store near you to pick the alternator up from and you can pick it up within an hour as long as the part is in stock there. The Advance web site will tell you if the part is in stock at that specific store. This is of course you live near an Advance Auto Parts store.
BTW, I remember an old post on someone trying to remove their alternator, they had a big problem breaking one of the rear bolts free from the block. I think they used an air gun with a high torque rating and got it to break free finally. Use a long handled breaker bar for added torque if no air tools, but don't break the bolts off. Spray the bolts up good the day before you go to remove it with some PB Blaster lubricant. Good luck!

 

[Triton8273]

I remember an old post on someone trying to remove their alternator, they had a big problem breaking one of the rear bolts free from the block. I think they used an air gun with a high torque rating and got it to break free finally. Use a long handled breaker bar for added torque if no air tools, but don't break the bolts off. Spray the bolts up good the day before you go to remove it with some PB Blaster lubricant. Good luck!

Trust me on that one...I had to do it w/o any lubricating spray, no breaker bar or air tools.

I'm 5'6 125...and have no leverage behind me haha

 

[kkjb4x4.0]

Should be pretty straight forward just a few bolts and a tensioner. Not exactly sure on yours but most newer tensioners take a 3|8 square racket end ,,you'll see a square hole in the tensioner,,good luck.

 

[mdisalvo]

Thanks for all that info. I already started to take it off just to see how difficult it might be, it was really simple. I didn't remove it all the way but I got all three bolts loosened up and almost all the way off...the back bolt wasn't bad at all, I just unhooked the air filter cover and lifted it out of the way so I could get in there with a small socket extension. I'm going to pick up the new alternator right now and then I'll let ya know how it goes.

 

[mdisalvo]

I got the alternator swapped out and when I went to start it up it ran rough for a couple seconds, then it came up with "engine fail safe mode" and now it won't start. I unhooked the negative battery cable and I am letting it sit for 20 minutes or so and then I will try again. Keeping my fingers crossed...anyone have this happen?

 

[jstorm001]

Replace my 02 explorer alternator last week with the gold duralast alternator had my battery disconnected whole time didn't have that problem did run alittle rough tho wanted to stall at idle so i cleaned my Trottle body & MAF sensor runs great like new better mpg also not sure if this will help you when you do disconnect the battery the computer has to relearn goes back to factory settings so me cleaning them fix my problem maybe same problem maybe?

 

[D Hook]

Had my battery changed last week at the dealer and it took about 40 miles and several off/on cycles of the vehicle to get it back to running the way it was before. Long time to relearn but eventually it did just fine.

Just saying, after hooking up the battery again, you can expect some learning period. You DID disconnect the battery before changing the alternator, right?

 

[mdisalvo]

Yea, I was actually starting to think I should have just left it hooked up. I figured it out last night though, it was a dirty MAF sensor. A very similar thing happened to me last time I did some work and disconnected the battery so my sensor probably needs a good cleaning. After doing some reading I found someone saying you can disconnect the MAF sensor and start it up and it will run smooth. So I tried this and let it run smooth for about 30 seconds (it revved up probably to around 2k RPMS), then I plugged the MAF sensor back in. I think letting it run smooth for a bit/letting it build up the RPMS a little higher helped blow off some of the dirt that was on the MAF sensor (when replacing the alternator I was bumping the air box around, maybe I knocked some dirt loose which got sucked into the MAF sensor). Anyway, it's running good now and tonight I'm going to clean it up and see if I get any better MPGs.

 

[Exproblems]

Trust me on that one...I had to do it w/o any lubricating spray, no breaker bar or air tools.>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Then you got lucky I guess.

>>>>>>>>I'm 5'6 125...and have no leverage behind me haha>>>>>>>>>

Yeah but at 5'6", you left out the fact you had to stand on a milk crate to remove your old alternator. I think I weighed 125 in 5th grade, now go eat a sandwhich and some snacks for gods sake!

 

[Exproblems]

I got the alternator swapped out >>>>>>>>>

Mdislavo,

where did you wind up buying your new alternator from (parts supplier) and what did it cost you? Did you need the 130 amp alternator for your Ex? BTW, good to hear you got it done without any major problems.

 

[mdisalvo]

I ended up buying the remanufactured 130 amp from advance auto parts for 180-50 dollar core refund which makes it 130 (their price on the website factors in the core replacement). Then I used that 40 dollar online coupon to make it end up to be only 90 bucks. Normally I'm not really for remanufactured parts but it was so simple to remove and replace the alternator I figured I should give it a shot. When I returned my old alternator and their tensioner tool I also bought some MAF cleaner and cleaned that up, the car definitely is running better, idling smoother, and honestly I think it's getting better MPG's now too. Thanks for all your help.

 

[Exproblems]

I ended up buying the remanufactured 130 amp from advance auto parts for 180-50 dollar core refund which makes it 130 (their price on the website factors in the core replacement). Then I used that 40 dollar online coupon to make it end up to be only 90 bucks. Normally I'm not really for remanufactured parts but it was so simple to remove and replace the alternator I figured I should give it a shot. When I returned my old alternator and their tensioner tool I also bought some MAF cleaner and cleaned that up, the car definitely is running better, idling smoother, and honestly I think it's getting better MPG's now too. Thanks for all your help.

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Your welcome! Glad you were able to take advantage of the online coupons they have. You saved some decent money with the coupons and core refund. Did the remanufactured alternator come with any kind of warranty? FYI, you can use those Advance online coupons for seperate, multiple orders. For example, lets say you need to order $300 worth of parts, you can place seperate orders online at their web site and just order enough parts to create as many near $100 orders as you can, then apply the $40 off coupon for each seperate order you place. You will get the $40 off discount on every order. I did this last year when I ordered new rotors & brake pads and a few other things. Sure beats paying the store counter price.

 

[mdisalvo]

I think the warranty is just the 90 day warranty from advance auto parts. Not sure what remy offers, if any. Thanks for all the help, I'll definitely keep those online coupons in mind, helped me out quite a bit.