Changing Alternator

Further to my earlier post my 90 has been diagnosed with a poorly alternator. They are not too expensive thankfully but how easy a job is it to change (I am a complete novice mechanic!!)

Reply to
Andy
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easy!

Reply to
Tom Woods

good job to grow your confidence on.

Reply to
jg

Give Nige a nudge, he's good at supervising repairs ;-)

Simple enough.

Disconnect battery. Unplug the socket at the back (assumes it's a block connector) occasionally though rarely there is a spring clip on them to keep the plug in. Get sockets and spanners, usually 13mm (or 14 mm on odd occasions). Undo the clamp bolt at both the alternator and slacken the one at the block. Undo the other bolt which is usually 6 to 8 inches long and secures the other hinged end of the alternator. Remove the old one Replace the new one. Place all the bolts in place loosely and replace fan belt. tighten the bolts sufficient that you can adjust the alternator to tighten the belt. I use varying tools depending on access to get some leverage to tighten the alternator / belt. I seem to recall using a Jemmy last time on the 110 but in the past a broom handle / jack handle etc etc has also done the trick.

The trick now is to get the belt tight enough not to slip / squeel under load but not too tight as it'll f*ck the water pump bearings as sure as eggs are eggs.

My normal test is being able to move the belt on it's longest run by it's own thickness. Others say if you can twist it 45 degrees then again your about right. Much slacker and it'll end up wrapped around someones ear :-)

Plug in the wire.

Really is simple.

Reply to
Lee_D

LD> My normal test is being able to move the belt on it's longest run by LD> it's own thickness. Others say if you can twist it 45 degrees then LD> again your about right. Much slacker and it'll end up wrapped around LD> someones ear :-)

..and then thankfully they developed the serpentine solution with a tensioner ;-)

Although these go pop as I found .. hey ho.

Reply to
Neil Brownlee

Hopefully replacing the alternator is about as easy on a 300TDi, I've never done it before but the rear bearings on mine are apparently on the way out and have been for 5 years now (!) so I ought to have a bash some day...

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

Thanks all, the garage I bought the car from (High Peak) have agreed to cover the cost of an alternator which is bloody good of them, they offered to fit too but are too far away to make it worth the trip. I'll have a go :-)

Can't praise High Peak 4x4 enough, best service I have ever had buying a used motor!!

Reply to
Andy

On or around Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:25:01 +0100, Ian Rawlings enlightened us thusly:

You need a 15mm socket and a biggish bar to release the tension, but apart from that, it's easy enough. Also it's bolted terminals, not plug-in.

as a point of interest, the recommended deflection on the long run (about

300mm) of the transit's serpentine belt (a narrower one than the TDi) is 2.5mm under firm finger pressure.

it's no wonder the bearings go.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

funny that a pal from Whaley (sadly now no longer with us) bought a Series from a garage not a million miles away in New Mills ( they have since moved to YKW ) he asked me to test drive it as he had reservations about the steering. Justified as it turned out about 10 inches of play in the steering probably the scariest car I have ever driven they repaired it FOC but it should never have left the garage in that condition if you ask me. The rear springs were rusted solid as well but I had plenty of waste oil ( as you do) so that was soon sorted. Derek

Reply to
Derek

Andy Hi,

just to add one more thing.

When you will undo the long 13mm bolt and nut holding the alternator onto its engine mount you will realise that you can NOT remove it.

There is a sliding securing tube on the rear side of the alternator (where the black plastic cover is and the wires get attached to the alternator)

You can only remove the alternator if you push it so that the securing tube slides out of the alternator to engine mount a bit, by about 2 mm.

A small crowbar and some leverage to the appropriate direction will do that.

hope this helps

Take care Pantelis

Reply to
Pantelis Giamarellos

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