What with this sunshine today I am contemplating attempting an alternator swap on my 89 Polo 1.3 Coupe' S. Have done a bit in the past, have a decent set of spanners. Can it be done from the top, car is broke down away from home so not particularly comfortable or convenient workspace, or is it an awkward one that I would be better off not doing me'sen.
Tips please.
ta
Julian
It is very easy on this car, you won't need anything much more involved than a couple of 13 mm spanners, a ten and a 13 socket, a lever , things like that.
Disconnect the battery, slacken the alt. mountings and adjuster, push the alt. toward the engine, remove the belt, if they are easy to get to at this stage then remove the wiring from the alternator, undo the alt mounts, the wiring may be easier to undo when you can twist the alternator, remove alternator. Reverse sequence to replace, use a lever to tension the belt, reconnect battery (assuming it is charged) Start up and check charging.
mrcheerful
IIRC, they often fail because they're soaked in oil - so sort any leaks at the same time. Easier said than done. ;-)
Indeed Dave! The old one was soaked in oil from a leaking motor, the motor blew, either rings or bent a valve and I made the mistake of using the old alternator in the transplant, which of course gave up the ghost on transplant. Also you have to be very careful acquiring a replacement alternator for these late 80's Polo's as there as quite a few variants, luckily for me I have some seriously skilled bikers round the corner who got me out of a hole and saved me 100's of pounds.
Jps Valeo alternator should be replaced with Valeo (same watts and volts) and Bosch with Bosch etc, some of the fittings and the bodies of the things vary just enough to be a pain.
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