alternator removal ease

[svtguy27]

I remember some people talking about making the mounting bolts easier to remove, but i don't know if anyone had the guts to try this. So just letting everyone know what i did. I drilled out the threaded side and put 5/8 inch bolts all the way through with flange nuts on the outside. I went over kill and put in some grade 8s just in case the crush sleeves were too much for standard. It has been over 6 months and all is well. There is plenty of clearance for the belt around the nuts. So now it takes me all of about 15 minutes to swap it out. So next time you get down there you might thing about doing this.

 

[FIND]

I never bothered with it.... an alternator should last 5-10 years at least... too much work IMO for something you aren't doing often enough to get much out of that extra work. I just put in headers and that made swapping easier

 

[getsum111]

Too true. I was amazed how much quicker this was w/ headers. Only had to swear 3 times.:laugh:

 

[svtguy27]

Obviously you two don't have the new alternator every year problem. I've replaced mine at least six or seven times. That was before I found this forum of course. Now i finally said screw the free replacements and sprung for a motorcraft. Its only been 6 months. I have headers too and this makes it even easier and took me like 5 minutes to drill out and I had the hardware laying around.

 

[gorman]

I remember some people talking about making the mounting bolts easier to remove, but i don't know if anyone had the guts to try this. So just letting everyone know what i did. I drilled out the threaded side and put 5/8 inch bolts all the way through with flange nuts on the outside. I went over kill and put in some grade 8s just in case the crush sleeves were too much for standard. It has been over 6 months and all is well. There is plenty of clearance for the belt around the nuts. So now it takes me all of about 15 minutes to swap it out. So next time you get down there you might thing about doing this.

i've got a spare engine now ... i'm tempted to just thread the alternator and drill out the bracket. Anyone tried this ? is the alternator aluminium casing strong enough to clamp the thing tight ? ....G.

 

[Zipp734]

I found this to be the easiest way to deal with the alt

Remove the serpentine belt
Secure the car (wheel chucks at the back wheels), jack the front end of the car up, place jack stands at the rear bolt of the engine cradle
Remove both front wheels
Pull the tie rod end off the right (passenger) side
Go under the car and remove the wires from the alt (10mm) and unplug the wires
From the right side remove the lower retaining bolt (13mm)
From the drivers side use a 4 ft extension (you can assemble a number of extensions to get the length) and push it along the back side of the trans across the rear trans mount to the top bolt of the alt and remove the bolt.
You can now wedge the alt out of the saddle and pull it out.

Install the new alt and follow the steps provided in reverse.

 

[svtguy27]

I found this to be the easiest way to deal with the alt

Remove the serpentine belt
Secure the car (wheel chucks at the back wheels), jack the front end of the car up, place jack stands at the rear bolt of the engine cradle
Remove both front wheels
Pull the tie rod end off the right (passenger) side
Go under the car and remove the wires from the alt (10mm) and unplug the wires
From the right side remove the lower retaining bolt (13mm)
From the drivers side use a 4 ft extension (you can assemble a number of extensions to get the length) and push it along the back side of the trans across the rear trans mount to the top bolt of the alt and remove the bolt.
You can now wedge the alt out of the saddle and pull it out.

Install the new alt and follow the steps provided in reverse.

Yeah that sounds more involved then taking off two nuts and pushing the bolts through. Btw if you have the wheel angled right you don't have to take off the tie rod. I always take loose the sway bar end link and hold it down with a pry bar and just wiggle the alternator through. But different strokes I guess

 

[svtguy27]

i've got a spare engine now ... i'm tempted to just thread the alternator and drill out the bracket. Anyone tried this ? is the alternator aluminium casing strong enough to clamp the thing tight ? ....G.

I'm pretty sure what mostly holds the alternator is the crush sleeves and bracket itself pinching down on the flanges of the alternator. The way you describe would remove one side of the bracket from the pinch. Plus if i remember right the bolt holes through the alternator flanges are over sized for the bolts. Your way could work but I see it having a little bit of wiggle room.

 

[gorman]

you're probably right. I'm looking for a way to have a bolt head on the outside and nothing to stuggle to reach, on the backside. Maybe drill out the thread on the frontside of the bracket and weld a nut to the backside. ....G.

 

[morbid]

If you really want to make it easier, the newer Cougar alt brackets (and alternator) are probably what you want.

 

[svtguy27]

you're probably right. I'm looking for a way to have a bolt head on the outside and nothing to stuggle to reach, on the backside. Maybe drill out the thread on the frontside of the bracket and weld a nut to the backside. ....G.

Problem is that the nut would have to be welded to that sleeve. Putting a weld on that would be tricky as it might interfere with the sleeve tightening all the way down. Maybe you could drill it out like I did but use bolts with a spot for a hex key or with an un-threaded protrusion that you could hold with vice grips while you break the nut loose then push the bolts through. No reason to put a wrench on the backside then. : )

 

[blu_fuz]

I was going to make a relocation bracket that puts the alternator just off the left side of the front valve cover. Would be mounted to the "Z" bracket somehow and just fit a belt that will work..... Kind of how the non DOHC alts are mounted.

 

[svtguy27]

I was going to make a relocation bracket that puts the alternator just off the left side of the front valve cover. Would be mounted to the "Z" bracket somehow and just fit a belt that will work..... Kind of how the non DOHC alts are mounted.

That sounds like it would work well. As long as you could fit it in nicely and route the wires cleanly