Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches Northeast Anyone want to help?

trust me the axle has to come off or other wise you will not be able to remove the alt. > you know how tight our cars are with space. Good luck with it.

So, guess what?! The alternator came out, with just the tie rod removed. Just needed to turn the alt a little and it popped right on out. I had more problems getting it loose from the mount, then getting it out. I did find my real problem though, the regulator wiring was pinched, and barely making contact. I just ordered new pigtails from Bill J. and will install my higher perf alt some time next week. I have a few pix, for anyone that may be interested.

I just finished the install. I ended up getting the pigtails from my local Ford dealer, who actually had them in stock!

My basic instructions:

First, the wiring:
There are a few wires on the alternator, the connector to the regulator (use needle-nose pliers to remove the safety tie).
The idiot light (small gray connector) use a jeweler's screwdriver to pry the lip up (be careful! mine was really brittle and broke off) and pull it off.
Last but not least, the main feed to the car, 8mm (IIRC).

Alternator R&R:
Remove pass. wheel and all splash guards.
Loosen FEAD belt using a serp. belt tool, and remove the loop from the A/C compressor.
With the FEAD belt loose, remove the loop from the alt and reloop the A/C compressor.
Remove the tie-rod (15mm), its on tight.
Of course the car is already jacked up. (Mine is 26" high. )
Remove the y-pipe.
The bolts that attach to the alt mount are 13mm, the top one being nice and tight.
The lower bolt is cake, 2x 6" extensions with a wobble in between and off it came.
The top one, 2x 6" extensions with a wobble in between and a 24" extension after the wobble. The bolt is really tight, so brute force works real well.
The last thing to worry about is the small bracket (10mm) that attaches to the alt and to the block.

Now with all of the wiring off, and all of the bolts off, you will need to use the 24" extension and position it on one of the ears of the alt and tap the alt out of the bracket. Mine was in nice and tight, so hopefully this won't need to be done.

It is simple to remove it from the car, only comes out one way, you'll see.

To reinstall, basically reverse the directions.

Simple, about 4 hours of work, now that I know how to do it.

As for pix, they are not that great, but I can u/l them if anyone is interested.

first time doing alternator = 4 hrs

second time took me an hour to remove and replace it, not bad i must say

pass wheel needs to come off, and so does tie rod. after that the alt pops right off!

i also have air tools

Hey we should write up a How-To for this. I have yet to see one. unless my lazy eye kicked in and just missed it in the how-to articles. I just did mine this weekend. But here's a re3al kick in the ass . The new one i put in, would crank 17-18 volts over 3500RPM. SUCKS! So now i have to change it out again. i guess the regulator is faulty, not that autozone cares or understands how damn hard it is to keep changing these fuggers.
At this point it feels like im cramming for a test.
Ive got plenty pictures. And i took my axle out, made getting to some bolts easier. I also took the y-pipe off. Did pretty much test book style. So if anyone want to compare info and write something up for the others, cause its gonna happen to someone else eventually that has no idea what there doing; like me.

I noticed that using a small torch to heat up the exhaust bolts makes them come off easier. (*Bing*)

BTW, my pictures are very nice and clear. i can post some too or email if anyone needs them.

Shaggy and Myâ?¬aiNsBroKeN: pls post them pix.

I'll get what I have up tonight. Not very exciting .

Ok, my pictures, like I said not so exciting.

http://www.fototime.com/inv/ED869F50D15DC6B

I knew my telepathic help would do the trick! Glad it went well Chris.

Mark