The alternator on my 98 contour LX with the duratec has failed. i brought it into a garage and the guy sayed that its gonna cost about 800 hundred to fix becuase its under the engine!! Is this true or is this mechanic tryin to take me for a ride ??
If that price includes the cost of a new alternator + labor then I'd say thats about right. It is by all means not an easy job. I've had 1 done by the dealer, another done by a local shop, my third one just went and I said screw it, I'm doing it myself.
There is an excellent how to in duratec maintanence section. Check it out.
Holy ish!!!!!!!!! You're getting taken. It's not a fun job but it isn't worth $800!!!!!! If the alt. is $200 alone then he is charging you for 8.5 hrs. labor at $70 an hour! I doubt book time is more than 3 hrs. for a mechanic. I would think 400-500 with parts included. Follow the how to and do it yourself.
At $80 an hr x 3 is $240 for labor and another $200 for the alt. $450 is reasonable to me.
Where is the alternator located on a V6 engine , and the guy said he would have to pull the egine down to change it ?? It all sounds a little much for me to behlive.
and where can i get this how to do it manuel ??
Originally posted by todras:
I would think 400-500 with parts included. Follow the how to and do it yourself.
At $80 an hr x 3 is $240 for labor and another $200 for the alt. $450 is reasonable to me.
i paid about $400
Originally posted by M.T_from_simcoe:
Where is the alternator located on a V6 engine ,
Originally posted by M.T_from_simcoe:
and the guy said he would have to pull the egine down to change it ??
You do NOT!!!! have to pull the motor for this. Find another mechanic.
Originally posted by M.T_from_simcoe:
It all sounds a little much for me to behlive.
Trust me, If I can do it then you can do it.
Originally posted by M.T_from_simcoe:
and where can i get this how to do it manuel ??
Helllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooo... Did you even read my post?
lol my bad i am rushin around tryin to figure all this out. Iam definatly doin it myself. Thanks a bunch guys i realy do appriciate all this help.
Good, print out that how to and you'll know how to do it step by step with pics. Make sure to get the swivels and you'll need every extension listed. One step that you can skip on the how to is removing the coil pack, you can get this bolt just like the other two. If you need any help, pm me... I just replaced mine and its fresh in my head.
Originally posted by RawBurt...:
You do NOT!!!! have to pull the motor for this. Find another mechanic.
you do have to pull the axle out though right??
I got mine done for 450ish.. and there is a Mechanic in the Eastern Canada Repair Resource thread that has done it for $260..
I got my alternator for $170.. soo $280 labour.. that price is waaaaaay to high...
Originally posted by TGO:
Originally posted by RawBurt...:
You do NOT!!!! have to pull the motor for this. Find another mechanic.
you do have to pull the axle out though right??
nope ....
the ford manual tells you to along with the y-pipe, and who knows what else ... all you need to do is remove the tierod end, maybe, the last one I did we didn't have to, you need the extentions to get at the bolts and then you twist and turn the alternator until it come out ...
one shope quoted me $450 so I called the shop next door who said they would do it for $300
Originally posted by BrApple:
Originally posted by TGO:
Originally posted by RawBurt...:
You do NOT!!!! have to pull the motor for this. Find another mechanic.
you do have to pull the axle out though right??
nope ....
It would make it alot easier when removing the alternator. But it can be done without removing it. Unbolt the tie rod end and thats it.
Call a local Mercury dealer and get a quote. I've always found them to be cheaper than Ford Stealerships.
Originally posted by RawBurt...:
Originally posted by BrApple:
Originally posted by TGO:
Originally posted by RawBurt...:
You do NOT!!!! have to pull the motor for this. Find another mechanic.
you do have to pull the axle out though right??
nope ....
It would make it alot easier when removing the alternator. But it can be done without removing it. Unbolt the tie rod end and thats it.
that is what I said already...
Originally posted by BrApple:
nope ....
the ford manual tells you to along with the y-pipe, and who knows what else ... all you need to do is remove the tierod end , maybe, the last one I did we didn't have to, you need the extentions to get at the bolts and then you twist and turn the alternator until it come out ...
BrApple, stop being gh3y... Seriously that comment was unnecessary. I'm trying to help this guy out, as are you... So STFU with the stupid comments
Originally posted by RawBurt...:
BrApple, stop being gh3y... Seriously that comment was unnecessary. I'm trying to help this guy out, as are you... So STFU with the stupid comments
sure you are trying to help but what did you say that added anything else useful to this thread
you could have added something useful like this:
note on the extensions for the bolts, the one on the block you want to come up the side of the pre-cat and the others can be reached from coming across the bottom of the engine from the drivers side of the car
the accessory belt is easiest to take off with one person releasing pressure from the tensioner from the top of the engine bay while someone else removes the belt from the pulleys from the bottom, reverse to reinstall belt
don't forget the splash shields need to be removed
the tie rod end is keyed for an allen wrnech so that you can get the nut off ...
What the hell are you talking about...
1. This is not a competition, so seriously STOP!
2. Extension order and placement is ALL noted in the how to.
3. WTF does the accessory belt has nothing to do with the alternator replacement. Maybe we are talking about the serpentine belt which comes off by relieving the tensioner with a 3/8" ratchet (IIRC, or 1/2"). Kind of a two person job... THIS IS ALSO IN THE HOW TO!
4. Splash sheilds refering to what? The splash gaurd does not need to be removed. There are two removable sheilds within the wheelwell that need to be removed. This is also in the how to!!
5. I dont know what you are talking about being keyed by an allen wrench... ? Removed the freaking nut and tuck it off to the side. Wow this is in the how to as well...
Stop being an asshat BrApple
who said this was a competition
never read the how-to so I don't know what it says
what do you call the alternator, ps pump and ac compressor, accesories and they are driven by a belt ... so put two and two together and an accessory belt is the same as a serpentine belt ...
the splash shield I was refering to are the removable shields in the wheel well, I called it a splash shield becasue the cars originally didn't have those and water would splash into the belt area and cause the belt to slip, therfor causing lose of ps, ac, alternator until the belt stopped slipping ...
often when you go to remove the tie rod end the tie rod will come free before you can get the nut off. you do know the tie rod end has a tapered fitting, so when you tighten teh nut down it basically locks itself in. now if you jus thit it with air tools you might have issues and mess the thread up. So to keep the pin portion of the tie rob end from comming free of the taper and spinning freely thus not allowing you to remove the nut the end has been cut for a 7mm allen wrench, iirc the size corretly, this will keep the thread from turning and allow one to work the nut off it does become a problem ...
asshat, lol thats rich ...
Well i did some checkin around for pricing on having a shop do it and the best i got was canadian tire for $433.19 parst labour and taxes included,not to shabby. I think iam gonna go that way. Iam not the most mechanically inclined person better left to the pros then me lol. I just wanna say thanks agian, you guys just saved me 400 hundred bucks.
If you do it yourself, do yourself a favor and remove the bracket above the alternator that is used to remove the engine. It will make it 1000x easier to reach the top alternator bolt from the top of the engine bay.
What ever you do, DO NOT HAVE CRAPPY TIRE DO IT!!!!.. they are the worst mechanics and are as bad as Stealerships.. I have NEVER heard of anyone that had a positive mechanical experience there.. find a small mechanic shop.. or even better go look in the yellow pages under your area and look under alternators.. sheeeshh.. unless you know the head mechanic at CT.. AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS!!!
cheers
Actually if you get a rebuilt alternator and/or rebuild your own, or even a good junkyard alternator, the labour will cost you only $100-$150 CDN, that's what I got charged when my stupid bloody thing failed. I did it at some local dealer on Weston road and FInch, the Harmeet Electric or something like that, if you're ever in the Toronto area, but you could also do that, the junk yard alternators still work especially if the car was just rear ended or something.
i have replaced mine twice this past week and i will have to put another one in next weekend. it took me almost 4 hours the first time and 1 1/2 hours the second time. once you know where the three bolts are and how to get the swivel and extensions in to the bottom bolt(13 mm) and to the bolt on the back of the alternator (10 mm) then it gets easier. the only thing i did to really make it easier was to pull the cv joint out of the transmission but not out of the wheel bearing so i could get to the bottom bolt easier.
Originally posted by scainerrt:
i have replaced mine twice this past week and i will have to put another one in next weekend....
What the hell!!! 
Originally posted by BrApple:
Originally posted by TGO:
Originally posted by RawBurt...:
You do NOT!!!! have to pull the motor for this. Find another mechanic.
you do have to pull the axle out though right??
nope ....
I always have; it makes the job so much easier.
i got a bad alternator(not to mention it was new not remanufactured) from advance auto parts. it was tested in the store and it was fine. so i put it on the car and a loud whining noise starts coming from the new alternator. so i have advance check it out and they tell me i have a bad diode on the new alternator. so then i put the old one back in so i can go back and forth to work and take the alternator back to advance to swap it out for a new one again. so they test the alternator that i just returned and they tell me that it is working fine. well i tell them that it's not working fine because my battery light came on with the new alternator and now it's off with the old alternator. so long story short, they exchange the alternator so now i will be putting another one on next weekend as well as a belt tensioner.
I hated doing the altenator in my Duratec, but it was definately a learning experience to say the least....
Didnt read any of the posts, but I paid a ford dealership 300 bucks to swap an alternator I bought after I had a rusty bolt I didnt want to deal with
Originally posted by todras:
I doubt book time is more than 3 hrs. for a mechanic. I would think 400-500 with parts included. Follow the how to and do it yourself.
At $80 an hr x 3 is $240 for labor and another $200 for the alt. $450 is reasonable to me.
I'm pretty sure book time was like 5-6 hours, def more than 3.
but anyway, I had to replace mine last november, twice. first time I did it myself, second time I ate the cost of the labor cause, well, I had already experienced the pain of doing that ish in the cold. think I paid like $350ish in labor, so 800 is pretty high. glad to see you found a better deal though
RawBurt 
BrApple 
LOL, I love the popcorn smiley!
I'm not very good at this whole mechanics thing, and I usually have my friends do all the work for me... I was able to do my own alternator/serpentine belt install though. It took me much longer than a mechanic would have taken, but atleast I saved several hundred bucks in labor.
I paid $80 to have my alternator rebuilt and $24 for the belt, so in all I paid $100 for a new alternator/belt. It's not that tough to do, just use the how-to article here on CEG.
This is by far my LEAST favorite thing to do in a Duratec, but I wouldn't pay $800 for it to be done. The how to is excellent, and as has been stated, it will be a learning experience for you. Get a set of extensions and have at it.
Good luck.
Did another one tonight. It gets easier.
yeah it does.
i replaced one 3 times last year for a buddy of mine.
the first one was faulty.
after i got the second one in i realized the clock position was wrong, so out it came.
the third one also had the wrong clock position but i noticed before i installed it.
and the last one finally worked.
i got it down to a little less than an hour for r&r working on the ground.
Originally posted by ElKy:
the clock position was wrong,
???
Originally posted by RawBroken:
Originally posted by ElKy:
the clock position was wrong,
???
That happens a lot with rebuilt alternators. Often the instructions in the box tell you how to remove the thru bolts and rotate one part of the housing compared to the rest to correct the "clock" position.
That is very interesting... Is there a way to visually check this?
exactly.
the back housing was spun 90�°
so the connectors were all in the wrong locations.
i didnt want to pull the cover because they hat the stupid sticker that voids the warranty if broken.
plus if anything got fugged after that it would be my fault.
so ijust returned them.
raw..you can check it just by looking at teh back of the alternator and comparing the connector locations to the mounting tabs.
i dont remember off hand the position, but you can compare it to the original.
I'm having problems getting the top bolt and the middle 10mm bolt off.
Just so you know, since reading this thread when it started the other day my alternator has taken a sh!t. What a coincidence. I'm pissed, not looking forward to tackling it this weekend. At least i've done it once before.
I need help with this top bolt. it won't come out