951 Alternator removal: any tricks???

[MarkRobinson]

Ok, I have the alternator loose in the car, except the coolant lines above and the wiring to the alternator (behind??) still tether it to the car: are there any tricks??

Will the alternator squeeze past the coolant lines (hard & soft) or do I really have to drain the cooling system & remove hoses just to get the friggen alternator out?

Mark (thanks guys)

[aj951]

According to Clark's Garage procedure for removing the alternator in a turbo, you must drain the coolant system. However, I have come across other things in some of those procedures that weren't absolutely necessary, such as removing the crank pulleys and balance shaft drive gear to get the timing belt on.

Good Luck!

A.J.

[MarkRobinson]

Ok, so I'm on the right path. Weee.

Mark

[kdjones2000]

For the Turbo, you will have to remove that air cooling baffle from the back of the alternator while the alternator is in the car. This is needed in order to remove the nuts holding the charging wires to the alternator.

The first part is to remove the ducting hose from the front lower valance that is attached to the baffle. I had to use a looooong blade screwdriver to get all of the way back to that clamp. If your hose is like mine was, the metal spring spiral will be broken and sticking out all over the place. Be careful you don't get poked. I actually replaced mine with new hose I ordered from NAPA (1-1/2" or something).

Depending on how far you tear things down to get to it, removing the baffle from the alternator itself can be a bit of a pain. Just try to rotate the alternator in its position to get to the nuts, and you should be able to get it off.

Putting it on is about as much fun but make sure you do, or it will fail prematurely. I had someone do some A/C work on my car a while back, and they ended up pinching that hose off. This killed a nearly brand-new alternator in about a month...

Good luck,

Keith

[MarkRobinson]

i got it last night Keith:

Yes, from under car, remove the 8mm shroud retaining nuts & then from above with both upper & lower alternator securing bolts removed, tilt the alternator up & remove the top 8mm shroud nuts.

Then, unscrew the two powered lines (disconnect battery first) to the rear of the alternator & wiggle it out between the coolant lines: no need to disconnect them.

1. Remove airbox & intake pipes including throttle body silicone hose
2. Remove belts from under car.
3. Remove alternator bolt from under car
4. Remove 8mm shroud nuts from under car
5. Remove top alternator bolt from top of car
6. separate shroud from alternator, leave it in place
7. disconnect power lines from rear of alternator
8. wiggle alternator out w/o disconnecting coolant lines
9. wiggle out shroud once alternator is removed.

Mark

[Dig U 2]

For the vent hose to the alternator, I used an orange hose (used for venting on race cars) and did not use any clamps. I kept the hose long enough, that it will not come off, without compressing the spring in the hose. Much easier than using that looonnng screwdriver. Have a great day!