 |
|
|
1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Hi All,
Just wanted to briefly relay my experience of swapping in a new alternator in my '98 900 SET and what I have learned.
I didn't find the job particularly technically challenging, it is really pretty straight forward. The real crux is getting the alternator out of the engine bay after removing it from it's mounts on the engine block. This is were the puzzle came in for me.
There were three ways suggested to me: One was from my Hayes Manual, it said to "simply" remove the alternator through the passenger wheel well. The only hope for this to have happened would involve removing the axle shaft, even there I have my doubts about the clearances.
Two, is suggested on this board and elsewhere several times. Loosen the exhaust down pipe, the clamp behind the converter, unplug the o2 sensor and swing the exhaust out of the way. and bring the alternator out through the bottom. While this is certainly viable and a decent option, in my past dealings with exhaust system bolts and nuts I have found them to be "less than pleasant to work with." All that expansion, contraction, and rust usually makes these fasteners awful to deal with even with PB Blaster the night before and the like. Further, in my experience, most Sunday mechanics without a lift (yours truly) have a harder time working under a car than working from above, even with a jack and jack stands or ramps. After spending way too long trying to make option two work I moved on to option three.
Three, was also suggested on this board and is in my option the far superior option. I removed the strut tower brace, the air box, swung the cruise control box over, out of the way, and removed the bracket bolted to the engine block that provided the upper alternator mount and the idler pulley mount. Then quite easily wiggled the alternator up though the opening created. There are still a few lines and wires in the way but they can all be pushed around enough to get the alternator out and in without damage to the part itself or the surrounding components. Granted, this method involves removing a lot of components, but they are all protected and mostly rust free fasteners, easy to get to from the top and require minimum torque to break. Further, it's only a total of 16 nuts or bolts, (7 for the strut tower brace, 2 for the cruise control, 3 for the air box [which has to come out anyway] and 4 for the bracket) so it's really not time consuming. Once I started this method, I had the alternator out of the engine bay in under 30 minutes as opposed to several hours of fighting with the exhaust system.
Other than that, it's just like most of the instructions found around the internet suggest:
Disconnect the battery
Jack the car up onto jack stands
Remove the right (passenger) wheel
Disconnect the two wires from the back of the alternator
Remove the drive belt cover from inside the wheel well
Remove the air dam from under the front bumper for even better access to the drive belt
Remove the drive belt (1/2" breaker bar to de-tension the belt and a 6mm pin to lock the tensioner)
Remove the two alternator mounting bolts (8mm hex socket)
Remove the alternator from the mount (you may need to pry it out due to the bushings being tight)
Remove the alternator from the engine bay (easier said than done)
Then just reverse the process with the new part.
One tip that is very helpful for reassembly (thanks Anders) is tapping the alternator mount bushings out a bit so they aren't so tight on the alternator. The upper bushing is really easy to tap back while the bracket is off the engine block if you are using the above method three. They tighten right back down as you torque the new alternator in place.
Hope this is helpful for the next person planning to replace their alternator!
posted by 75.110.30...
, Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:01:22, Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:14:27, Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:27:17
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
