Alternator woes

[bjmcgoo]

My battery and E-brake lights came on the other day in my 01 I-30, I had it tested and was told I needed a new alternator, which I bought but knew I wouldn't have time to replace until today. Last night I put my battery booster on the battery to charge it and lo and behold it had full charge, the lights had gone off too btw. I had it tested today and everything was testing fine. Has anyone experienced anything like this before, I don't know if something came loose or what happened. Thanks

[the converted]

I had similar issues with the alternator in my '03 before it died. I'd replace it before it dies completely and leaves you stranded.

[bjmcgoo]

That's what I was afraid of, did you do the work yourself? Im thinking of doing it but Im finding conflicting info on how hard it is. Some say it's easy while others say they had to remove the radiator, the a/c compressor, etc. Thanks for the help.

[the converted]

It honestly wasn't that bad. You do have to pull the ac compressor, but that's just 4 bolts and some zip ties to hold it in place. There's only a few bolts on the alternator and it's pretty straight forward. An hour or so should be a good amount of time if you are decent with tools.

I'm not sure if the 3.0 uses the same belt tension set up as the 3.5, but I did manage to have mine break when I was trying to undo it. Might be worth hosing it down with pb blaster before you do it.

[bjmcgoo]

Thanks for the info and help. I started on it today, it's taking a lot more time than I thought it would, mostly because of stubborn and rusted bolts. One of the bolts on the A/C compressor is totally rounded now so I have that to deal with that tomorrow. One question, I was able to find and unscrew the bolt on the top of the alternator that also holds on the wires but I don't see the other bolt that holds it on. The only other bolt that I see that looks like it could hold the alternator on is almost completely hidden by the tensioner pulley and is a large square bolt that appears to have solder on the corners. I gave up for the evening when I saw that. Are the other bolts on the side of the alternator facing the motor? Ive tried to look up diagrams and other how-to's on the internet but can't find a clear description of where the other bolt is. Thanks again for the help

[the converted]

The square one has a nut on the other side. Check the FSM for diagrams. I'm guessing it's in the electrical section and not the engine mechanical, but I could be wrong.

[bjmcgoo]

Ok, thanks, I'm going to get back to it when I get home from work, hopefully doesn't take much longer

[bjmcgoo]

[the converted]

Well, at least the parts are reasonably cheap. Make sure you get some anti seize on there when you get it back together.

[bjmcgoo]

I finally got the AC compressor off, after that everything else wasn't too bad, I just hope I didn't screw up any wiring (that wiring plug that goes into the alternator did not want to come out) but now I can't get the tensioner pulley back together (it flew off when I cranked the car) This has turned into a 3 day ordeal, thanks for your help.