Any tricks for Alternator R&R?

[Need4Speed]

Just wondering if there are any tricks to removing and reinstalling a 93 Q's Alternator? I have the manual...looks pretty straight forward. Do I really need to move the radiator over?

Andy

[forecast]

you need to pray to the gods of double-jointed fingers. It's staight forward but insanely difficult due to the very tight spacings. I'm seriously considering learning to swear in Japanesse just in case I ever meet an Nissan design engineer.

on the calmer side ... hey these cars have a tiny tiny engine bay for a very large engine and the alternator had to go somewhere. Since Q45tech reports these cars had a life expectancy of less than 100K. So changing the alternator should have been necessary before 100K in only about 1 in 5 cars.

Disco the belts, the AC compressor. Pull the two mounting bolts on the alternator (don't loose the nut to the thru bolt) Slide the alternator forward and disconnect the electrical connectors and the two harness tie-down bolts (or break the harness clips)

[Need4Speed]

So.....what you're telling me is that this is a minimum 6-pk job, huh.

Andy

[elwesso]

There isnt many things on a Q that arent a 6pk job...... And if its not, you can always make it one!!!!

[forecast]

So.....what you're telling me is that this is a minimum 6-pk job, huh.

Andy

oh yes.

realistically, if you have the new one in hand figure 2-4 hours for the R&R. 2 hours is for the guy who has done it in the last 6 months.

Dan

[Q45tech]

For a car made in 1992 [93 models] ....10.5-11 years is a long time for Q alternator ..........don't always think in terms of mileage .............thats 6-7 years longer than the warranty.

The typical life around Atlanta is 150-180k due to our high annual mileage.

Plus Michigan snow and salt.

[fxjackso]

The service manual also recommends loosening the radiator. Given how easy it is, why not just take it out, and have room to manuever without banging into the soft fins.

[Jerry Parks]

How do you get the nut back on the through bolt with out removing the a/c compressor?

[Q451990]

It can be done, but requires patience and someone with really small hands. The A/C compressor has flex lines, so theoretically you can drop it w/o discharging it and causing problems. One tip mentioned here is to super glue the nut on to the bracket... never tried it but it's gotten some good reviews.

Heath

[DAEDALUS]

Didn't work for me, but I used too thin a superglue. Use something more robust that can stick to metal and which dries pretty fast. Great idea though...was that from Landtodd?

[crubio]

Remove the radiator and pull the alt from the bottom.Be sure to replace the battery as well. One way to maintain your alternator is to be sure the battery in funtioning optomally. A poor charge from the battery will lessen the alt life.

Good luck

crubio

[Need4Speed]

Well the alternator is out....what a pain in the azz. However, the "nut" did not drop out with the alt.....so I'm on a search for it. (I'm sure it sitting in there with the A/C.) By far the worst part was the that stinking plastic clip for the wire bundle that is attached to the rear of the alt. .....it did not want to release!

Time for removal.....2.5 hrs

Andy

[natsoundup]

My 90 Q has 156k miles....still on original alternator and water pump...

I am thinking about doing these as preventative maintenance....

would it be less aggravating to remove the radiator...since I am doing both jobs at once?

[Q451990]

would it be less aggravating to remove the radiator...since I am doing both jobs at once?

Yes!!

[elwesso]

When you have the radiator out, you should take it somewhere to get it cored..... It will restore it to almost new performance!!

[Need4Speed]

Luckily my rad is only 1 year old or so.

[Need4Speed]

BTW....that alternator went 175,000 miles...pretty good for NY/MI weather!

Andy

[forecast]

When you have the radiator out, you should take it somewhere to get it cored..... It will restore it to almost new performance!!

I don't think Q rads can be cored. Something about the plastic ends.

[elwesso]

I heard someone else on this board say that they could..... I dont know......

[Jerry Parks]

I've got the superglue drying now. I applied a very thick coat. I/ll let you know if it works

[PalmerWMD]

Since Q45tech reports these cars had a life expectancy of less than 100K. So changing the alternator should have been necessary before 100K in only about 1 in 5 cars.

What?:eek:

Dan I think there was a misinterpretation.The cars last a LOT longer than that it's just that they thought rich owners wouldnt keep 'em longer than that.

Fred..

[elwesso]

I remember Q45tech saying the same thing.....

"the cars are designed to have a design life of 100k with little or no maintenance...."

[forecast]

What?:eek:

Dan I think there was a misinterpretation.The cars last a LOT longer than that it's just that they thought rich owners wouldnt keep 'em longer than that.

Fred..

Oh Fred, I think you misunderstood me.

In desinging anything the engineer has a number of both criteria and limitations to consider.

In the case of the Q the limitation of a smallish engine compartment forced a design that meant some components would be more difficult to remove and reinstall.

Apparently one of the design considerations was that the car only needed to be trouble-free up to 100K. (I actually think that Q45tech implied the thinking was no one would keep the car past 100K. This reflects the norm in Japan - this is why there are so many Japanese take-out engines avaliable here)

this is a cost consideration ... among other things, a car's reputation for reliability is generally established in the first 75K or less - JD power does their benchmark survey before 50K.

For sticker price purposes - if the car is trouble free to 100K or 250K makes almost zero difference but would tremendously impact the manufacturing price.

So, since the off-the-shelf alternators nissan was using have a fairly long life (80% + live more than 100K [ estimation on my part] ) in makes sense to put the alternator in a difficult service location.

Pop the hood on a 2003 Dodge Durango and you'll notice the alternator is almost the very most and most servicable component. Hmmm. what does that say?

Another design consideration is the spark plug choice. They went with 60K plugs (each one very expensive!) because changing the plugs was going to be so expensive time-wise. In reality, getting 30K and designing the ignition system around them would have been cheaper since 30K would have cost maybe 1/4 of the 60K plugs.

This isn't to say the Q didn't include components that would last past 100K, just that was the minimum bar for major repair. Back when the Japanesse entered the market, Detroit was turning out such crap with "planned obselecence" that 100K on car with out rebuilding something was a minor miracle. Thanks to the import market we now think 250K is special but 100K is not.

Of course there is an upper limit to what the companies will be willing to design, if every car off the assembly line could be expected to last 15 years, auto companies would have a hard time turing a profit since they would sell so few cars.

Oh wait... that's already happening.

[elwesso]

I remember looking at our old jeep at the marina...... There is only 5 digits to the odometer...... What does that tell you......

Back a long time ago, you were stupid to keep a car for a long time...... 70k miles probably translates into about 150k today......