Well I went to my electrician today to fix the window switch panel (its called a panel right? or stack.. whatever) and had him check the voltage... yep it was low and it was traced to burnt alternator coils. So time to change. Since I had a spare alternator (from my old engine) it didnt waste time..

Well, I think that was one of the worst things I have ever done and really took out all the joy of working on that car for the next millenia.

Two hours later I finally had it in and working but here is what went wrong:

1. I had to use a 2 foot power hand to unscrew the bolts
2. It would not come out... had to hammer it out.
3. New alternator would not go in.. hrm there was like a metal gasket ring that i had to file/cut for it to fit..
4. I have some left over metal gaskets? Old engine didnt have these so i assume some numbwit put them there and hence it was jammed.

Why in the name of sanity did they put it above the AC compressor... But now that I've done it I feel really good. Only thing left now is to try to get that permanent looking grease out of my hands.

Happy motoring and really if you want to do the alternator yourself, really consider having someone else do it.