story:
so friday I get in my car and notice a very apparently whinning noise coming from the engine bay, it increased in pitch with the RPMs, kind of like an old dodge caravan power steering pump or something.

either way, I drove to work and almost all the way back with no problems, as I'm pulling onto my road the car dies, battery is dead. I get my mom's ride and jump it, but after I disconnected the cables it died in 30 seconds. so i'm thinkin the alternator isn't charging it right. I ruled out the battery because once I jumped it again, I let both cars run together for a while and it charged my battery enough to get it home just fine.

advice needed:
so anyways, how hard is an alternator replacement? My buddy quoted me $150 for a rebuilt one from his parts store. I've got a Chilton's I just haven't had the time to look it over yet. Is there any special tools I need? That area of the engine bay looks cramped and I don't want to waste my time and money replacing the bad boy if it won't solve my problem.

I'm just looking for a second opinion.

Thanks guys.

 

very simple to change. remove the drive belt. then 3 bolts (access it from underneath). no need to remove the compressor. Ihave one laying around i keep just in case. rebuilt around here will run you about $125 from the folks who do the rebuilding. from a retailer a little more. your alt is definately dead. charge your batt on another car adn leave it disconnected until you change the alt. do not leave it dead as that will kill the battery too (unless you have an optima or something).

 

thanks, my buddy and I are going to try to pull the thing out tonight.

I'll charge the battery with my mom's car

 

argg!!! what a P.I.T.A.

I still havn't even gotten the drive belt off yet, I can't loosin the lock nut for the idler pulley. I can loosen and tighten the top adjuster bolt, but the lower one on the pulley won't budge and Haine's says you gotta loosen that one first.

I even went out and bought an a set of combo open-end/closed-end metric wrenches and the closed end won't even fit over of the nut I butcherd with the crestant wrench I tried first.

I'm takin a break for the night to drink some beer and hope for a good set of air tools for Christmas. . .

 

i think a 1/2inch ratchet will fit over it if i remember right. try a 12 point.

 

http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/500

-from the FAQ's at the front of the forum...

See also: http://www.greghome.com/images/Maxim...DriveBelts.jpg

 

Are you sure you don't need to drop the A/C compressor? Not so, according to motorvate.com's how-to...have you actually changed out an alternator without dropping the compressor & removing the radiator fan assembly, as motorvate recommends?

I'd be fine with that, if it's true, because I'm about to tackle this job myself...anything to make it less of a headache would be great.

 

you have to remove the A/C
I got a very experienced guy to swap it out and build an i30 to 150A for 200$ installed(CAN).
it's a ***** to change them thats why i paid someone to do it.
and I'm a registered mechanic lol. I looked at it and said fuak that.

 

oh and upon further thought, check your wiring before you touch it, it's quite possible there is a wiring issue because even with a fuaked alty, it normally doesnt whine, a alty whine is usually a wiring issue, do you have a stereo installed? have you looked at the wiring? did you check the alty fuse?

 

no offense to motorvate but a lot of is instructions are stupid. you do not have to remove the compressor. his p/s flush method is worthless (to me) and there is a much easier way to change the knock sensor. As for the alt. no need to touch the compressor or the radiator.

 

his write ups are god but I agreee sometimes take steps that arent needed. I believe for his write ups he wants an optimal amount of space to work. I removed the AC to take off the alty from my brothers car, I could have skipped that step, but it saved me squeezing my hands in places, and spending a longer time trying to it off with the AC in the way. Plus the Stock Y is fat, the alty can come off without touching the AC if you have an aftermarket Y.

 

alright guys,

first off, I do have an aftermarket y-pipe and let me tell you, it made things alot easier to just remove the 4 bolts that hold the A/C compressor to the mounting frame, so you can move it to the side. Removing the cooling fans is easy and also makes the alt removal alot easier interms of space and ease of getting the right angle on the alt bolts.

with that said, I replaced my alt today with a refurbed one. and you know what it didn't help!!! I got a blemished battery for cheap just as a precaution and it worked for a little while, but as soon as it died, the car died. The new alt didn't help!!!

so yes, I do have an aftermarket radio, I installed myself, and I've gotta say the wiring may not have been perfect but this radio has been installed for about 3-4 years with no problems, so I'm thinking that something came loose, especially since the faceplate lights have been acting up lately.

Any ideas on what I should check first, I'm going to pull the radio out and look for any bare or loose connections, but what would cause it to drain the battery and not let the alt charge the system?

Thanks guys, the replies on this board are great and I appreicate each