so my alty has kicked it's last breathes of life. and i was wondering who else has had to replace it? and most importantly where is the best, and by best i mean cheapest, place to purchase a replacement. I dont think i was to do a refurb but might have to sine funds are tight at the moment. I was lookin online last night and found the cheapest of about $150 and i was hopin to go lower than that

I was looking through my haynes manual and the job doesn't look incredibly difficult so i was just curious as to how big of a pain it actually is . . . . and if there is any advice before i jump right in . . . . anything helps. thanks guys

 

I replaced mine last weekend and it is fresh in my mind.

You will have to get the fans out, drain the radiator get the lower radiator hose out of the way, remove belts, lower the compressor since the alternator pivot bolt is "ideally" placed behind it by some dumbass idiot engineer, then finally getting the alternator out. Now getting to the fun part, trying to squeeze the >20 pound alternator facing upwards is quite a challenge if you have large arms like mine. Once in move the alternator into its resting spot, you have to move the compressor below it so that the alternator does not fall off when you try to move the alternator from the top and attach the top bolt. After that putting back the pivot bolt, raising the compressor, filling up the radiator, cleaning up the mess could easily take 4-6hrs.

Good luck. BTW I went OEM for the alternator ($289 with a $75 core refund).

 

Do NOT buy refurbs, I have had 2 in 3 months!!! My last one was about to suicide but I traded the car in before it could! :P

 

Love 00 Max- holy crap you didnt have to do all that.

All you need to do is remove the 4 AC compressor mounting bolts, and hang the compressor out of the way (dont disconnect any hoses). Loosen and slip the belt off the alternator, disconnect alternator wiring, ubolt the alternator and let it drop out.

After alot of research I decided it was worth the extra $ and also went with OEM.

 

I'd be wary of non-oem alternators. The first one I got was from Autozone. Sucks to install a new one just to find it's a POS and doesn't work. Returned it and went with one from Nissan. If you do buy one from autozone or similar, have them test it first to make sure it does work, or just go to Nissan and get one.

 

its actually a good idea to remove the fan shroud but you do not have to remove the radiator hoses or anything like that.. and i got one from napa for 130 +$100 core value

 

Bought mine off of eBay for $70. Had some strange troubles in the past with it (you may have read my threads) but it magically fixed itself after the car sat for a week while I was on vacation.

 

damn i called napa and they were the cheapest at $175. havent called the dealership yet but my girlfriend's dad works there so i hope he can get a discount. thanks for the advice and i'm so glad you all cleared up the draining the rad and removing the hose deal. i was confused as to why i would do that. i appreciate all the advice though

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Nissa...QQcmdZViewItem

just get this one, and be done with it. I installed it last Friday.

 

see that sounds like a good deal - but for a $100 i could have mine rebuilt with 1 yr service or exchange warranty. my dad builds old cars and has had 3 or 4 different alts re-built by this local shop and has had no problems. it's a lot cheaper than new or oem even with the discount. and since i don't know how much longer i'll be a maxima owner i think it might be the best option

 

hello guys, anybody has clear instructions on how to install an alternator on my 98 max ? thanks