I don't know what you guys are smoking but this was a f$&@ing nightmare. I've done about 8 alternators in various Toyotas, Hondas and Subarus and this was by far the worst. I would've gladly payed up to $350 to have someone else do this; granted I was stuck out of town and I currently live in the *** backwards south where no shops are open on weekends and had to do this in my sis' driveway, but still, took me about 8 hours and still not done yet. I still have to get the tensioner...

 

Pulley back on because it was impossible to get the 12mm top bolt off the alt w/o taking the pulley off (sucks). If I were to rate this job from 1-10 I'd say 7.5. If you've never done an alternator, pass and find a good japan mech and see if they'll do it for $250-$300. Even if you have all the tools it is insane without a lift. Also I ended up disconnecting the whole g$& da$$ mother fu($&ing ac condenser and had to drain (more like bomb style leak) the lines and blow off the freon and put the stupid new one back in, needless to say I hate this car right now...

 

So I've calmed down a bit since yesterday and have got the tensioner pulley back on. I figured out if you put the spacer, inside washer, and pulley on when your under the car THEN the last washer and nut while above its much easier. The reason is, is because you can hold up the assembly by the tension bolt when you are putting the nut on, otherwise it slips and wants to kick the nut off. Also I found out my battery was shot so I had to grab one of those. I realized this because the car kept "Christmas treeing" on the dash after every couple miles. The car does require gas pedal pressure on startup and the moonroof won't go back, only pop up. Guess I'll get back on when I get home to figure that stuff out.

 

Did you get it finished?

 

I just finished replacing the alternator in my 1999 Maxima. This thread was a huge help. A big thank you to all who have contributed.

The most difficult part of the job, for me, was getting the wires loose without breaking anything. I ended up using my long reach bent nose pliers to squeeze the connector in the right places and pull it free of the alternator. It really helps to have seen the connector (disconnected) to know where to push and where to pull so as not to break anything. The long bolt that holds the alternator on was a challenge, but not a horrible one. I did need to use a breaker bar to get it loose, but then I switched to a ratchet to turn it the rest of the way out.

Getting the alternator out was also a challenge. I chose to leave the AC compressor connected (but dismounted, supported by a jack) and to leave the fan shroud (and radiator) in place, rather than remove them. Removing those would have helped, and I there was a point where I almost did, but I finally found a way to get the alternator out without that extra work.

I didn't have any of the problems with the tensioner pulley that others have described. You do need to loosen the nut that is in the center of the tensioner pulley (and not just the obvious one from the top) or it won't free the belt, but mine came loose without a fight.

I do suggest having the new alternator bench-tested before going to the trouble of putting it in. The first one I tried (remanufactured unit from Autozone) failed a bench test. Luckily for me, the guy at Autozone did this before I left the store, saving me who knows how much time and frustration.

Overall the job took me maybe 3 or 4 hours. However, I spent all day at it because I took a lot of breaks (because it was so hot outside). If I did it again, I think I might be able to finish in under two hours now that I know which ways work best (for me) for each step. If you're wondering "can I do this or not?", chances are you can, but it won't be easy. I would set aside 4 to 6 hours, and get someone to help you. Even if your helper doesn't know anything about cars, just having a second set of hands to "hold this" will be a huge help. I did mine solo, but I don't recommend doing it that way.

 

it does suck replacing it but once you do it once or twice it becomes second nature...i gotta do mine again..smh... just waiting for my alt to finish getting built... not sure why i keep running through them.. this time im gonna check my connectins my battery and make sure everything is tight..

 

Hey guys, so I did some reading in my repair manual when I got home and saw that they suggested taking the ac condensor and radiator out when you do the alternator. Otherwise you are going to have to take the compressor out which sucks. Also I am noticing that even with a new alt and battery I am still getting weird blinking out of the dash lights when I am parked every once in a while. I checked the belt tension several times and measured the voltage of the battery which is reading 14, anyone have any problems like this?

 

Dont seem like you read the beginning of the post AT ALL...you made the job way harder.

 

After 6 pages of posts, I have nothing to add other than THANK YOU to everyone who posted.

I know NOTHING about Maximas, but do all of my own automotive work. A friend of a friend broke down near my home so I set out to rescue her. Battery was stone dead, event though she had been driving the car, which is usually the alternator.
The dash was lit up like a Christmas tree, but the BATTERY LIGHT was NOT on. I jumped it with my truck and verified that there was no output from the alternator with a volt meter.

I was able to limp the car to a safer spot (in front of my sister's house, about half a mile away) and let the battery charge overnight. In the morning, I drove the car to my house. The ABS and SES lights stayed illuminated the whole time, but no BATTERY light (though it does come on with the key-on bulb check). The A/C didn't work either - I guess the PCM cuts it out to save power?

I'd never worked on a Maxima and you know how these "I'll just pop in a new part" jobs can go. But, THANKS to the information here, I swapped out the bad alternator in about an hour. The car has 152,000 NJ miles on it so naturally half of the bolts for the splash shields snapped off. That was the hardest part of the job. I soaked everything liberally in PB Blaster ahead of time and it all came apart per the instructions on the previous pages.

The owner picked up a 110 amp unit from Advance. I don't know what she paid for it, but it's a reman'd Nissan unit. Both the alternator and the belt were the stock, 152,000 mile parts. The belt look like it had been run through a garbage disposal. I don't know why it never snapped.

New alternator, new belt. SES light went out and the A/C works again. ABS light is still on, but she's got something really loose on the right front side. I think it's a bad hub, which is a job for another day.

I couldn't check the alternator's output because I left my voltmeter at my sis's house, but it's apparent the new alternator solved the problem.

DIGRESSION FOLLOWS:
Also, I know the post was several years old but to the guy looking for a deep cycle battery because his son has 12" subs in the trunk: a deep cycle battery won't fix it. Been there, done that. A deep cycle battery is made to survive being drawn down and being recharged, but that does you no good when the sound system is exceeding the alternator's ability to power the system. If you see the voltage across the battery dropping while the system is on, you need a bigger alternator not a bigger/better battery. I had a similar problem in my stretched Cadillac with a 2,000 watt system. It had a stock 140 amp alternator but the battery kept dying even if I used the system while the car was running. Ultimately the battery was ruined, and the alternator cooked itself. I installed a 250-amp alternator and a stock-type battery and that fixed it (ultimately I installed a second battery for the sound system, but the new alternator was able to keep up with just one battery).
END DIGRESSION

 

what kind of blinking are you getting?


and you really dont need to take out the condensor and radiator... i personally took the fan out just to have more room.. i undid the compressor lowered down with a jack and some wood to support it and moved it around till i was able to get the alternator out..

 

i also get this weird blinking and i got a newer alternator waiting to put it in, dont tell me this won't solve my problem. i am really hoping it will, if anybody knows about this weird slightly flickering dash and map lights plz let us know.

 

Having a problem with the last bolt on alternator got nut off but bolt is behind the idler pully how do i get it out ? Any help

 

03 maxima 6spd

ok i just replaced my alternator aswell and i feel there were somethings that i'd like to add that were not mentioned in this thread, i noticed some ppl drop the compressor all the way down and other ppl mention they have no play and cannot drop the compressor all the way down. i figured out that part.
once you remove the 4 compressor bolts the compressor drops slightly, the problem is the steel black line running under the compressor pulley wasnt allowing me to maneuver it out of the way. theres 2, 12mm bolts holding that line, remove those and swing that line out of the way and then theres a bolt on top next to the top alternator bolt its also a small 12mm holding a small metal bracket to the timing cover this holds all the wires for your alternator ground and compressor once you remove that bolt this bracket moves out of your way and your AC pressure line can now go all the way down and your compressor will be on the floor, giving you mad space.

i didnt remove the radiator or fans. i did remove the tensioner pulley. this wasnt a hard job once i figured out how to completely drop the compressor, and nobody told me the compressor bolts are different!! theres 1 smaller bolt dont mix it up.

 

I guess I'll renew this thread. Lol
Well, I spent my whole day replacing my alternator yesterday. Tedious, but not that hard of a job. It is harder than your average car though.
Anyway, I changed it bcuz I got the flickering brake/battery lights. I got a alt from advanced auto and had it tested before I left. Went home, put it in and drove it this morning.
You guessed it...... still got the flickering brake/bat light.
Anyone else experience this? Kinda bummed right now.
Thanks for any help.

 

Clean the main grounds. The one at the battery to chassis is probably bad

 

Thanks TM3, I did that last nite actually and still same results this morning.
I am off of work for 4 days (yay) starting tomorrow, so I am going to take the battery and altenator out. I am going to buy a new neg. cable from the battery to the chassis and clean every electrical connection under the hood and we will see then! lol

Anyone have any suggestions on what else I can do?

 

TM3k

 

Ha ha ha!
So I'm lazy typer. Lol

 

The fuse and terminal concoction at the positive terminal is known to get loose over time, it can also corrode, etc which can cause a no charge, possibly intermittent.

Alternator grounding point could also be bad

Have you done any actual tests with A multi meter, etc?

Check this may help basic checks

Http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...eshooting.html

 

Thanks for the input.
I exchanged the alt as the one I purchased was faulty. (My luck).
Cleaned all connections thoroughly and now she runs as she should.

 

This was my 1st experience working on a Maxima (my baby sitters 02 SE with 230K) as well as this forum. The task was a PITA but with this write up it was A LOT easier then going in blind! Took about 3.5 hours. If I had to do it again, today it would take me about 1.5-2.
Thanks for all the discussions prior to make my experience nicer/easy.

The only thing I can add is.....:
I didn't see how to unclip the A/C compressor so I unclipped it higher where the alt and a/c line split. I had to pop out the harness from the holder. That's it.
Great job guys!

 

Just finished this job today on my 2000 GLE. The write up was a HUGE help. I wouldn't have attempted if I had to go in blind. Took me a few hours but like Copedawg if I had to do it again it'd only take about 2 hours or so.

Just wanted to chime in and say thanks for the write up!

 

I hope the the next time I tap the forum for fixes...it is as helpful as this one is!

 

ffffffffffffffffffffffffff!!!

32 months later I am just pulling my Bosch reman alternator back out. I went to three Advance Autos before I got an alternator that passed their bench test. Good thing I had them test it first. Perhaps not surprising, the two that failed were U.S. rebuilds, and the one that passed was Chinese.

Cliff's notes:

1. Whatever they put on the roads in the dc region in winter is hell on our cars. This makes western Canada look mild in comparison.
2. See 1: I am putting anti-seize on all bolts as I am putting it back together, and looking for some other parts that have bubbly, crusty rust on there.
3. It sucks a lot less to do when it's not below freezing.

 

I took my 2000 Maxima to have the alternator replaced. I took the part with me and they told me it would take approx. 2 hours. They called me to tell me that 'something' broke and it would cost me over 2500.00 to fix. I went to the garage and they showed me the piece that broke. It was the corner of the engine that held the hole that the alternator bolt screwed into. They told me they had never seen this before but they knew Nissan used bad material for their engine block.

I have been doing research ever since; I have spoken to 2 Nissan mechanics and asked if the engine block would break off while removing the alternator bolt and they said 'no way' unless it was heated and cooled a lot, then maybe; OR someone gave it a really hard hit with a hammer or something while trying to get the screw to move. One guy said the bolt would strip the threads first before ever breaking off a piece of the engine.

The guys at the shop told me it is going to take a min. of 14 hrs labour to fix and they don't know if they get even get the piece welded back on; plus other parts like some kind of shield. And oh yeah, there is the issue of the hole in the engine where all the oil leaked out and you can see into the timing chain.... which they don't know if they can weld cause they will be so so close to it.

I don't see why any of this is my responsibility; I only took my car in to get a 2 hour job done. Am I being 'snowed'?

Please comment............Maxine

 

GRRRR!!!!! a month or so later and Im charging at 12.5 AGAIN!!!

Can something be chewing up the alternator?????
any thoughts or help?

 

If the gorillas at the shop broke it because of their negligence, it is their responsibility to repair it. The main flaw to this process is that they have to admit that they were negligent. But no one that represents you was there watching and therefore able to say that the mechanic was negligent. And to make it worse, in most states it is illegal for anyone except the mechanic to be there on the shop floor. If the mechanic won't admit that he screwed up, you're the one that gets screwed.

Unless you can sweet talk them into paying for this, the only way you could get them to fix it or pay to have it fixed, would be for you to sue them. To have to go through a lawsuit trial is very expensive and their insurance company will want to settle out of court rather than go to trial. Even if they were to win, the legal fees are pretty hefty. This also assumes that the shop you used has insurance.

A lawsuit has some negatives for you. First, it will take several years if it goes to trial. The insurance company will keep filing to postpone the trial date until the judge gets tired of it and says no more postponements. This is standard harassment practice to discourage you so that you will drop the lawsuit. A bigger challenge may be to find a lawyer to take your case. Preparing for a trial, finding experts to testify, who you will have to pay, takes a lot of time. The lawyer may want you to pay him a couple of thousand every month.

You want to find a lawyer that will take the case on contingency, meaning that he will wait to get his money when the trial is over. This is up to the lawyer and his decision would be based on various factors such as how likely is it that he/you will win the case, how much money can he/you get out of the other side and can he foot the bills until the trial is over?

If the other side wants to settle out of court, it may take six months to a year for this to happen. A lawyer will take about a third of the settlement as his fee. If the lawsuit goes to trial, the lawyer will take 50% or more of the award. You can talk to a lawyer, an hour's consultation is free to you in most states. You need to find a lawyer that deals in automotive repair cases, as he will have a deeper knowledge of the laws pertaining to your situation. You can call your state bar association, they usually have a referral service.

You could also hire a lawyer to write a few letters to the repair shop for you, trying to convince them that it would be in their best interest to fix the car instead of having a lawsuit filed. I personally don't think this has that good of a chance of succeeding.

You can try small claims court. Small claims courts cover cases of $5,000 or less. You may also be forced to use small claims court. You don't have to have a lawyer, but you better be able to present a solid case like a lawyer would; know some of the laws, have receipts, estimates for repairs, expert witnesses, etc. The repair shop's insurance company may very well have an attorney there.

Since you can see into the timing chain, I bet you need a new engine block. This would definitely be big dollars. You don't want it welded. It is possible to weld, but welding aluminum blocks require talent. A low mileage used engine can be gotten and installed for $1500 or less.

You can report them to the better business bureau., Other than making you feel a little better, you probably won't get anything out of it. But you might be warning someone else.

Good luck.

 

No way that is acceptable. It's probably cheaper to get a whole new engine. I doubt the shop that manages to destroy an engine block when changing an alternator is also capable of welding it back together. It might be a good idea to seek legal advice.

 

Find a machinist/engineer and ask him how he would improvise to attach the alternator. And yes sue the shop they broke your engine block.

 

I haven't read the entire threat, but...

all that lawyer talk seems like it would apply to a criminal case... this would be a civil case, not criminal. If the owner of the car has the guts to represent himself and do his own research, he may come out on top for just his time invested

Nissan VQ motor design was dubbed the Best V6 of all time!... I doubt they got that label by using 'bad materials'

it sounds like the mechanic tried very hard to remove the alternator, but wasn't having success with his 'normal' attempts... so he decided to use heat and/or an unnecessary pry bar.

take the mechanic to small claims civil court... in the meantime, gain your proof here on ORG and via a dealer mechanic second opinion using photos! Good luck you'll be fine!

 

Although you make many good points, let me put in my lawyer 2 cents to the OP....

My suggestion would be to go ahead and foot the bill for either a repair or a new engine if you can. Make sure you keep the old engine or at least take detailed photos of the damage.

After that sue the company in your state's version of small claims court. Your goal is not to win the case, but to settle it and get something out of them. You can represent yourself but the corporation you sue is going to have to hire an attorney (that is a rule in most states).

That attorney is going to tell them that the case isn't worth paying him to defend. So, they may just pay you and be done. If not, the normal process, at least here in Florida, is that the first thing the parties have to do is to show up for a pretrial conference and the judge then immediately orders mediation, frequently on the spot.

The mediator doesn't decide who is right. He just attempts to help the parties come to some agreement to avoid trial. You should be able to come to some agreement with the other side for payment of a portion of your damages.

If you can't, then you need to find some expert to look at the pictures and say that there is no way in hell the block just broke. The toughest part is you probably will have to find and pay someone. Yet another reason to settle at mediation. If you could find someone in advance of mediation to write up such an opinion so you could have it there, that would be a great weapon.

I'm not giving you specific legal advice on your problem, just a general understanding of how things work.

 

OK the second time it took about 2 hours. I hope this will be my last attempt at my personal best reocrd!

 

i skimmed through parts of the thread, does no one get a rebuild kit for their alternators?

 

This thread is great!! tons and tons of info. and a scary legal story at the end.
Most informative thread by far on this topic.

Started getting some rpm biased humming, and 48 hours later figured out it was the alternator (smelled like burning metal, or fireworks) and didn't start at next start up.

Now I couldn't definitively figure out this one question.

What is the rule of thumb for OEM vs Aftermarket alternators? Is an "OEM reman" actually worth it like plenty of other items on our cars?

It is a moderately pricey part, and I like doing things right the first time, thinking long term here. I'd rather spend a little more for OEM for it to last longer, but if OEM are reman just like an autozone reman are... ..then what is really the dif? I read all over here some people really disliking the aftermarket ones, based on fitment or being faulty out of the box. Any one any insight?

here are two links of OEM and aftermarket incase you are shopping around and want to get a up to date rule of thumb

http://www.courtesyparts.com/23100-r...957_1988_1994&
average oem still seems to be $225-$250 as OP posted

http://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/x,carc...lternator.html
average aftermarket seems to be anywhere from $99 - $190

 

Not that it is easy, or possible but this is a good question considering Nissan breaks down the entire unit and has each piece available separately for purchase. my guess prolly too much work

Also here's a part number for a 2002 which was not in this thread ( i know its specific to 3.0L vs 3.5L but its a start for the 5.5 gen guys)

23100-5Y700
23100-5Y700R

23100 2Y900 - might be just TYC's number same for 5 gen and 5.5 gens(aftermarket)??

 

I just took mine to a local rebuild place and had it rebuilt in 2 hrs. $75. He said the bearings were fine and not to bother with them. Otherwise it would have been $120 I believe.

This job was a pain. The worst was the connections on the wires. Get too rough and they will break and getting a tool or hands on them to pull apart was not simple either. I will say to pull the wire from the alt after it is on the ground. Disconnect the ones by the brackets and then u have slop when u carefully lower down the alt. THEN get the connector out of the alternator on the ground...much easier.

Some of u have had broken bolts...hope u used pb blaster or something and worked them slowly.......I have learned lube is my friend...and so is anti seize.

 

Alty is easy to rebuild.there isn't a kit but you can find the parts look for parts from Transpo and WAI the bearings are available at some homedepots and lowes

 

Top 5 most helpful threads I've accessed here on the ORG.

Bought an 02 6MT in Florida on Friday, drove back to SC....and the alternator quit about 110 miles from home (at almost midnight Friday night). The dealer had just put in a brand new battery, "to make sure" I didn't have any problems driving back home. Right. We're going to have a talk about that really soon.

So, after failed attempts with other batteries, I had to tow it home on a Uhaul dolly with dad's help. Sunday, I bought a "Tough One" reman alt from Advanced Auto Parts, and went into the job. Somehow, between getting the pork shoulders finished on the smoker, and prepping for the Super Bowl party I was hosting, I managed to get the job done.

OBSERVATIONS:
The pics added on page 2 of this thread are invaluable.

The harness on the alternator is a fairly simple "squeeze" harness, with a left-to-right squeeze--the biggest challenge is getting small enough needlenose pliers to fit around the passenger side of that harness, because the clearance is tight on the alternator.

My steps for REMOVAL:
1. disconnect and remove battery for charging if needed.
2. break loose the lug nuts on the passenger wheel.
3. jack up the passenger side, secure on jack stand(s) and remove wheel.
4. remove wheel well and front splash guards.
5. loosen the nut in the center of the belt tensioner pulley. (A 14mm offset box wrench was the tool of choice.)
6. loosen the "strut hat" nut on the top end of that tensioner pulley assembly, almost about 6-7 full revolutions and remove belt from A/C, alt, crank. (I was able to get a 1/4 drive ratchet handle and 14mm socket between the fender wall and the nut.)
7. remove completely the pulley wheel from the tensioner and put the nut back on (just want to improve clearance). Break loose, just barely, the nut on the lower alternator bolt, which is nuzzled up behind the tensioner pulley wheel you just removed.
8. disconnect the alternator wiring harness, ground cable (covered by rubber boot), and upper alternator bracket bolt (preferable) from above. (If you can't get to this bolt, like I couldn't, then the wiring buckle must be removed from the bracket by pinching the two plastic mushroom pop rivets, and also a small grounding wire that is secured by a 10 mm nut, and then remove the bracket itself from the engine block. Make sure everything is free from that bracket, and keep in mind it bends fairly easily.)
9. under the car, remove the 4 AC compressor bolts. the top right one might be obscured by the coolant line, but that flexes a bit, so gently, (GENTLY) bend it to the driver's side, if needed. Remove the 12 mm bolt under the AC compressor pulley that brackets the black coolant line to the compressor. (At this point, your alternator might swivel down on top of the AC compressor, depending on how tight the second, lower, longer alternator bolt is secured.)
10. get a trolley jack ready with a piece of 4x4 or some 2x4s--you will appreciate these "extra hands" in a little bit. Pull the AC compressor away from the block, taking care to keep the pulley clear of the black coolant line on the end, and stay mindful of the other side's coolant line flanges that are a bit tight up above. If you're careful and keeping an eye on both sides, you should be able to guide the compressor down onto your jack and wood, about 2-3 inches. From this point, you should be able to roll the jack back slowly, lowering as needed, to drop the compressor out of the way.
11. supporting the alternator with your other hand, remove the nut on the lower alternator bolt. At this point, it will swing down, so if you had to leave the mounting bracket on the top of the alternator, keep in mind that this bracket can do some damage to wiring, hoses, and possibly the fan shroud/radiator, depending on how low you were able to drop the compressor, and it needs to be supported.
12. push the bolt through the alternator, and wiggle the alternator free. The bolt should be able to be pulled out the back end with ease. Now your alternator is free.
13. IF you had to remove the upper mounting bracket with the alternator, take note of the angle of this bracket prior to removing and placing on the new one. It makes a HUGE difference!!

REASSEMBLY:
1. insert the alternator on the lower bracket, push the long bolt through the long sleeve, and hand-tighten the passenger-side nut a couple of threads. Make sure it pivots freely.
2. from above, swing the alternator up to secure the upper mounting bolt to the bracket. (If you had to remove the bracket initially, then there's a good chance you didn't get the bracket's position completely perfect, so this might take a little wiggling to get it to fit properly. Once fit, tighten the alternator-bracket bolt first, then the bracket-block bolt.)
3. reconnect your alternator wiring harness, inspect and clean ground wire contacts, secure all wiring to the bracket, if removed.
4. back underneath, begin rolling your jack back to the engine, again taking care to make sure all the flanges and lines above the compressor are "feeding" upward and have proper clearance. When you get within a few inches of the 4 mounting brackets again, I found it helpful to just ditch the jack, hold the compressor with one hand, and begin threading the 4 mounting bolts to support the compressor. Remember to also secure the 12 mm bracket bolt below the pulley as well.
5. re-install the tensioner pulley to the assembly, but don't fully tighten the nut (the pulley wheel needs to be able to slide down the secure the belt).
6. re-install the belt.
7. with the belt on, keeping it centered on all pulleys, you should be able to return to the "strut hat" nut above, and tighten it until your belt is tight on all pulleys. Don't get gorilla strong yet; you don't want to create squeal.
8. after the belt is tight enough to barely give when pulled on, tighten the nut on the tensioner pulley wheel with your offset 14 mm box wrench.
9. re-install battery and crank the car.
10. if everything is good, re-install splash guards, re-mount the wheel, and lower the car.
11. torque the lug nuts after the car is on the ground.
12. DRIVE HAPPY!

 

One thing I didn't see but has been mentioned in this thread is the lower nut with the tab. Absolutely make sure that it is in the correct position! It should be angled more towards the front of the car. If it is slightly wrong, it will not allow the belt tensioner to move! You will then have to go back and remove the compressor again to get to the bolt to loosen and re-position. Ask me how I know....

 

I need a new alternator, I had one replaced with a used oem one and 2 months later its dead. however I do have a Kicker 12inch sub in my trunk with an amp and all new Polk speakers. I don't know the technicalities of volts and amps im pumping out with that. However my system isn't like outrageous at all. Do I need to get a different Alternator different from oem specs? Once again I just have an updated audio system to sound good. I don't have like a super expensive system. My dash lights did dim a little when i had my music up loud but im not sure if it was because i had a not so strong used alternator in, or because a stock spec'ed alternator can't handle an audio system?