I have a new alternator and two new belts for my 2000 Maxima. Someone was going to help me with them but he bailed so I gotta do it myself (because I have been quoted $800 at the lowest in my area) on a Sunday or something. I've watched a video on replacing the alternator and it doesn't seem too incredibly difficult though I'm sure it'll take me hours. Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone has any advice for someone who has never done this before, things you wish you knew beforehand, things that would have saved you time, problems you didn't expect to run into, etc. I plan on jacking the car up in a parking lot and going from under and swinging the AC compressor out of the way so hopefully that goes well.

 

I've done this job a few times and can't really think of any tips or tricks. You're already aware of the trick of unbolting the ac compressor to swing it out of the way.

I'm sure after the job, you'll come back here and share your input, which we look forward to hearing.

 

Thank you so much!

 

usually a bad battery is what kills them so get your battery checked out.

get a 95 alternator, has higher output.

 

I saved few other member's write ups/tips when I was researching how to replace the alternator. It's not hard, just take your time and don't forget to support the AC compressor with a jack stand, you don't want to break/damage those high pressure AC lines. R&R TIPS

Make sure to loosen the idler pulley bolts FIRST Prior to unbolting anything to replace: Disconnect the battery. Clean the outside of the battery terminals and the inside of the cables lightly with steel wool or sand paper of 200 grit or higher. Disconnect the Alternator ground (12mm). I used an extension with a socket to get at it.

Disconnect the Alternator harness. Its stubborn but DONT yank on the wires of the harness. Inspect all three connections for oxidation or broken parts and then reconnect to see if your symptom still exists. If they do, then pull the battery and alternator and have them both bench tested THEN replace faulty part.

They have revamped the idler tension bolt on the pulley face assembly (mine is an 01). Its no longer a wimpy little un-flanged brass nut anymore that can be easily stripped. Its now a big beefy nut(they took it off an idler assembly in stock). Make sure to get a better bolt to replace the piece of trash bolt that came with the car. Because you need to loosen this bolt FIRST as well as the top bolt (both 14mm), make sure you use a GOOD 6p point wrench or you'll strip it like I did.

A total of eight bolts: 4 for the AC compressor, 2 for the Idler pulley, and two for the alternator. DO the Idler pulley first. If you have issues with either bolt on the idler pulley there is no reason to pull the compressor as you will not get it easily lined back up because the belt will be to tight. Ask me how I know this.

The "check the alternator through the battery test" isn’t worth doggy do I also found this out the hard way. I would have thought they would hook up the alternator to some gizmo to test it, as they said they can test it on the car. When the Oil light and Brake light lit up, I knew what the basic cause was. I had it "tested" on the car and they said the alt was bad, which I suspected.

I had disconnected the battery and unclipped the alternator harness and alternator ground prior to attempting to uninstall the alternator and finding the stripped bolt. Once I stripped it (well, very close to being stripped) and had put on penetrate for about 24 hours with no success, I put the whole thing back together to take it to a shop to have the bolt removed. I reassembled and low and behold, no warning lights lit up. The bolt to the ground was tight; the harness was also tight prior to uninstalling. The only thing I can think of is that some oxidation happened somewhere and by "removing" the connections scraped it off enough to make it work.

I didn't touch the fan shroud or the radiator. No need for draining coolant, no need for removing the fan assembly. The AC compressor, however, ABSOLUTELY MUST be unbolted and moved to access the long bolt at the bottom of the alternator. The alt will can come out from under the car and the new one can be inserted from under the car. This is the easiest method, and will save some time

To keep folks updated on the tensioner pulley bolt -- the replacement bolt would be strut hat bolt (14mm).

I just changed it yesterday on my 2000 max lets see if I can remember: disconnect battery, jack up car remove pass side wheel, and plastic splash guards. 1 in wheel well and 2nd under engine. Loosen the 14mil nut on the tenson pulley, then loosen 14mil tenson nut pointing up(its brass colored). At this point the tenson pulley should move up/down freely. Next I disconnected the alt ground and the plug from the alt. Then I removed the 4 bolts holding the a/c unit, then removed the 2 bolt for the alt(1 long,1 short).Now you move the a/c unit out of the way, push it to the driver side of the car, and the alt can drop down and out.

Steps:

1. DISCONNECT BATTERY, negative terminal first. Take it out and put it on a trickle charger or something to be sure it's out. Loosen passenger side lug nuts.

2. Jack up front of car, place on jackstands, make sure it's stable.

3. Remove front passenger wheel. Then remove access panel in wheel well (two screws and a plastic pop fitting).

4. NOW would be the time to squirt some penetrating oil on the nut at the center of the idler pulley - this makes a world of difference. DON'T hose it down so your belts get wet with oil or anything.

5. Remove front passenger bottom cover. If you have a long tube with a way to aim, look behind the AC compressor mounting plate for the holes the bolts thread into, and give them some penetrating oil love. A drop or two on the bolt ends can't hurt either.

6. Loosen idler pulley nut, then back off the tensioner screw at the top. Remove alternator belt.

7. Disconnect electrical connector clips at rear of alternator. On my '01 there is a single wire that runs down to the AC compressor, which I suppose is the clutch engagement signal wire. Disconnect that too. Now, notice the two connectors come together, and connect to another harness clip. Disconnect from that harness, and remove the alt/ac harness so it does not get mashed later. NOTE: when cold, the nissan harness plastics are quite brittle.

8. Whistle out the four (4) AC compressor mounting bolts. The compressor sits on a little lip on the mounting plate, but don't expect it to hold it up for you. I had a little table of 2x4's there for it to rest on and to de-stress the AC hoses, but I am told it's not essential. It does make getting to other things easier when the weight of the compressor isn't on the hoses, and you know, they hold an easily-evaporating liquid under pressure.

9. Loosen the two alternator mounting bolts. One comes from behind the alternator to the front, so an extension or something is useful.

10. With one hand supporting, remove one, then the other mounting bolt. Don't lose the square nut with the tab welded to it that will fall from the front of the alternator just behind the tensioner pulley. Remove alternator - you'll need to turn it creatively.

11. Inspect replacement alternator, make sure they're the same, etc. There will be a sleeve on one part of the alternator, leave that in place, since the act of tightening the mounting bolt will push that into place.

12. Mount alternator - you'll need a third, or possibly fourth hand for this if you're not on a hoist in a shop. Do the back bolt first, hand-thread the square nut with tab onto the end, and then top bolt after lining eveything up - there will be some bolts that one can loosen to make this easier, like the bracket that held the harness that's bolted to the engine and that the alternator bolts to.

13. Assemble everything in reverse order. Remember to torque your lug nuts right.

14. Last, install battery, make sure doors aren't open or anything else that'll draw a huge amount of power, since you don't want a gigantic spark when you connect it. Connect positive, then negative.

Start car, test charging voltage. It should be between 13.2 and 15V. FSM says charging voltage should be between 14.1~14.6 volts If below 14.0, it is charging low, the beginning of the end.

Total time assuming you're well organized: 1.5 hours w/o hoist, 1 hour with.

Worked for me. Did I miss anything? Other than having a spare idler pulley nut on hand?

A few other things:

- If you think you have an alternator problem, check the fuse in the fuse box under the hood. It is 10A and is labeled alternator.

- This job requires a universal joint. If you don't have one - go buy one.

- A ratcheting 14mm wrench is very helpful for the idler pulley and for one of the bolts on the compressor.

- To get to the long alternator bolt, I used my air ratchet plus a short 3" extention, normal socket and the universal. Worked well but I have headers so I'm guessing I had more room. For the top two compressor bolts, 6" extension and universal.

- Get lots of latex gloves if your valve covers leak.

The easiest way to adjust the idler pulley is to lay under the car, put the ratcheting wrench on the idler and tighten while pulling the idler down with your other hand.



There are "must have" tools.

Offset metric will help you a lot.

Extensions short-mid and long are needed.

Pry bar to yank that alternator out.

Replacement nut, 10 1.25 mm for the Alternator. The Strut nut for the idler, if you use a box wrench and be careful, you should be good.

TIP: I removed the Idler bracket to give me space to access the lower alternator bolt. Otherwise you need a very thin offset 14 mm to get the nut out. Battery terminal cleaner saves time. Dielectric grease to coat the terminals. Baking soda to clean the acid out from the battery.



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....

 

Thank you so much for sharing this with me! When you say "make sure it is in the correct position", how do you mean? I'm confused as to how a bolt could be in the incorrect position.

 

My 2000 SE auto didn't have the "tab" on the long bottom alternator bolt. I think they are some slight variances out there; your experience may vary.

 

Do you happen to know where I could find a photo or diagram of the bolt in question with the tab so I can know what this means? I am very much a beginner, confused by what this tab is and how its position could affect things if I do have it.

 

Don't overthink it like I did! You'll be fine, just give yourself plenty of time and don't rush it.

Check out this thread, it has some good pictures, especially the post #83 it show the square nut that the bottom long alternator bolt threads into.

Replacing Alternator - Page 3 - Maxima Forums

 

Thanks so much! I am still going through that thread but do you happen to know how to disconnect the wiring harness? I was told to push down the tab with a screwdriver and pull apart to disconnect but I need it explained to me like I'm 5, don't know where the tab is or which direction to push it in, really don't want to break it.

 

This video is very helpful and shows the process from start to finish.

 

Thanks, I have seen that but he conveniently does not show himself disconnecting the wire haha but luckily he shows just about everything else.

 

Someone from a 5th gen Maxima Facebook group came over this morning and helped me with the alternator (well he pretty much did everything haha or we would have been there all day) but the process was really the exact same as was shown in this video, no surprises.

 

Happy to hear that!!! The Maxima community is truly awesome!!!