I'm replacing my alternator and im following the haynes manual and i got to the part where they tell me to disconnect the uper radiator hose and the overflow hose at the radiator to remove the fan. I remvoed the upper radiator hose and then all this green fluid came spilling out.. and went everwhere.. all over my engine compartment. Is this fluid dangerous? What happens if i dont clean all this green fluid out of the engine compartment adn drive my car? Is this normal when changing an alternator?

 

Um, thats Ati-freeze

 

Sounds like engine coolant, I could be wrong. If it is, just clean up what you can and no its not dangerous aslong as it doesnt get on any of your fuses. Same thing happened to me and I just refilled it and everything works fine.
Jules
*edit* thought i had the term wrong. Above post.

 

So when you changed ur alternator this same thing happen to you?

 

Yes, when I finished I refilled it and everything worked fine. Nothing to worry about.

 

Just great!.... i finally get to the alternator and when i get there I see that the bolt holding the alternator in place has some how either melted and is now welded on there or was welded there to begin with.. So all this work taking apart everything to get to my alternator to replace it was for nothing.

 

nevermind.. i was looking at the wrong bolt. I got my alternator replace and a **** load of coolent on my driveway.. But its all done now.

 

Comon, are you kidding?

-RMB

 

And this guy is actually replacing his own alternator?

 

That's exactly what I thought

FLO_BOY

 

...and the fluid isn't 100% safe, either. If you put a little of it on your finger and lick it off, it tastes a little sweet.

Any dogs or cats in the area will love the smell - and the taste. It takes about 2oz. of coolant (50/50) to kill a cat. Event that small an amount can make a dog VERY sick, and even possibly blind him.

Make sure you hose down the spilled coolant ASAP.

 

DAH. My feelings exactly.

 

Well as you guys already guess im not a mechanic.. and new to cars so gimme a break. I followed all the instructions given to me step by step and none of the steps told me to drain out my coolent. I want to learn and learning involves mistakes so I guess i made a big one. Kind of makes me feel like not fixing my own car problems now though, cuz its it just sucks when everything goes wrong. I swear I've had the worse week ever... a hit and run.. alternator breaks... coolent all over the place... den brand new alternator belts rips. I dont get it...

 

Well, I've got to hand it to ya'

For a dude that didn't know what coolant looked like, you've got some pretty big cajones swapping out your own alternator.... In this car too... It's a beotch.

Welcome to the club of skinless knuckles and perma-dirt under your fingernails...

-RMB

 

You're all wrong. It's blinker fluid.

 

 

well, i figured out why my new alternator belt ripped. It seems the alternator they sold me had a smaller pulley than my original. It came off of a '99 maxima... most likely da later models and it seems that those are different from da rest of the 4th gen maximas.