NB Alternator Removal

Maybe I'll finish this up tonight...after 7 months ?

It isn't "hard" and I found if you just move some stuff out of the way you can do it easily.

I have to run the car up on some ramps so my floor jack can get underneath it, so if needed, do that first.

Disconnect the battery



While up top, unbolt the two clamps holding the a/c line. You're eventually going to drop the compressor out the bottom and removing these two clamps gives the line some slack



You can remove the hose bracket to gain access to the a/c line clamp nut by depressing the keeper on the bracket and just sliding it off. The nut is then very visible.





Remove the top screw on the right side fan (you'll get the other two later)



Remove the upper boost hose (you'll need the room to maneuver your arm)



Not shown, jack up the car and put it on jack stands. Remove the lower engine cover and right side skirt. Decompress the serpentine belt tensioner and remove the belt.

From the top, move the fuel hoses out of the way, (no need to disconnect them) then remove the serpentine belt tensioner (allows access to the upper alternator bolt)



Remove the upper alternator bolt



From underneath:

I opened the clamp holding the radiator hose and pushed the hose aside



Unplug the electric harness from the a/c compressor

Remove the two a/c compressor bolts, pry the compressor out of the mount and lower the compressor as much as it will go, which isn't much really

Remove the protective cover off of the 13mm nut holding the battery cable onto the alternator then remove the nut, next (not shown) remove the 8mm nut holding the harness clamp to the stud, and unplug the exciter wire connector.


There may or may not be a strange harness bracket on that stud, so pay attention if it's there or not


Remove the remaining two fan screws



Remove the fan from the shroud and just lay it on the ground without disconnecting the cable

Remove the lower alternator bolt





I made a radiator (and knuckle) protector out of cardboard and just laid it inside the shroud




The alternator needs to be persuaded out of the bracket, I used a big screw driver


Once the alternator is free of the bracket, rotate it to this position


Don't let it fall on your head.

Before installing the alternator and a/c compressor, you'll need to push the sliding thread back into the ear. Some folks beat on them with a hammer, some use a c' clamp, I just use an appropriate nut, bolt and spacers. When you turn the nut against the thread bushing, it acts as a jack and easily and damage free pushes the bushing.

You can use your imagination to come up with something like shown below:

The method shown in pic one below has caused the "ear" to break off. DON'T USE THIS METHOD







Installation is the reverse of removal

If you think I missed a step let me know, I still have a zillion pics to go through.

Subscribed, never know when I'm going to need to do this.

Great writeup Tom, thanks!

super write-up

Fantastic write-up. I did my alterantor, 99.5 A4 jetta. Took about four hours, would have been less if I had a lift. Pictures and write-up were super and very well detailed.


Word of caution for anyone doing their alternator about ordering any parts from boraparts. The alterantor that was sent to me was not the advertised Bosch but a Valeo. Not too happy with that. I have my repaired Bosch for sale. Please PM me for details.

Hey thanks for the write up. I've been trying to find a diy with pics for a few days now

Just wanted to say thank you ninedee golf tdi for the last picture in post number two. That was the one tip I needed to get the alternator out and back in. Very helpful.

Thanks for the write up!

very helpful.

Is the nut that hold the wire onto the alternator the nylock with the built in washer?

or is it a plain one?

I have both leftover.

RoundHouse said:

Is the nut that hold the wire onto the alternator the nylock with the built in washer? or is it a plain one?

Click to expand...

The 13mm nut holding the battery cable to the alternator stud is solid steel. Maybe an aftermarket alternator might have been nylock, who knows.

ninedee_golf_tdi said:

The 13mm nut holding the battery cable to the alternator stud is sold steel. Maybe an aftermarket alternator might have been nylock, who knows.

Click to expand...

The one I have left over is the one shown in pic 1, post #3.

the blue tinted one on the left.
Where did it come from?

RoundHouse said:

The one I have left over is the one shown in pic 1, post #3. the blue tinted one on the left. Where did it come from?

Click to expand...

The green nut on the air conditioning compressor isn't part of the alternator attachment system. It's actually the nut from a front strut bolt but it fits the purpose in the picture.

ninedee_golf_tdi said:

The green nut on the air conditioning compressor isn't part of the alternator attachment system. It's actually the nut from a front strut bolt but it fits the purpose in the picture.

Click to expand...

Ok,
I have a that exact nut leftover, was worried that it went somewhere important.

Thanks for the writeup.

Took it off, and to a a place run by a couple of grey haired guys that rebuild starters and alts. Re installed it last night, also replaced the condenser fan motor and capacitor on the A/C unit at my house.

This week I also changed both o2 sensors, the temp sensor and t-stat on my 4runner.

On top of my regular job. Busy week fixing stuff.

Moderators, please make this a sticky.

I would warn that you should support the alternator ear or it can snap off. Ask me how I know....

The way I push the sliding thread back into the alternator ear is to reinsert the screw and stand the alternator on a properly sized socket. Strike the end of the alternator screw a couple of good taps. It's quick and easy.

Also, you can buy yourself a little more distance to the radiator by removing the dogbone engine mount. Carefully jack the engine and radiator fan mount apart. It's not nearly the squeeze chute fit.

Good pointers Frank. I was glad I did not have to remove any engine supports. I didn't even utter any colorful metaphors doing this job!

The method I just used to push the threaded insert back in was to take one of the bolts from my dogbone mount replacement surgery, thread that in between the two tabs, enough to nudge a 9mm short socket between the head of the bolt and the mounting tab.

Then, "loosen" the dogbone bolt, which presses back against the socket and the solid tab, while pushing the threaded insert back to where you want it.

The smaller dogbone mount bolt works for the alternator tabs, while the larger one worked perfectly for the A/C mounts.

Looks like I'll be following along this weekend....along with new control arms, etc.

Thanks for the write up!! My alternator failed this morning after 346,000 faithful miles, so the afternoon was dedicated to finding a new alternator locally and then doing the remove and reinstall. I was having a bear of a time until I finally gave in and looked up this thread... removing the fan from the radiator made all the difference in the world!! Thanks for that tip!

If you want to re-seat the sliding thread inserts without risking breaking off the tab, the best way is with a socket and C-Clamp. Use a socket big enough to fit freely over top of the small end of the threaded insert, then take the C-Clamp and put one pad over the large end of the insert and the other pad over the socket, and squeeze the insert down until it is fully seated. This method puts hardly any stress at all on the tab.

The other methods shown in the pics could snap off one of the tabs fairly easily if the threaded insert is a bit stubborn to move...

Getting the tensioner assembly off

I had the dickens of a time figuring out how to get the tensioner assembly off. The bolts are all off to one side, fortunately the side that is easy to access. It helped to find a picture of the whole assembly, after that the rest of the job wasn't bad. I wish I had done like the author and compressed the threaded inserts on the alternator as it was hard to get pushed in. Maybe even touching them with a file would have been good. Here is a photo of the tensioner assembly.

THANX So much for this!!!

Dude!!! Thanks for the all detailed way of doing this job!!!!! I would have never done it!!
I have worked on my own cars since Young, And you are as easy to understand as the "Idiot" Book that was made for the Original VW Bug of yesteryear.

You know I was acually considering letting someone do the job after looking at the time and what they said was involved.
If your ever in the Orange Co. area of California. Look me up, I owe you a good dinner!!!
Cheers

Pics helped a ton. Thanks for the details!

This took me 4 hours to do. I found putting a magazine in the fan shroud did an amazing job. I hit it quite a bit and no damage to the fins. I used a c clamp to push the thread things back with ease.

melvinmonster said:

This took me 4 hours to do. I found putting a magazine in the fan shroud did an amazing job. I hit it quite a bit and no damage to the fins. I used a c clamp to push the thread things back with ease.

Click to expand...

That's fast

Took me 7 hrs the first time
I'm down to about 3.5 now
Think Ive done it the times over the years

Using the "twisty" ratchet helps a lot
The kind that you can twist the handle like a screwdriver and it spins the socket
Very useful for reaching into tight spaces

I replaced the alt on my expedition
Timed it , took me 38 minutes




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