Alternator's almost Toast

[Tiger Bass 5,000+ posts]

For about a month now, whenever I blast my subs, Ive been getting a strange greasy/metal smell from under my hood in the belt region of my car. Was pretty sure it was the alternator so I took it to the shop and sure enough, it was. Mechanic told me the alternator was dead. I would change it myself but I currently dont have the facilities to do it myself. They quoted me at about $300 to change the alternator (Im sure its going to be OEM) and all my belts.

The alternator has never been changed in my life of owning the car so Im curious how likely this problem will re-occure with a brand new alternator. Right now Im thinking that its just because it's rather old. Also, how much am I getting ripped off at $300?

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[BoomBoomBoy 10+ year member]

I wouldn't pay anyone to change out my alt, but that's just me.

Changing one out involves taking off top bolt, and loosening bottom bolt and removing a plastic plug.

I'm guessing 50% of the $300 is labor.

 

[Tiger Bass 5,000+ posts]

I personally hate leaving my car at the mercy of the mechanic. But since Im at college with no place to actually work, Im well over my head in fixing it myself. Not to mention I would have a rough time doing it myself since its tough as hell to get to my alternator. There's literally only about 4 inches between my engine block and the fender of the car where all the belts and...alternator is. Im going to call them up and see if they have any higher output alternators and try and fix this problem the right way.

 

[SPL140.2 5,000+ posts]

you could get a high output alt for $300 or a little more than find someone cheap to install it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[Kenny Pollock 10+ year member]

Most local places will tell you a HO alternator is not possible.

Why don't you purchase one from Excessive or Iraggi (or HO Alts) and bring it to a mechanic.

 

[Tiger Bass 5,000+ posts]

Well, Im taking it to a shop back home where they will gaurentee my alternator for life. So I guess Im just going to stick to a brandnew OEM one and see how long it takes to burn it out. If it only takes about a year or so, I'll do the HO then seeing as how I dont have a job now and still recovering from medical procedures.

 

[Twistid 5,000+ posts]

dude installing an alternator is almost as easy as installing a battery

 

[Tiger Bass 5,000+ posts]

Im going to give it a look over myself when I get it back tonight. Ive never located the alternator in my car but the mechanic was talking like I need to jack the car up and all sorts of other shit.

 

[BoomBoomBoy 10+ year member]

Im going to give it a look over myself when I get it back tonight. Ive never located the alternator in my car but the mechanic was talking like I need to jack the car up and all sorts of other shit.

Of course he would. He wants your business.

Have you ever heard a mechanic say "I wouldn't pay me to do such an easy job, I'd do it yourself"?

 

[Neostar63 10+ year member]

what kind of a car is it? It cant be that hard. I just did one the other day and it took an hour, and we were working while the car was parked on the side of the street. You literally need a ratchet set and that should get you by.

 

[Tiger Bass 5,000+ posts]

92 Nissan sentra

 

[Twistid 5,000+ posts]

Im going to give it a look over myself when I get it back tonight. Ive never located the alternator in my car but the mechanic was talking like I need to jack the car up and all sorts of other shit.

look to the side of the engine where all the belts are... now look for a belt around a pulley attached to a silverish cylindrical object ... this silverish cylindrical object will have a grommet attached to it with wires comeing out and a ground line ... from then on its all common sence

 

[CBFryman2 5,000+ posts]

Changing and alt is easy. Disconnect the controll harnes, loosen the belt tensioner, remove the alternator bolts, remove the alternator, put the new alternator in, bolt id down, put a new belt on, reconnect the harness, turn the engine over to make sure the belt is in line and all assesories are working. You are finished.

The hardest part is changeing the belt. If you have a fairly new belt then dont worry about it. 1 hour in a parking lot, a basic rachet set, and a haynes manual just in case for the vehicle is all you need. Autozone replaces alternaors, batteries, and starters in the parking lot IIRC.

 

[ace_800 5,000+ posts]

I did mine in discount auto parts parking lot a couple years back. With their tools.

 

[Chevyaudio 5,000+ posts]

I actually had a local mechanic tell me that an HO alt for my truck didnt exist (2004 Silverado). That, and considering my truck might be the easiest truck to change an alt on. I just opted for a Locally built HO alt, and I installed it myself. Belts can get tricky if you dont have enough light to see if its routed right...but 99.999999% of the time the belt will only fit right one way.