My altenator went out and i purchased a new one. follow some online directions and after some tapping and prying the old one came out. Compared the 2 and they look the same. Trying to get the new one in place and just cant get it to fit. Directions say you slide and and then turn clockwise. Well there is just not enough room to get it in that way.

Any thoughts?

 

Unfortunately, the answer is to just keep on moving it around until you get it. Getting the alternators in and out are both a pain because of the tight fitting and not much room around it. Make sure the bushing that the right side bolt threads into is pushed out enough to have room to clear the bracket that the alternator goes onto. Some of the online tutorials mention to get the alternator out, you have to turn it clockwise, but I only had luck turning it counter-clockwise. Hope you're able to get it out soon. Be VERY careful to not hit and break/damage the little vacuum tubes that are above the alternator or the connector/hose that is to the right of it. The connector to the right that joins 2 air/oil hoses can easily be bumped and break. Then you'll have coolant going everywhere.

Best of luck to you.

Swaff

 

Not sure how to move the bearing as that is one of the main reasons that i cant get the thing back in. Way too tight.

And one of the small vacuum pipes has snapped (old and brittle). not sure if i can mend it or needs replacing

 

Ok, I have attached a picture on how you can get the bushing to move. You will need a few sockets, and one that is bigger than the diameter of the bushing, but small enough to cover the lip around it that is part of the alternator housing. Basically, you put the long bolt through the sockets, and thread it into the bushing from the outer side. Then, tighten the bolt and it will pull the bushing through from the outside.

(After pic) Slip on a few sockets with the one that's against the alternator being the one that is bigger than the bushing's diameter...that way when you tighten, it can be pulled through. Here, you can see that I've tightened the bolt already and pulled the bushing through to the other side.




(Before pic) Here, you can see the bolt is coming through from the outer side of the alternator. You can also see the bushing sticking out a little on the inside of the alternator bracket, which will keep you from being able to put it back on. Tightening the bolt will pull it out (or in the case of this picture, it would pull it right).

When you go to put the alternator back in, do not be alarmed if you have some loud creaks when you're tightening it back down. I had 2-3 loud creaks (which is the bushing pulling back through), and if you don't know to expect that, you might think you're breaking something.

As far as the vacuum hose, if you broke it, it will probably be easier to mend back together unless you really want to take a lot of stuff out to replace the whole thing and get to the other end of it that's further up behind the engine. You can go to a parts store and take the broken off piece with you and find some rubber tubing that will fit tight around the more rigid tube you broke. Just make sure you get some hose that can withstand heat, because it gets pretty hot in the engine. Shove the new hose a good bit over the old line and you can either use it to join the older broken piece or just connect that new hose directly to the valve it came off of.

Let me know if anything doesn't make sense.

Swaff