EASY repair??!!

I finally had the first mechanical problem on my 05 Mustang. The alternator bit it, as indicated by the "Bad cam Sensor" DTC codes. Apparantly when the diode in these alternators croaks (which is common) it creates some funky IR static that the computer reads as a bad cam sensor. The alternator was $214. But that's not really the thrust of this post.

That was, by far, the EASIEST alternator I've ever replaced. really, 15 mins to pull it, tops. Easy to get to, easy to release the belt tension.....amazing. Like butter. It's so rare a repair goes that well that it kind of scared me!

Somewhere in the engineering group at Ford 6-7 years ago, some folks had their thinking caps on. Thanks!.

Have you replaced an alternator on a jeep cherokee?

Or for that matter a 3.1 OHV W body?

ultraclyde wrote: Somewhere in the engineering group at Ford 6-7 years ago, some folks had their thinking caps on. Thanks!.

Every once in a while they slip up.

Don't worry, the ease-of-service incident you just experienced will be corrected in the next model revision.

Shawn

I think theres a TSB on the alternator for those. If I remember correctly the bulitin says to relocate the alternaton to more difficult place to access.

the geo prizm (toyota rolla) my wife had when we got married was amazing... alternator was front passenger side of the engine bay... could do it in 15 min or less including pulling tools out/cleanup time... good thing to as when my father-in-law bought the replacment alternator he got it from autozone which meant the AZ rebuilds needed replaced every 6-12 months lol...

Trans_Maro wrote:

ultraclyde wrote: Somewhere in the engineering group at Ford 6-7 years ago, some folks had their thinking caps on. Thanks!.

Every once in a while they slip up. Don't worry, the ease-of-service incident you just experienced will be corrected in the next model revision. Shawn

Please refer to arrangement on transverse 3.0, thank you and have a pleasant day. (you won't after having to pull the CV shaft)

On the flip side, old school VW alternators are pretty easy so long as you're not doing the belt too. But when I made the serp belt/PS and AC delete move it got even easier by a factor of 10 and includes the belt swap.

Subaru?

No faster belt change than an air-cooled VW:

Belt change while running.

A1 Rabbit alternator: 15 min.

A1 GTI alternator with A/C: 2 days then have it hauled away to have someone else deal with it.

That just means something else near it is twice as hard to replace.

That just means something else near it is twice as hard to replace.

Ford engineers must have taken a break when then decided to burry the alt. on the Contour V6. Yes you can get it out but not without jacking up the car and removing the RF tire and inner fender splash panel among other things.

wlkelley3 wrote: That just means something else near it is twice as hard to replace.

I've found on many older cars that's not a hard fact, or is the inverse true on newer cars.

I am not sure what was up with those engineers.. usually they make things harder.. maybe they were fresh out of school?

why is it considered such a big deal to remove the passenger axle on the countour and mazda6 v6;s to change the alt? seriously its an extra 5 to 10 minutes....

KATYB wrote: why is it considered such a big deal to remove the passenger axle on the countour and mazda6 v6;s to change the alt? seriously its an extra 5 to 10 minutes....

5-10 minutes to pull an axle? In the pits at a race with everything pre-greased, heavy duty tools already out when the car hits pit road, and a seriously good mechanic working scared and trying to get the car back out into the race before they lose a lap under caution, maybe?

Pulling an axle on a double wishbone car generally involves:

A) remove wheel

B) remove hub nut

C) remove shock fork to lower arm bolt

D) remove balljoint nut

E) separate lower balljoint

F) pull parts aside for clearance

G) drive wedge between transaxle and inner CV case

If you're lucky you don't have to undo the radius rod or the tierod to get clearance forcing you to realign the car afterwards,and any of these steps can turn out to require a lot of penetrating oil and sledgehammer work. Reinstallation of the shock fork usually takes forever too, if the bushing's worn out a little it gets difficult to align.

digdug18 wrote: Have you replaced an alternator on a jeep cherokee?

Yes, and I've also replaced one on a 3.4 DOHC Lumina. Opposite ends of the spectrum there

KATYB wrote: why is it considered such a big deal to remove the passenger axle on the countour and mazda6 v6;s to change the alt? seriously its an extra 5 to 10 minutes....

aside from what chaparral said, why should we have to? The first time I saw it I seriously wanted to know WTF were they thinking.

Then again, I said the same thing about a MKIV GTI with a 1.8T. "Wait, this used to be a cake job on VWs" as I see its hidden under the intake plenum and blocked by the rad support.

Spark plugs on a Thunderbird with a y-block motor. People think Chevrolet invented the PITA sparkplug change with the Monza. Ford had them beat by a few years.

Universal joint in ANY torque-tube equipped vehicle. On cars with a Dynaflow transmission it seems harder to get the ball joint back together than any other transmission.

On a Packard V12, you have to pull the engine to get the steering box out.

New cars aren't the only ones with awful jobs. I'm pretty sure every car invented, even the model T has jobs that are a right pain in the ass.

Hell, ANY heater core seem to be an awful job. I think the heater core is the car's bellybutton. They design the heater core first, then build the car around it.

Second-gen F-body cars with A/C require the passenger's side fender to be removed to change the heater core.

Shawn

Trans_Maro wrote: Second-gen F-body cars with A/C require the passenger's side fender to be removed to change the heater core.

Changed one on my 79 Trans Am. Then I proceeded to break a vacuum line putting the dash back together. Getting the controls working right again made me wish for death

digdug18 wrote: Have you replaced an alternator on a jeep cherokee?

I have.

I still have nightmares.

chaparral wrote:

KATYB wrote: why is it considered such a big deal to remove the passenger axle on the countour and mazda6 v6;s to change the alt? seriously its an extra 5 to 10 minutes....

5-10 minutes to pull an axle? In the pits at a race with everything pre-greased, heavy duty tools already out when the car hits pit road, and a seriously good mechanic working scared and trying to get the car back out into the race before they lose a lap under caution, maybe? Pulling an axle on a double wishbone car generally involves: A) remove wheel B) remove hub nut C) remove shock fork to lower arm bolt D) remove balljoint nut E) separate lower balljoint F) pull parts aside for clearance G) drive wedge between transaxle and inner CV case If you're lucky you don't have to undo the radius rod or the tierod to get clearance forcing you to realign the car afterwards,and any of these steps can turn out to require a lot of penetrating oil and sledgehammer work. Reinstallation of the shock fork usually takes forever too, if the bushing's worn out a little it gets difficult to align.

ok duratec 6. remove wheel, remove hubnut, undo 3 carrier bearing bolts. turn wheels all the way to right. wack spindle with 10 lb sludge at upper ball joint. let spindle fall out and back. undo shock fork bolts. remove axle. heck i had to replace my header gaskets 2 weeks ago and took me 1.5 hours to replace both.

+million on ANY heater core (Well, maybe a 50s truck might not be bad....)

Don’t let that one car draw you in to the dark side. Replace the Alt. on one of these just to prove you can do it. Ford F 350 Diesel or Ford Escape v6.