Hatchback ALT.

What's the best way to change the alternator on my car..
i've heard that you can take the brake master cylinder or go through the bottom back behind the front tire but i read something about a 32"in socket?? and it looks like a pain in the ass....
89 civic hatch

its easyest to pull it out from the bottom. A 32" socket would be... well it wouldnt fit under the hood a civic, and if it did it wouldnt fit anything because its all metric.

what are you guys talking about. You can take the alternator right out of the bottom of the car. Put it on a lift or jack it up and first loosen the tightening bolt from the top and then go to the bottom and loosen the bolts. It is a tite fit but it comes out withought taking anything else out. To get the new one in you gotta take the bracket off and pull it out, then put the new one up there and reconnect everythign.

Remove the belt
Remove alternator - shove to side
Remove alt. bracket on engine block
Stuff new alt. in
Re-install alt. bracket
Install Alt./belt
Check belt tension

http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/2gsm/images/91-23-74.jpg

what are you guys talking about. You can take the alternator right out of the bottom of the car. Put it on a lift or jack it up and first loosen the tightening bolt from the top and then go to the bottom and loosen the bolts. It is a tite fit but it comes out withought taking anything else out. To get the new one in you gotta take the bracket off and pull it out, then put the new one up there and reconnect everythign.

i agree. i ahev done three time this year that same way

really?? so if you jack it up you can just yank it out?

Ya, you just got to get it high enough so that you will have room to reach up there and take it out. Im a beginner mechanic and it was very easy for me.

sweet... can you push the new one in through where you yank the old one out?? or do you have to go about it a different way???

WHAT?!

I was told to take the axel out too, and thats what i did and it still took forever to do

see that's what i orginially heard to..... but i heard soemthing about just takin it out the bottom now.. i'm needin to know cause my alt took a shit on me and i need to put a new one in it..

i dunno cuz it looks like the axel has to come out

that or the brake master cylinder..... so i've been told..

yea i heard both

i dont know if anyone othe than me has tried this but i took it out from the top.....i have the dual point injection....so i took out the bolts and unhooked the wires, took off the belt, and maneuvered it behind the intake and brought it out...didnt take too long either

it can come out the bottom with out taking the axle off. just wiggle it out

if you have a DX, you can pull the alternator under the intake manifold and pull it out by where the intake is. If you have MPFI, Easiest would be to take off master cylinder, at least thats what I do..

The alternator must be turned the right way to pull it out. The only time the master or axle should be removed if it's swapped engine or trans.
LMAO at all you rooks take out masters & axles not to mention motor mounts :iceslolan or is it :disappoin?

ok ok... but can you still put a new one in the same way the old came out???? a little yank here and a butt load of pushin there.....twist twist...???

If you can take it out that way, why wouldn't you be able to put it in the same way? LOL c'mon that should be common sense. The alternator should could out with very little effort, just turn it until it can drop out freely. And do the same to stuff the new one in.

jackasssi is right

What happend to people going out and working on there cars, insted of debating about how to work on there cars?

i agree. i ahev done three time this year that same way

Berto,
I suggest not going to Discount Auto Parts for anything but consumables (oil, antifreeze, car wax) They sell a lifetime warranty alternator, but you'll become an expert by the time you finally get one to last a while.

Just my :2cents:

Berto,
I suggest not going to Discount Auto Parts for anything but consumables (oil, antifreeze, car wax) They sell a lifetime warranty alternator, but you'll become an expert by the time you finally get one to last a while.

Just my :2cents:


yo man. i work in the parts bussiness. the only reason i have done it that many time is cause i keep buring them out cause of system. i can't afford a 300 dollar high output right now.

What's the best way to change the alternator on my car..
i've heard that you can take the brake master cylinder or go through the bottom back behind the front tire but i read something about a 32"in socket?? and it looks like a pain in the ass....
89 civic hatch

you should really get it out from the bottom. it will be easier to remove the axel, than to try and sqeeze it out. I have done it plenty of times, I speak from experience.

i changed the alt on my 89 crx. i did not, i repeat, did not have to remove ANYTHING except the driver's side tire. that's it. i managed to work the old one out and the new one in the spaces below the engine. just gotta be careful that it doesn't slip and fall and land on your face or anything. it took me a few minutes to figure out the exact position to have the thing in to get it out, but it wasn't that much trouble.

the TROUBLE, however, was actually getting the mounting bolts off. this was a stock alternator. about 15 years of corrosion locked the largest mounting bolt and its nut on so tight that it took me literally all day to get it off. i tried a breaker bar and the nut stripped. i tried wd40 and a pipe wrench, but it just stripped some more. i borrowed my granddad's nut splitter, and it couldn't get a good enough grip to do the job quickly, but that tool with the combination of a wrench, a hammer, and a chizel finally got the nut off the bolt.... which i had to replace afterwards, but that's no big deal. THAT was the hard part of the alternator change.

i've heard stories of people taking the driver's side driveaxle off to get to the alternator. that's not that difficult to do either, just be mindful not to puncture the rubber boots on the joints.

well i finally got it takin care of.. had to save money up to buy one.... never buy electronic parts from an auto zone....warrenty or not.. that crap sux.. but.. I DID HAVE to remove the axle out of my way to get it out on my car and to put the new one on..... we tried for 2 and a half hours to push and pull and hammer the old out without takin any parts off.. but no way.... it looked close but no matter how i turned it or how hard i pushed or pulled or beat.. wouldn't go... thanx for the info tho the comments that i did get helped...

Did you remove the bracket from the engine?

I agree Auto Zone BLOWS! Same goes for Pep Boys, those 2 are the last resort for parts.