tips on replacing alternator on 95 astro

ok monday morning snowstorm went into work late...noticed my blinker was really slow...figured blinker unit was frozen (didnt have coffee yet). after getting coffee i realized my volt meter was at 5 volts and everything was getting dim. turned around went back home and took the wifes car...anyways my alternator was dead. if this happens to you replace the alternator. autozone rebuilt for 104 bucks yikes! luckily i was close to home and didnt kill my battery..so the 104 bucks didnt really seem so bad beats a tow truck. anyways...on autozone.com there is a free step by step guide (im presuming from a chilton manual) what they dont tell you is the rear bolt can be a mother *** if its an original with high miles like mine. i was able to acess it better by removing the engine cover (another procedure thats not as bad as it looks at autozone.com) and then removing the oil dipstick upper assembly and using a long extention and a socket removing the bolt (same for instilation). quite a pain in the a** but it beat the 450 bucks the garage charges. anyone with basic skills can handle. however i suggest a heated garage...im from ct and its friggin cold up here. the 66 olds is hogging up the heated garage...bad time to a little restoration work on a car thats garaged all winter...brrrrrrr. thought id share my expeience
ps i hate autozone and by all means dont mean to promote them but i thought there online manuals were cool....with the exception that in the real world that back bolt wont get loose with a half inch of leverage and no room for a socket from the front of the van.
hope this helps somebody
peace

Traded my '92 Astro with 135K miles and the original alternator. Looked tough to change, and you confirmed. Now my 2002 Astro looks no easier. Thanks for your expericene, hope I never need to use it.

I see this post is from last June, but I'll add this in hopes of helping someone else.
That rear bolt is a real bear if you try to reach around the alt to get to it. What you should have done is to remove the entire bracket, with alt still attached. There are two bolts slightly below the alt, that are easy to reach (5mm ?), and attach the mounting bracket to the engine. Take them out, and then the alt will be loose. You can then easily unbolt the alt from the bracket. Instalation is just the opposite.

I appreciate anyone who has been down the same road I have travelled! I am on my second alt change, first was a Safari, now an Astro... I got a little creative I guess..
moved the power steering reservoir out of the way
moved oil dipstick out of the way
had to remove back heater hose that runs near the alt
put a 4x5 mirror back in behind the alt
used a ratcheting 1/2 to remove the back bolt
grrrrrr!!! darn field wire would not break loose!!! had to put a narrow 1/2 wrench in behind the connector and top nut, then used the ratcheting box end wrench...grrrrrr!!!!!
a little twisty/turny and out she came.

Irony- next day, pulled the dog house off anyway!!!!
Final grrrrr!!!!!

Peace!

Or, forget removing the doghouse, pull the front right wheel and go thru the flap in the wheel well, you can easily reach the rear bolt this way, just another option.

My 92 astro van was a pain in the butt. The bolt that held the bracket to the back of the alt would break loose at all. I had to grind the head of the bolt off. That was not easy either.

Not an Astro, but a Cavalier...
I friend changed the Alternator on a girlfriends' car. The long bolt at the bottom of the Alt, when pulled, hit the inner fender, and wouldn't come out. He cut the bolt in two, and replaced it with 2 short bolts. I think maybe the idea was to remove the top motor mount, and twist the engine over until the bolt was free.
It gets easier every year!