Alternator Diagnosing

[Ed_Strong]

UPDATE
Got the new Alt installed yesterday and all is well in Winnie town again. It syarys and runs strong again.

Now to tackle the power steering pump flushing... Who's got the best/simplest write up on the procedure?

[northern piper]

here's what I did..

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...power+steering

[scubacat]

p/s flush is annoying but not that bad. I just pull the fuel pump relay to keep it from cranking; it's closer. heh.

[Ed_Strong]

Really nice write up there northern, thanks for posting...!

Now I was thinking of pulling the Serpentine Belt off and spinning the Power Steering Pump Pulley by hand since I'll be doing this by my self more than likely!

Would that be doable? I mean, not only can I control the Pulley's RPM (slower turning) better, but also would have better control when adding new fluid to replace the old one being expelled out of the system.

Only issue I see is not being able to turn the wheels stop to stop when working by my self.

[scubacat]

Might be an awful lot of work cranking that sucker by hand. Even just bumping the starter for 5 seconds probably spins it a few dozen times, and I had to repeat that about 7-8 times to cycle all the fluid. Just pull the fuel pump relay, set it up, run the starter for a few seconds, rinse, and repeat. It's really not as bad as it sounds. During the 5 seconds, I just cranked the steering wheel with my other hand.

[Ed_Strong]

cool scubacat... will do! So I guess you did it all by your self then? I thought you had to have someone cranking while you make sure the PS Pump doesn't run dry. I'll see if I can do this when my wife is not busy, but just in case, I wanted to make sure it can be done single handedly.

All I need is regular Mercon ATF right?

[phil-l]

I've always used Mercon V (that's right, Roman number 5. Yes, it's different than plain old Mercon) in my Windstar's power steering system. I've been pleased with Mobil 1 ATF. Yes, it's pricey.