alternator replacement

[baggyshorts80]

hi....new to this forum, but it seems like it's pretty cool and has alot of talented people out there. my daughter has a '97 ford escort, and i dont know what kind. however....she needs to replace the alternator. from what i can see and read in here, that car has one serpentine belt. is this true, and how hard is it to replace it? can someone kind of walk me thru it? pics would help, (if available) once again, thanks for all ur help! baggyshorts

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by baggyshorts80

hi....new to this forum, but it seems like it's pretty cool and has alot of talented people out there. my daughter has a '97 ford escort, and i dont know what kind. however....she needs to replace the alternator. from what i can see and read in here, that car has one serpentine belt. is this true, and how hard is it to replace it? can someone kind of walk me thru it? pics would help, (if available) once again, thanks for all ur help! baggyshorts

Hi on these cars its super easy all you need is a 3/8 breaker bar to (pry)move the belt tensionier out of the way and then remove the belt Alt is pretty easy also. See autozone.com for pics and a how-to that they have up.

[AzTumbleweed]

While you're at it you might want to try and determine how old the timing belt is. I still have the original alternator. 263,000 miles and going strong.

[rbsteve]

its very easy on your car. The alternator is at the top front of the engine and all the bolts and wires are readily accessible. I changed the belt in ym escort last weekend, took about 20 minutes in all. Might be useful to have someone pull on the breaker bar while you work the belt off the first pulley. Then just unbolt and unhook the alternator and put the new one right back in the same place.

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by rbsteve

its very easy on your car. The alternator is at the top front of the engine and all the bolts and wires are readily accessible. I changed the belt in ym escort last weekend, took about 20 minutes in all. Might be useful to have someone pull on the breaker bar while you work the belt off the first pulley. Then just unbolt and unhook the alternator and put the new one right back in the same place.

I used a bungie cord wrapped around the breaker bar and the pop rod of the hood.