Replacing my alternator

[skinnyman9000]

Howdy chaps.

Ive got a 1997 tdi and the alternator is dead. The bearings have failed and the pulley shaft has poked out the front of the alternator into the fan, so i cannot take the car to a garage. Does anyone have a breakdown of how to replace the alternator, its the notorious 2nd screw thats doing my nut. Please say i can do this with general tools and dont need anything special.

Any help appreciated as im current freezing my ******** off in my garage trying to sort it.

 

[audiv8quattro]

I remember doing this on my 1996 v6 quattro best bet is firstly to put it in service mode you will need two pieces of threaded rod for this if its the same as mine that is obviously engine is different but would think service mode would be the same,that will give you a better view remove belt and as far as I remember its just normal tools no special tools required just remember the alternater is probably as old as the car so bolts are gonna be stuck tight alot of wd40 the day before should be fine check google if you havent already. I know this probably hasn't helped much but im not a pro like most people on here but know what its like to be freezing your balls of trying to get something fixed

 

[skinnyman9000]

Well i purchased and consulted a haynes manual today and here's the rough breakdown:
Bumper off
Front section off
Radiator off
Fan off
Belt off
Alternator off
Then reverse to refit

I rang my local VAG specialist and their price is £60+vat to fit it, so its going there. So doing all that myself to save £72!

 

[murran]

NO NO NO. dont take the front off, you dont need to!

haynes manual of lies!

the 8mm allen key bolt in the back of the viscous fan under the alternator, it holds the pulley in its bearing in the aluminium bracketry.
hold the fan pulley somehow, it turns with the bolt. theres a special tool for this, but a big pair of slip jawed pliars or similar will do. undo this 8mm bolt the viscous fan with the pulley on it will come off. just leave it in front of the rad.
the lower bolt will come out.

 

[skinnyman9000]

So removing the fan will allow me to remove the belt and take the 2nd alternator bolt out? That does make sense from taking a look at the car, BUT, how do i re-tension the belt when i come to put it back together? How do i slacken the belt enough to get it off, and then get in to re-tension it without removing the front of the car?

If i can avoid taking it to the garage this would be preferable.

 

[murran]

cant quite remember its a sprung loaded tensioner i think. just turning the 15mm bolt undoes it.

 

[skinnyman9000]

Ive just had a further look at the haynes manual about taking the belt off and it contradicts itself. It says "turn the 15mm bolt anti-clockwise to loosen the tension", then in the very next sentence it says "Note - the bolt has a left handed thread, so it will not loosen when turning anti-clockwise". So which way is loosen then?!?! Good one haynes.

I think its clockwise to loosen to be honest.

So if i have this right i now need to do the following:
Loosen belt tensioner and remove belt
Remove the fan
Remove the alternator
Then basically just the reverse of the above?

If i can hold onto the fan pulley somehow without this 3212 tool then i think i should get this cracked in the morn.

 

[fARQUARE]

I found it was next to impossible to get the new belt on with the front end intact and I have skinny wrists.
take the bumper off and loosten the front panel off, this will give you access to the lower bolt on the alt (after removing the fan). I was terrified when I went to do mine but its a really easy job. I didnt use threaded bar on the front panel, just wiggled it forwards a few inches to get access.
dont make the same mistake I made and try to re-use the belt, kill both birds at the same time.
good luck

 

[skinnyman9000]

Hmmm, I'll give it a whirl without taking the front end off first, then I suppose I'll just have to suck it up and crack on if needs be. All this is dependent on being able to get the fan off first. Makes me appreciate how easy the corrado was to work on!

 

[Broken Byzan]

The15mm refers to the tensioneer. That does go clockwise. Then the fan itself is left hand thread.or undo the 8mm allen bolt from the back and move the entire fan hub assy off

 

[skinnyman9000]

It's going to the garage, decided I can't be *****. I might not be able to get the fan off, then I might not be able to get the belt back on, then I might have to strip the front end down, and I'll have to get it done in one sitting because it's on the drive. there are too many things that could go wrong so it's getting the garage treatment.

Thanku very much for the help tho guys, nice welcome to the forum

 

[adamss24]

Go to local halfords and buy an oil wrench (the one with the threaded handle wich is self adjusting), the spring plate is held by a screw and you can put it around the pulley to counterhold it while you undo the 8 or 10mm allen bolt wich holds the viscous fan pulley. You then have plenty acces to undo the alternator, not difficult at all just fiddly, that's all. You take the slack of the belt by holding a 15mm spanner onto the hex. bolt on the tensioner. I suggest you take the battery terminal off so you dont have sparks if you short the alternator. To make more room, the fuel filter bracket is easy to remove as its only hold by 2 nuts...Refit in the reverse order,there is no need to take the bumper off at all as Murran said above.

 

[adamss24]

This is the wrench i'm on about : Sealey Oil Filter Wrench Band Type 65-110mm Capacity on eBay (end time 09-Mar-11 16:37:04 GMT)