SSjunkie912

Anybody have a good writeup? I have noooooo clue at all! thanks! its on a 2000 ss btw

1Loudz28

iTrader: (47)

its pretty straight forward. remove belt, remove mounting bolts 2 in the front 1 in the back, and make sure you unclip the harness in the back of the alternator before you drop it out, or you will be going to your local dealer for a $30 wiring harness!!

SSjunkie912

How do you remove the belt exactly? how do you retighten it?

RoDan

use a 15mm socket on the tensioner pulley to loosen and remove the belt. Once the belt is removed, you can easily remove the alternator. 2 bolts, probably 10 or 12mm, and then the signal wire and power wire. Install is reverse of removal. Just make sure belt is fully seated on all of the grooved pulleys.

SSjunkie912

which pulley would be the tensioner pulley? also, what is the signal/power wire and where do i remove it? i was also told to make sure the wiring harness is safe? thanks for any advice!!!

'99bluez

iTrader: (6)

here is the tensioner!

for the wiring - it is located on the top of the alternator. Just make sure it is unplugged before you try to remove the alternator. It is very fragile.

SSjunkie912

thanks A LOT man! i know this isnt rocket science but id rather feel stupid here then in the driveway tomorrow with a bunch of broken parts!
lets see if ive got this
1 Remove battery
2: Remove belt by loosening tensioner
3: Get under car to the alternator and loosen the bolts enough so i can get to the wiring harness, which i will unplug along with the cable running from teh battery to the alternator.
4: Reverse the process?
Thanks for the help fellas, and please feel free to point out any errors in my order of operations!

'99bluez

iTrader: (6)

You got it, except you don't need to remove the battery, just disconnect it! There is also a bolt on the back of the alternator that holds on what I think is a ground wire. Also when I took mine out I didn't remove just the alternator. I removed the alternator with the alternator bracket. Its a pain to get the new alternator into the bracket and is much easier when the bracket is off of the car.

SSjunkie912

So i guess ill take the bolt out of the back of the alternator and leave the ground wire alone, then put it back in? Ill also take the alternator bracket(whatever that is) out and then put it in after the alternators in. Thanks a lot man!!!

SSjunkie912

Also, this may be a dumb question but what should i look for when examining the belt? i may go ahead and replace it while im at it, but dont want to unless i really need to. what would a belt that is slipping look like? thanks!

Danger731

iTrader: (3)

The belts are good for 75 k or more miles, they are made to last, it is stated in the literature.

'99bluez

iTrader: (6)

yep take out the bolt and leave the wire dangling until you reinstall it.

The yellow arrows show the 3 bolts on the backet. 2 of the 3 are the same size. The blue arrow point to the back side where the bolt holding in the ground wire is. The picture doesn't show the electrical connection that you must unplug, but as I said its near the top.

SSjunkie912

well guys im almost there! but for the life of me i cant get that one back bolt out!!!!!(the one in blue above). I know its a 13mm and ive tried everything but that sucker wont move and i cant even reach it right! any thoughts????

SSjunkie912

scratch that now its loose! i just cant seem to remove it. its loose and all the components are removed except for the battery/alternator fuse.....why cant it sqeeuze past the other components?

'99bluez

iTrader: (6)

you mean you can't get the whole assembly out of the car? Just twist it and turn it a million ways until you get it over the sway bar.

SSjunkie912

Well i got it out, and got the new one all hooked up. my only problem is now i cant get the serpantine belt back on!!! **** ive tried it a million different ways but it just wont fit!

SSjunkie912

the things too damn tight!

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Make sure you have it routed correctly, otherwise it won't fit right. I routed mine wrong at first when I did my AC clutch (V6 here) and I had too much slack.

'99bluez

iTrader: (6)

+1 just check the sticker that shows the belt routing. It should slip on very easy - its all in using the tensioner.

OffspringZ28

iTrader: (8)

dammit

I just got to the back bolt and it IS NOT a bolt. it is a nut on a threaded rod. wtf do i do now? Just gonna take the bracket off i guess and reroute the ground...