question (alternator replacement) long

[Tim Rogers]

 George Roffe wrote:
">i have concluded that my alternator is dead, so is the battery.  how hard
>is it if i want change it by myself?

On a DE I'd rate it about a 5 out of 10, mostly out of PITA rather than
hard to figure out or physically do."

George is right, although if you do not have A/C, then the job is bloody
easy.
Assuming that your have A/C, then the following tips might come in handy:
Remove the washer bottle, the alternator bracket and the bolts that hold
down the two tubes (they are the PS cooler lines IIRC) on top of the frame
rail.  Do your best to slide (gently bend) these tubes towards the fender.
Remove the bolt that goes through the exhaust side (front torque) motor
mount.
Remove the wires from the alternator before you unbolt it, then jack up the
motor until the front of the car just barely wants to lift off of the jack
stands (put a piece of wood under the oil pan to keep from crushing it into
the oil pickup).
You will need to rotate the alternator around a bit, maybe even flip it
around to get it to come out from between the frame rail and the upper
radiator hose.
It will not come out easily, but with a little elbow grease and moving the
alternator around a bit to see how it will come out the "easiest," it will
work.  If you are a bit adventurous and/or fed up, you may try taking the
horizontal bolt out of the front (passenger side) motor mount to get the
engine up a little higher, but I have had difficulty getting that mother
back in place.
If you have any questions or need clarification, feel free to ask :-)

Tim Rogers