i've had to pull my alt twice in the -6, so why am i smiling?? Options

[ein 6er]

because the 2nd time i pulled it, i didn't have to remove the carbs and fan shroud!! what a pleasure that was!!

i didn't think it was possible to pull the alternator out, without pulling everything off!! thanks to krk and his very helpful thread and fotos which helped me tremendously the 1st time i pulled my alt.

from what i've learned through this process, is that the alt and fan on the 6cyl engines can seize in the housing and on the shaft over time and can be a bitch to get off. if you've never had yours out you will probably need to pull the carbs and the shroud to make it all easier. and also to have a good look under the shroud and clean everything up. remember to antiseize everything on reassembly

when i had to pull my alt for the 2nd time, (within a week) i reeeeeeeally didn't want to pull everything off again. i had to pull the fan out then turn the fan housing sideways and then pull the alt out. barely enough room to get it out. saved a lot of time!!

doug

[ein 6er]

i couldn't believe it either!!! i almost gave up a couple of times!!

again .... if you haven't had it off recently it may not be possible to do it like this.

i worked from the passenger side.

1st i removed the engine lid, disconnected the batt, removed the fan belt, unbolted the coil and laid it to the side, removed the heater air vents from the shroud, the ones on either side of the fan housing, the pass. side is one peice, the driver's side vent is plastic, the sheetmetal that holds it in, is in 2 pieces, i only had to remove the small piece (2 bolts i think) on the fan side and the sheetmetal screw on top of the shroud to remove the plastic vent.

remove the bolts from the fan housing strap, i used some wire to tie the strap back on both sides to get more room. then i was able to lean the housing forward enough to start taking the air guide nuts off so you can get to the alt wires. take the ground strap off 1st, then you can rotate the housing around so you can reach all the nuts. a couple can be reached from the driver's side. luckily i didn't drop any, i used one of those magnets on an extension, like an antenna to help keep track on the nuts & washers as i was taking them off. then you can push the air guide back enough to get to the alt wires. even though i had just had the fan off, i still had to pull and push the fan back & forth to get it off, you need to turn the housing sideways so the fan can come out (pass. side). i think i had to untie the strap and let it fall back to it's normal position so i could get the fan out from between the shroud and the fire wall.

because it's so tight in there i placed a rag over the housing to keep from scratching the paint on the firewall.

the alt didn't want to come right out because the long bolts that hold it in want to catch on the fan housing. i had to take a wood hammer handle and tap the alt to push it out of the housing. i had to tap 1 side then rotate it half way and tap it some more. when i put it back in, i'll try to bend the bolts so they slide directly into the holes, to make it easier the next time.

once the alt was out of the housing it took me a while to get it out past the shroud and the firewall. this is where i almost gave up a couple of times. i eventually had to push the air guide back and turn the fan housing front to back. again i had to let the strap fall back and wiggle the alt out. once i got the fan housing in the right place there was enough room to get the alt out.

and after all that, the alt shop says my alt is good!!!! so i didn't need to take it out in the 1st place!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

so now i need to figure out why i'm not getting voltage back into my batt!!!

good luck, hope this helps!!!

doug

ps, i also remove the dizzy cap and rotor to get more room, didn't disconnect any wires. the fan and alt need to come out around the shroud down low.