Alternator replacement cost-- in labor--, Can I get to it without dropping the engine? Options

[Luke15]

I think my 914 has a bad alternator. I have checked the regulator and that is good. The belt is on tight. I think that leaves the alternator as my problem. Could it be anything else?
I have been told that the alternator is very hard to replace and requires the engine to be dropped to get to it, which I find very surprising. Can anyone tell me how difficult and expensive in labor it would be replace? Can I get to it from underneath without dropping the engine?

Thank you!

[7TPorsh]

I am in the process of doing this right now. I was getting erratic voltage and finally narrowed it down to bad diodes in the alternator.

My car is on ramps, it took me about 30 minutes to get the alternator out....without removing any tin. Loosened but not removed. You can get a rebuilt Bosch unit for $110 from PelicanParts. I anticipate getting the unit in will take a little longer but should be ok.

Note: I have a header so there was no extra time spent on removing any heating parts.

McMark did a write up here on the site and there is also one on Pelican site....but that one has you removing tin.

In a shop this is probably rated as a 2-3 hour job plus they won't install the unit unless you buy it through them so there is a 30% or more markup on that.

[Luke15]

thanks-- so you are certain you can get to the alternator w/o dropping the engine? Is there a trick to getting it out?

[Luke15]

Gary- do you know how I can tell if I have a bad alternator or could it possibly be something else like a harness? Thanks. Jim

[VaccaRabite]

You can absolutely replace the Alternator without dropping the engine. There are several members here that have done it along the road side.

IIRC its held in by the belt, the tension bolt and the swivel bolt (and of course the wires)

Let loose the tension on the tension bolt, remove the belt, pull the wires and then remove the swing bolt. Sounds easy? Well, the car is low and you don't have much room, but it should only take about an hour to remove if you have never done it before.

Zach

[Luke15]

Thanks Zach-- do you know how I can tell if it is a bad alternator for certain though? Could it be a wiring harness issue? Anything else? Bad relay board?

[7TPorsh]

Gary- do you know how I can tell if I have a bad alternator or could it possibly be something else like a harness? Thanks. Jim

What are the symptoms? How did you determine the voltage regulator is OK?

How is the Alt light behaving? What is the voltage across the battery poles with and without the engine running?

You will need a voltmeter at minimum to troubleshoot....DO NOT RELY on any modern diagnostic by some some self proclaimed professional technical guru at AAA, Firestone, AAMCO, etc.

[Garland]

And a few more hours, if it has never been done (removed from that engine) before.

Here is the link:

914/4 Alternator R&R By: McMark

[stevegm]

I think Rick (rick 918-S) said he did it once. But, it was pretty difficult. You might check with him.

[Luke15]

Symptoms:

Light on dash now on "g" with circle around it; drove car around for an hour or so over the weekend and went to get gas. Car would not start and had to jumpstart it. Got the battery fully charged as well. Light is still on.

I tried a "good" regulator I have and the light is still on. I check the belt and that is tight.

[Mikey914]

I have done it in my garage. It's slightly better than dropping the engine, but I kept questioning if it would be easier if I'd have dropped it. Maybe saved 30 -60 min not dropping it.

[VaccaRabite]

I think Rick (rick 918-S) said he did it once. But, it was pretty difficult. You might check with him.

I've done it on cars with headers and cars with heat exchangers.
Really, its not all that difficult. Its just cramped and can take you a moment to see what you need to do if you have never done it before.

Seriously. If I can do it anyone can.
Zach

[McMark]

First time, it'll take you 2-3hours. After 10 years of working on 914s, I can do it in about 30m without lifting the car (assuming it's not crazy low).

[malcolm2]

thanks-- so you are certain you can get to the alternator w/o dropping the engine? Is there a trick to getting it out?

I have a 75 with 75 exhaust. Unfortunately I have had mine OUT twice in the last 2 years.

I do remember the last removal the best. With a 75 I can remove the heat exchanger on that side and loosen up some of the tin without dealing with the exhaust pipes bolted to the heads. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) With an earlier style exhaust and HE I just don't know. But start the job and if the exhaust has to come out, so be it. Just one side, maybe 7 bolts.

IIRC McMark's write up was a car with no HE. That would open things up quite a bit.

I have found 2 rebuilders close to me. the 1st one was $75, but apparently he did not change the brushes.... so when they wore down the 2nd rebuilder charged me $58, for what he says was "everything that is repairable".... we shall see.

I was getting erratic voltage too. I was told that the brush holders touching and grounding against stuff inside that they are not supposed to touch is what can cause that.

here is a link to my thread.... similar dash light issue

[Luke15]

Thanks to all. Does anything think the problem could be something other than the alternator? Possibly the wiring harness? I wish there was a simply way to test to see if the alternator was bad.

[euro911]

I've changed a couple of alternators from under the car (on jack stands). The first time took me about hours, because I was on the learning curve and by myself. Second time, had a friend topside to help - took about half the time.

(both cars had early style heat exchangers)

Mark's write up spells it out nicely.

[malcolm2]

Thanks to all. Does anything think the problem could be something other than the alternator? Possibly the wiring harness? I wish there was a simply way to test to see if the alternator was bad.

Spoke went thru several tests on my thread.

[Elliot Cannon]

I helped ( by loaning him my jack stand) someone change an alternator in the parking lot at the Atomic Ramble in Albuquerque years ago. It can be a bit time consuming but not that difficult to do. Read McMarks write up a few times and get to it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[dcheek]

My symptoms of a bad alternator:

Volt gauge in center console would jump all over the place and then pin the needle and stay there. I would turn the lights, fan, radio and rear defogger on and it would drop to about 14 volts.

This would normally look like a voltage regulator problem, so I replaced it with a new one. Same problem.

I pulled the alternator and had it rebuilt. Problem solved.

I used the procedure on the Pelican Parts website* for an earlier model 914 and could not get the alternator past the heat exchanger. I have a '76. '75 and '76 914's require removal of the drivers side heat exchanger which the procedure doesn't tell you.

*
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/9...alt_replace.htm

Dave

[Amphicar770]

Make sure you get a good quality rebuild as this is not a job you want to do twice. I used a reputable, local re-builder. I explained to them the difficulty in R&R and asked them to replace anything that might be a problem down the road even if it was still within specs. They did a great job and cost was not unreasonable.

Also, before going to the trouble of removing the alternator, make sure your voltage regulator is not the culprit. The relay boards also go bad so check that as well.