Alternator woes! (Ranting about my day)

[Fubar231]

Gotta go on a little rant here

 

Today, had to go replace the alternator on my camaro. Its in the stock location which SUCKS (Bottom drivers side) and damn was it a PITA. Never done one of a LS car in the stock location, so after getting it all unbolted i couldnt get it past the rad fan / sway bar. After like 30 minutes of dicking with it i slid the bracket off first then pulling the alt through. So its off awesome.

 

Go to Napa to have them test the alternator and when i get there the guys like "Heres your problem" and points to the clip that goes in the back of the alternator. DOH! Forgot to take the clip out of the back of the alternator and ripped the wire right off the connector. SON OF A BITCH! No new connectors at Napa, and don't feel like waiting forever to go to a dealership and have them order one so i figure the next best thing. Rebuild it!

 

Grabbed a couple pins (5), and some rubber grommets to prevent water getting in there. So i get home and look up to figure out where the wire was that ripped out of the clip. Found it, and what do you know i only have maybe 1" of wire left. Damnit.... So get back in the car and drive back to Napa to pick up a spool of 20g wire to get this figured out.

 

Get back to my house, get about a foot of wire, the connector, my new pins, and so on and start to re-build the connector. All goes well! Finally something is looking up for me!

 

Go to put the alternator back on the car and have HELL trying to get it into the bracket. Tried to put the bracket on first and then slide the alternator up there, nope wont fit. Pull the bracket back off and help it up there with the alternator so there finally in the little hole they need to be, and cant get the alternator to go back into the bracket! Finally after about 20-30 mins of messing with it i got the alternator back in the bracket (After using a rubber mallet and some love taps to get it into place) and then bolted everything up. Lower the car off the jackstands to look down and notice one bolt laying on the ground! FML!

 

Jack the car back up and put the bolt back in (The one that goes in the back of the alternator and is a support bolt i think) and then got it back off the jackstands, put the serp belt back on, and BOOM fires up on the very first crank! God was i happy!!

 

Cliff notes: Alternator went bad, replaced it, broke something in process, fixed that, then got the car running again. All in all im happy and satisfied with myself.

[zeitgeist57]

1) Sell Camaro

2) Buy C4 LT1-powered Corvette

3) Spend 4x as much on Corvette for same Camaro LT1 replacement parts

4) Reduce effective work area by 50%, increase bloody knuckles 300%

5) REMINISCE ABOUT THE "GOOD OL' DAYZ" WITH YOUR CAMARO.

[2 Sweet]

Yeah, it's a bitch all right. I had the same problem with mine, although I knew ahead of time that the wire has a tendency to break so I was careful enough to avoid that. I know exactly what you mean about having little/no room to get the damn thing in and out. And I remember trying to get the last bolt back in, I had to use multiple extensions on a swivel head ratchet.

[2 Sweet]

Yeah here's my thread

 

http://ls1tech.com/forums/general-maintenance-repairs/1325615-alternator-removal-help.html

 

Although if I had to do it a second time, I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult

[MrMeanGreen]

Imagine having a supercharger bolted to it. Could be worse.

[Cordell]

I can take mine off with hand tools and a jack in 10 minutes,

FYI mine went out 2 years ago and I did it in a parking lot.

 

and from the sounds of it now you have a hacked up alternator connector :dumb:

[Otis Nice]

Sounds like your day was...

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FUBAR.

 

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

[Fubar231]

I can take mine off with hand tools and a jack in 10 minutes,

FYI mine went out 2 years ago and I did it in a parking lot.

 

and from the sounds of it now you have a hacked up alternator connector :dumb:

 

The only tools i used were 2 ratchets (One with a swivel head and a 15mm socket, another little one with a 13mm socket). So yeah, it can be removed in about 10-15 mins with hand tools. Getting it out for the first time..... not so much.

 

Its not really hacked up. I picked up some 20g wire and re-built/re-pinned the connector, and where the wire broke i stripped them both, twisted them together real tight, used a butt connector and heat shrinked that together, then used actual heat shrink on top of that. Hopefully i dont have any issues with it, and im just happy i didnt have to go to a dealer and wait for the part and all that. I am pretty pissed i messed up part of my engine harness. I HATE, ABSOLUTELY HATE, messing up wires/harness's.

 

Sounds like your day was...

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FUBAR.

 

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

 

Hah

[Rocky31186]

Moral of story, don't quit your day job to become a mechanic.