The alternator on my car went kaput. Nowhere in my area would do the job for less than $800-something, and most places were quoting $900-$1k.
So I looked up how-tos on YouTube and it looked like something I, a woman with zero experience or knowledge of working on cars, could do.
I got a remanufactured alternator for $180 and got to work following the tutorials I’d found.
It certainly did not go smoothly, but I managed it. It took me 6 hours to get the alternator out, mainly because every goddamn bolt holding the parts in place were basically cemented in. I had to use my foot to stomp one loose because I didn’t have the strength in my arms.
Today I spent another 4 hours trying to put in the new one and all the parts back in place. And I did it!!
Except for the power steering belt. That fucker would not go into place, and trying to force the belt tensioner back took every ounce of strength I could muster.
All that work. All that time and effort and THE VERY LAST STEP to get my car up and running defeated me today. I had to get a task rabbit guy. He’s coming tomorrow to get my belt back on.
On one hand I feel proud that I made it this far. On the other I feel like a complete failure because it turns out I couldn’t complete the task myself.
Anyway, how was your weekend?
Replacing the alternator can be either the easiest or most difficult task ever, depending on the car. But if it’s a Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge, it’ll always be difficult because they hate their customers.
In theory, it should always be easy. Loosen the tensioner, pop off the belt, unscrew a few things, remove a couple wires, pop it out, and perform the steps in reverse. But sometimes it gets stuck or the manufacturer requires you to practically take half the car apart to get to it.
What might help is getting a second set of hands. Sometimes it just takes one person putting the belt on while the other is holding the tensioner back.
Step 1 for any car repair I want to do on my own is to look at how accessible the part is. If it’s easy to reach, I’ll do it. That’s why I like working on my old V8 F-150. Last year, I replaced the intermediate steering shaft, which I assumed would be difficult, but the entire thing is easily reachable beside the engine thanks to the huge engine bay.
It’s also one reason why I don’t touch my mid-engine Porsche despite very high labor rates at the shop. Besides being mid-engined, German engineering requires simple things to be weirdly complex. For example, replacing the battery can cause a control unit to forget that the car is equipped with heated seats, so they stop working.
Yeah, that’s not a surprise. German and Italian imports love to have some odd complication.
They’re not alone, though. GM also loves their boneheaded decisions. My parents old LeSabre had the battery go out. For some odd reason, they decided it should be placed under the back seat.
Yes, so much this. Every time I have to do something in the engine bay, I get a friend. A six-pack, a dinner, or whatever other small favor they need in return returns gold for pennies in the investment. If only the damn engineers would have the incentive to make working in the engine as easy as changing the oil (though Subaru even fucked that one up), life would be a breeze.