Car question: How long does it take to install an alternator?

[TZ]

Seems that the alternator for my 2002 Toyota Celica is a bit hard to find and it may be tomorrow before they can get it. It would be kind of a pain in the ass for me to go to work on the bus and try to pick up my car from work because the garage is more convenient to my house and it might be an icy walk to the bus stop tomorrow. thinking about either taking tomorrow off (as I did today) or going in late. Once they have the part, and hour or two maybe?

[DS1]

1. as long as it takes to drain your wallet

sadly

[DarkTirade]

2. Depends on the car. I don't know about that particular car...

but replacing the alternator should take almost no time at all. Hell, I have absolutely no experience, and with just the help of someone standing behind me and giving me hints as to what to do I got it done in less than half an hour. And the only reason he was even there was because I needed a socket wrench set and he had one. :)

The only thing that could slow it down is if there are other things that need to be moved out of the way and then replaced in order to GET to the alternator. In my car the power steering pump had to be moved out of the way to get to it. That took another extra few minutes.

[MrCoffee]

3. it probably shouldn't be more than 2 hours...unless

i had a car once that in order to replace the serpentine belt they had to take out the fuel injectors.


who in the hell designs an engine that requires the removal of the fuel injectors to get at the serpentine belt???

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. Auto manufacturers who want you to take your car

to the dealer for repairs.




Good dog, I love my small-block Chevy. :loveya:

[MrCoffee]

11. this was a 3.1L V-6 Chevy engine...loved driving it, hated getting it fixed

[Oeditpus Rex]

12. 'X-Car'? (n.t)

[MrCoffee]

15. beretta z26

stupid looking car, but so much fun to drive

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. Seems like a V-6 in one o' those

would be a bit of a squeeze.

When GM rolled out the ill-fated Chevy Monza/Olds Starfire/Buick Skyhawk line of near-fatal mistakes in 1975, you could get 'em with a 262, 305 or even 350 V-8. Problem was, to get to the no. 7 plug, you had to jack up the engine.

[flvegan]

13. I had a Corvette that you had to remove a body panel

to swap out the battery.

THAT was ignorant.

[truedelphi]

4. Here's the thing - I suspect that what is happening is your car is stalling

If that is the case, you pretty much should have them put a fuel filter into the car as well.

I once replaced my alternator, voltage regulator, and several other things, and the garage was talking about my needing to have a new engine.

Someone clued me in to the fuel filter thing - it costs about $ 15 bucks for the part and a half hour for the time. Although I shelled out an ungodly amount for the other things first, at least I saved myself from the problem of having a new engine.

Another time, i couldn't keep my battery charged. Again, I think that a garage wanted to give me a new alternator (Different car from above)

Someone I knew said, No. First get rid of the little digital clock that is on your dashboard and that is hooked into the car's electronics.

I got rid of said little click by having the friend disconnect it - and then there was no need for the alternator.

[TZ]

10. Naw I knew it was either the battery or the alternator

because my battery warning light came on. Thats what happened on an old car of mine that had a bad alternator. And I am NOT repeat NOT gonna go through breaking down in a dark and lonely place that almost happened the first time....

[Oeditpus Rex]

14. Unfortunately, the 'battery' warning light

means "There seems to be something amiss somewhere in the vehicle's electrical system."

[flvegan]

5. 2002 Celica? It's top, front mounted.

Couple hours if nothing else is wrong.

Even blown (w/a supercharger) it's easy to access.

[MrCoffee]

6. is that it to the left of the coolant reservoir?

that should take no more than an hour.

[flvegan]

7. Yep.

I think that in normal apps (sans supercharger), there's a piece of plastic that covers that corner of the bay. An extra 10 minutes to remove/replace.

[TZ]

9. Nice pix of the engine, thanks! n/t

[flvegan]

16. This is more like what yours looks like

Alternator would be under that plastic cover.

[Blue-Jay]

17. About an hour and a half, tops.

If they charge for more than two hours, you're getting fucked.

[LisaM]

18. My boyfriend did it in about half an hour recently

And he is not a mechanic at all.

The guy at the auto parts store (Schuck's) showed him how.