Engine: Alternator Replacement, on a plastic top CF2 Twin Spark engine Options

[GialloEvo94]

Following alternator bearing failure on my car at the end of last year, I had to do this job over the Christmas period so I thought I would put up a guide to help others who may also need to replace their alternator but are not sure how to approach the daunting task of actually doing the job.

After reading many horror stories from people who changed their alternator and did it from the bottom as described in the workshop manuals with some people reporting to have taken more than 10 hours just to get the old alternator out (see this post), I decided to take a different approach and do it from the top. While removal (and reassembly afterwards) of all the necessary parts needed to actually get to the alternator takes some time, it makes the actual job of removing the old alternator and refitting a new one very easy indeed. Therefore, my advice to anyone who needs to replace the alternator is DO NOT even bother attempting it from below unless you want to end up in a world of pain. Instead, follow my guide below and do it from above as you will find it much easier This was the first time I'd attempted the job on one of these cars and start to finish with breaks and taking photos for this guide it took me 5.5 hours (in the freezing cold) so not actually too bad considering the nightmare location that the alternator is placed in on these engines.

Tools Required

• Wheel Nut Brace
• Trolley Jack
• Axle Stand
• Miniature Flat-Bladed Screwdriver
• 5mm Allen Key
• T30 Torx Bit
• M7 Ribe Bit
• 8mm Ring / Open-Ended Spanner
• 8mm Socket
• 10mm Ring / Open-Ended Spanner
• 10mm Socket
• 12mm Ring / Open-Ended Spanner
• 12mm Socket
• 13mm Ring / Open-Ended Spanner
• 13mm Socket
• 15mm Ring / Open-Ended Spanner
• 15mm Socket
• Socket Ratchet Handle
• 18" of Socket Extensions
• Penetrating Oil
• Grease
• Vaseline
• Small Torch

Parts Required

• New Alternator

Step-by-Step Guide (click individual pictures for a full size view)

1. Locate the alternator which is right at the bottom of the engine at the back underneath the power steering fluid reservoir and the inlet manifold on the back left-hand side of the engine bay when looking in from the front of the car...
   
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2. Jack up the front right-hand side of the car, remove the wheel and place an axle stand under the front wishbone mounting point.
   
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3. Get inside the wheel arch and use an 8mm socket or spanner to remove the 2 screws holding the top of the access panel to the wheel liner and pull out the plastic clip holding the bottom right of the wheel liner. Then remove the access panel.
   
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4. The alternator can then be seen directly above the driveshaft and to the left of the automatic auxiliary belt tensioner.
   
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5. Go into the engine bay and locate the auxiliary belt guard which is on the left-hand side in the gap between the inner wing and the cam belt cover. Use a 5mm Allen Key to remove the 2 bolts (circled in green) and an 8mm spanner to remove the nut holding the front of the guard to the air conditioning compressor. Then lift the guard out.
   
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6. The auxiliary belt pulley for the alternator can now be seen in the gap at the back of the engine.
   
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7. Use an M7 Ribe Bit to undo the 4 bolts holding the engine cover on and also remove the oil filler cap. Remove the engine cover and then replace the oil filler cap.
   
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8. Unclip and remove the fuel injector and the variator solenoid electrical connectors (circled in green), and also unclip and remove the fuel line from the injector rail and also the blue vapour return pipe (circled in yellow). Use a rag to catch any spilt fuel when removing the fuel line. Push all these connections to the back of the engine bay out of the way.
   
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9. Remove the air bleed pipe from the top of the engine coolant expansion tank and then unclip the pipe from the top of the power steering fluid reservoir and also where it runs across the back of the fuel injector rail.
   
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10. Undo the 2 clips that connect oil breather pipes to the cam cover and disconnect the pipes.
    
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    Locate the air intake pipe on the right-hand side of the engine bay which goes between the Air Filter Box and the Throttle Body. Remove the 2 clips holding the pipe in place (circled in green) and also the electrical connector on top of the MAF (circled in yellow). Then lift the complete air intake pipe out.
    
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11. Disconnect the throttle cable from the throttle and remove it from the runner grommet.
    
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12. Disconnect the positive and negative battery terminal leads.
    
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13. Disconnect the 2 electrical connectors that are underneath the Throttle Body. One is plugged into the bottom of the Idle Stepper Motor on the Throttle Body and the other is plugged into the variable inlet manifold vacuum solenoid on the bottom of the inlet manifold.
    
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14. Use a T30 Torx Bit to remove the two screws holding the fuel injector rail to the inlet manifold (green arrows) and then carefully wriggle the injector rail free and remove it complete with attached injectors (they are simply held in tightly by rubber o-rings).
    
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15. Remove the 4 electrical connectors (blue, black, white & brown) from their mountings on back of the inlet manifold.
    
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16. Disconnect the 4 electrical connectors (blue, black, white & brown), and also the black connector to the variable inlet solenoid on the back left hand side and then pull the whole wiring loom across to the right hand side out of the way.
    
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17. Use a 5mm Allen Key to remove the top bolt holding the fluid reservoir to the inlet manifold.
    
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18. Push the power steering fluid reservoir as far over to the left as possible to expose an bolt holding the bottom of the reservoir to the inlet manifold. This bolt is very awkward to get to but it can be done with some patience. Use a 5mm Allen Key to undo this bolt.
    
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19. Pull the power steering fluid reservoir up and out of the way, then use a 13mm ring spanner to undo the 2 bolts on the underside of the manifold (one each side). The fourth picture shows the bottom of the manifold so you can see exactly what the bolts are that you are trying to get out and where they are located. These are a bit awkward to undo but again with a bit patience and perseverance you will eventually get them out.
    
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20. Now get underneath the car and using a small torch to help you see, look up through the gap at the back of the engine and you will see a bracket and 2 bolts connected to the underside of the inlet manifold. Using a number of socket extensions joined together and a 15mm socket on the end, undo and remove these 2 bolts.
    
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21. Back up on top of the engine again, remove the 2 screws holding the wiring loom bracket to the back of the inlet manifold on the right hand side.
    
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22. Next, remove the 2 plugs from the top of the ECU (which is on top of the Throttle Body housing).
    
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23. Now remove the ECU completely and also disconnect the brake servo vacuum pipe from the top of the inlet manifold (circled in yellow).
    
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24. Use a miniature flat-bladed screwdriver to prise apart all 4 clips that hold the bottom of the rubber inlet manifold pipes to the inlet tubes and also the oil breather pipe on the right-hand side.
    
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25. Put your hand underneath the inlet manifold from the right hand side and feel around for the cable clips on the underside of the manifold. If any of the cables are clipped into those (the ones with the blue, black, white & brown connectors on) then they will need to be unclipped to allow the inlet manifold to be removed without it being "tied" to the wiring. The picture below shows the location of all the cable clips on the underside of the inlet manifold.
    
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26. Now that the manifold is free from anything holding it to the engine, slide it to the right as far as it will go. Then ensure that all the pipes mounted on the bulkhead are pushed back as far as possible. It then requires some brute force to pull the back of the inlet manifold up so that the back twists upwards and the manifold pops out. It is a very tight fit and at first it will appear that there isn't enough of a gap to get it out through but with some perseverance it WILL actually squeeze out through that gap if you pull hard enough on the back of the manifold. If you really can't get it out then you will need to remove one of the front engine mounts and drop the front of the engine which will cause it to move forward thus creating a larger gap at the back.
    
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27. With the inlet manifold removed, if you now look down the back of the engine towards the bottom left hand side you will see the back of the alternator.
    
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28. The next thing to do is to remove the manifold support bracket because with it still in place it will prevent you getting the alternator out. There are two 15mm bolts on back of the bracket which simply need to be removed and the bracket can be taken out.
    
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29. You can now see that there is plenty of room to extract the alternator up and out through the back of the engine.
    
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30. Next you need to remove the auxiliary belt. Get back inside the wheel arch and use a 15mm ring spanner to release the automatic tensioner by locating it onto the tensioner pulley bolt and then pulling very hard in an anti-clockwise direction. Once the tension on the belt is released, slip the belt off the fixed tensioner wheel and it can then be taken off the car.
    
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31. Back inside the engine bay, reach down the back of the engine then unclip and open the "door" that covers the electrical connections on the back of the alternator.
    
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32. Remove the 2 electrical connections on the back of the alternator (circled in yellow) and the using a combination of spanners and/or sockets on the back and front of the alternator, undo and remove the 2 large bolts holding the alternator in place (circled in green).
    
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33. With all bolts and connections removed from the alternator, simply wriggle it free from the mountings and then pull it backwards and up out through the gap in the back of the engine. Be careful as it's a pretty heavy item.
    
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Fitting the new alternator is the exact reverse of removing the old one. Be sure to use plenty of grease on bolts and nuts when reassembling everything and use a smear of Vaseline on the alternator electrical connections. Getting the new alternator back into its mounting position so the bolt holes line can be a little tricky partly due to having to manoeuvre something around which is so heavy but keep at it and you will eventually do it. It took me about 20 minutes of fiddling to eventually get it into place and the bolts back through the holes.

This is the old and new alternators side-by-side and the new one fitted...

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[langers]

Has anybody removed / refitted the alternator without removing the inlet manifold?

[Fin]

Has anybody removed / refitted the alternator without removing the inlet manifold?

I did size it up when I did mine, but the GE method seems far easier!










Apart from them sodding plenum chamber bolts which I still have waiting to go back on!

[GialloEvo94]

Has anybody removed / refitted the alternator without removing the inlet manifold?

Yes, jlgrosvenor did...from the bottom...

http://forum.alfa145.com/index.php?s=&...ost&p=94287

Unless you can get the car on a lift then I suggest you remove the inlet manifold and do it from the top which while time consuming pretty much guarantees a stress-free experience.

[GialloEvo94]

Apart from them sodding plenum chamber bolts which I still have waiting to go back on!

If you mean the 2 on the bottom then mine are still out 5 years on with no ill effects. On the plastic top phase 2 engines these are much less important because the plastic variable length inlet plenum is pretty light. The plenum still rests on the bracket without bolts fitted which is acceptable IMO. Plus it's easier each time you keep needing to remove the plenum again for another job down the back of the engine I guess those bolts are more important for the alloy plenum on the phase 2 engines which is a heavier item.

[Fin]

I guess those bolts are more important for the alloy plenum on the phase 2 engines which is a heavier item.

Mine have been off for two years too with no issues with the alloy chamber. I just don't like having bolts/parts missing from where they were designed to be!

[GialloEvo94]

Mine have been off for two years too with no issues with the alloy chamber. I just don't like having bolts/parts missing from where they were designed to be!

Me neither but as well as 2 or 3 extension bars joined together, you need a knuckle socket on the end to get the right angle and at the time the only knuckle I had was far too floppy so I just gave up. Now that I've got some much better socket sets with stiff knuckles in, I might now have a chance of getting the bolts back in again If I have some time after I've done the brake lines at the weekend then I may try to refit them.

[cesar86]

GE, were there any symptons prior to the bearing failure?

I've been suspicious of my alternator, it powers and charges the battery nicely, but there's a weird noise coming from it's location when engine is idling.

[langers]

The symtoms are that the battery light sometime rhymitically flashes at higher RPM, I can only suspect that this is the alternator.

Any Thoughts?

[buellboy]

In my experience this noise can be caused by the belt tensioner more than the alternator. However when my alternator was close to failing i did notice a bit of a electric grind...kind of difficult to explain.

@Fin & GE : I've also not had my plenum chamber bolts on with no issues!

[kirk46]

im half way threw taking the inlet manifold out.....

the bolt under the steering fluid res was a PITA to get out... i now have a fair bit of skin missing off my thumb and finger

[stevepx]

im half way threw taking the inlet manifold out.....

the bolt under the steering fluid res was a PITA to get out... i now have a fair bit of skin missing off my thumb and finger

go fella.........you can do it!!!

[GialloEvo94]

the bolt under the steering fluid res was a PITA to get out... i now have a fair bit of skin missing off my thumb and finger

If you have a flexi / snake attachment for your screwdriver it make life much easier (see the second picture of step 10 in Power Steering Pump Replacement Guide).

[kirk46]

If you have a flexi / snake attachment for your screwdriver it make life much easier (see the second picture of step 10 in Power Steering Pump Replacement Guide).

i ment the bolt on the intake mani... but if you knew that then thats ok

will they fit on sockets?

looks like a good investment

going to change the clutch master cylinder while the intake mani is off

cheers paul

This post has been edited by kirk46: 2nd August 2011 21:32

[kirk46]

got the intake mani out and fitted the clutch master cylinder today

the 1.6L intake mani doesn't have those 2 bolts where you have to undone from underneath the car

[GialloEvo94]

i ment the bolt on the intake mani... but if you knew that then thats ok

No I didn't know you mean that one but I do now I've got quite a short ring spanner with a slight angle on which seems to get in there with a bit of fettling. It can only do about 1 1/6 of a turn each time though Once the bite from the head is loosened off slightly though it can be unscrewed by hand as those bolts thankfully don't seem to be in a place where they corrode

[coconut3]

I'm going to attempt this job on my phase 1 car this weekend once my replacement alternator arrives (cheers Alfa Boxer). I'm going to have a go from the right hand side by removing the throttle body and intake hoses and the battery and tray. It looks like there's enough room to reach in there and get at the bolts and pull the b**ger out. Am I just being overly optimistic that this'll work? I really don't want to have to remove the subframe again...

[buellboy]

I'm going to attempt this job on my phase 1 car this weekend once my replacement alternator arrives (cheers Alfa Boxer). I'm going to have a go from the right hand side by removing the throttle body and intake hoses and the battery and tray. It looks like there's enough room to reach in there and get at the bolts and pull the b**ger out. Am I just being overly optimistic that this'll work? I really don't want to have to remove the subframe again...

Do it from the top! Do it from the top! Do it from the top!

Go to machine mart and get some 1/4 thin and long extentsion bars to get to those 2 bolts at the bottom of the plenum chamber.

If you never put them back on, then it will be much quicker to remove it (only takes me 30minutes now).

[GialloEvo94]

I'm going to attempt this job on my phase 1 car this weekend once my replacement alternator arrives (cheers Alfa Boxer). I'm going to have a go from the right hand side by removing the throttle body and intake hoses and the battery and tray. It looks like there's enough room to reach in there and get at the bolts and pull the b**ger out. Am I just being overly optimistic that this'll work? I really don't want to have to remove the subframe again...

I'm pretty certain you won't get it out the top without removing the inlet manifold (plenum part). Apart from the fact that you'll be feeling blind under the inlet manifold, the bracket shown in step #28 of the guide above will be in the way (you can see why by looking at the pictures in step #27) and to remove that bracket you will need to remove th inlet manifold. Not to mention that the alternator is a heavy b**ger and trying to manoevre it out through a small gap below the inlet manifold is going to be near impossible (if it's even possible at all that is).

The only real ways to do it are complete removal of the inlet manifold or the nighmare option from underneath (good luck if you choose that route ).

[coconut3]

It's the screws that bolt the manifold to the head that are the ones I'm worried about. Even when I had the engine out of the car I didn't want to try to undo them. I guess it'll still be easier than removing the subframe and drive shaft. Any particular trick to getting these screws off or is it just a lot of patience?