I haven't been in here in a reeeeeeaaaaally long time. Most of my projects have been put on hold due to finishing school last December and job hunting. I managed to get handed a job at an online aftermarket motorcycle parts and accessory shop so I am finally able to get back to fixing some of my problems and get my P5 back up to par. She runs great, but there is a lot of rust and some suspension issues surfacing (struts, ball joints, and wheel bearings) that need to be addressed before this winter. However, I will be in desperate need of tires this winter as my commute is 45 minutes each way on a toll road. By the time spring rolls around, they will be bald. I picked up a set of MSP rims last year and haven't had the money to put tires on them until now, but I think I'll wait till spring for those and throw some Blizzaks on the stock 16's for the season. I'm hoping to get the rust fixed next summer so she can be sexy again!
My latest endeavor was putting in a new alternator yesterday morning. I was heading out of town Friday night, for the weekend, to visit some family and I got about 30 miles from my house when all of my lights dimmed and the ABS light came on... no battery light. Earlier on Friday we had some nasty storms roll through and left some lakes on the roads. I hit a big one and developed a bad whine from the alternator. After I got home and let her "dry out" for a bit, I got in the car and headed out. Right before all of my lights dimmed, I smelled something funny and got nervous. Sure enough, the alternator fried. I somehow managed to make it back home on my battery alone. As it turns out, our cars can go into a sort of "limp mode" and cuts back to the bare minimum electronics. My radio cut out, my cigarette lighter went out and stopped charging my phone and my transmission computer stopped working and wouldn't allow the trans to shift anymore. I checked my voltage right after the alt went out and it was at about 10.5V. When I got home it was down to 7V. Lucky for me, Autozone was still open for another hour and actually had my alternator and both belts in stock!
$245, some research and 3 hours later and she was alive again! I was lucky the drive home didn't kill the battery.
Some advice for anyone who hasn't had to change their alt yet, it WILL come out from the top. After you get the alt off the mounting and adjustment brackets, put the bottom bolt back in and give it a few turns for the teeth to grab. Use that as a handle to get it out. Also, move stuff out of the way, besides the cruise control. There is no need to move the axle or disconnect any part of the exhaust.
You need to remove the canister on the firewall AND the bracket or you will not get it out without breaking something, nor will you get the new one in. Also disconnect the vacuum hose on the left and tuck it away.
Here is the side by side comparison of new and old:
And there it is all nestled in there:
One more thing to note, if you take of the bracket holding the power steering lines onto the rack under the car (directly below the alt) your life will be much easier. I didn't get any pictures of that because I just wanted to be done.
A few nuts and bolts and some patience and it shouldn't take more than 2 hours. I was also not fortunate enough to be blessed with an unmolested car. Someone had replaced the belts before and stripped the head off the adjustment locking bolt before I got her. Had to walk the old belt off the pulley and the new one on. She's done though!!!!!!!
Next..........
