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Cheapest Place CRD Alternator Purchase

16K views 30 replies 11 participants last post by  linewarbr 
#1 ·
CRD Alternator; cheap rebuild units and instructions

Phew, local stealership wanted $800 dollars to replace my failed alternator on my 07 CRD. I suspect it was from oil leaking (no splash guard in TSB).

I replaced it myself with an alternator from http://www.maniacelectricmotors.com/alfor20jegrc.html

It was about $200 bucks with a core charge.

I was VERY pleased with their service and am 100% happy with the new alternator.

If anyone needs help or tips on replacing the alterntor, just holler. It was a PITA but well worth saving almost $600.00. I also replaced the alternator belt with a nice USA made Gates belt and did a resononator internal baffle delete when I was under the car.

The alternator splash guard was only 8 bucks from the dealership and hopefully will prevent any future issues.
 
#2 ·
Thanks so much, Drewd, for the link. My alternator is giving up the ghost as we speak. Dealership wanted $400 here + about $100 labor. I'll be hittin ya up for details on the install when the new alternator arrives. Thanks again.
Jeff
 
#5 ·
Hey Drewd, I'm finally getting around to changing out my alternator. I'm hoping you can give me some tips/advice on removal of the old one. I do appreciate any help you can give.
 
#6 ·
I probably removed more stuff than necessary but i wanted as much free room to work in to get the alternator out. sorry,but may be in correct order

disonnected battery

removed entire airfitler assembly

removed and moved the entire coolant overflow reservoir assembly

removed a coolant line to the radiator

removed egr throttle valve and brought it up to the front of the engine, involved also removing intake air 'hose' to the egr throttle valve

removed connectors and electrical to alternator

removed alternator bolts

i had trouble with clearance getting alternator out. i ended up bending the airconditioning lines out of the way to get the necessary clearance. if you don't want to do this you can remove an engine mount and jack engine up to get clearance between engine and body frame to pull alternator out.

if replacing serpentine belt
remove turbo muffler and all assocated lines
i think i removed another coolant line

its not a hard job, just a little time consuming. i wasted too much time figuring out how to get clearance for the alternator. once i bent/moved the a/c lines, i was able to pull the alternator out without any problems.

good luck
 
#7 ·
  1. Disconnect negative battery cable at battery.
  2. Remove plastic dress-up cover at top of engine.
  3. Remove coolant reservoir tank mounting bolt and position tank toward rear of engine compartment.
  4. Remove air filter cover and air filter element.
  5. Remove air filter housing (one bolt).
  6. Remove generator drive belt. Refer to Cooling System for procedure.
  7. Remove two generator upper mounting bolts (1).
  8. Raise vehicle.
  9. If equipped, remove skid plate below generator
  10. Disconnect field wire connector (5) at rear of generator (4) by pushing on connector tab
  11. Remove two generator lower mounting bolts (2).Lower vehicle.
  12. Remove throttle body-to-cylinder head support bracket (four bolts).
  13. Remove throttle body (four bolts). Refer to Throttle Body Removal in Fuel System.
  14. Unsnap plastic insulator cap from B+ output terminal.
  15. Remove B+ terminal mounting nut (2) at top/rear of generator and remove cable eye (1) from mounting stud (3).
  16. Remove generator from vehicle.
 
#11 ·
Great info, Drewd. Helped me out alot. It was, as you said, a pain in the arse, but worth the $$ saved. Once the airbox was out of the way, the escape route for the alternator was pretty obvious. it was just a matter of getting enough of the other stuff out of the way. Thanks again.
Oh, and I did get the splash guard, but as my buddy was tryin to snap it on the tab broke off - doh!! Off to the dealership to order another. At least it's only $5.
 
#12 ·
crd rubicon,
i drilled a couple of holes and zip tied the splash guard on one side to oen of the a/c coolant lines so it would not go anyway. i didn't like how it snapped on and easily popped off.

drewd

sorry, but keyboard is broke no caps and no question marks either.


also, did you have to bend or move any a/c lines to get the alternator out/
 
#19 ·
i drilled a couple of holes and zip tied the splash guard on one side to oen of the a/c coolant lines so it would not go anyway. i didn't like how it snapped on and easily popped off.
how many parts do you have to remove to install the splash shield? just the airbox?
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the advice on the splash guard. I'll give that a try. I thought it fit kinda loose too. I think that's why it broke. We were tryin to get it to fit tighter. To get the alternator out, we unclipped the a/c line that ran to the firewall and took the bracket off the canister up front. That gave the line just enough wiggle to let the alternator slip by. It was tight though.
 
#14 ·
you were smarter than me. i just bent the lines and made permament space. did you buy your alternator from maniac too? i was very impressed by their customer service. they misjudged their ship times and my shipment was one day late which caused me a lot of grief becuase i only had one day off that week and was working the weekend. they wanted to know what they could do to make me happy and i just asked them to double their warranty which they gladly did for the inconvenience.
 
#16 ·
Drewd, I did get the new alternator from Maniac. They were spot on with shipping and the price was obviously right. My alternator was real slow to give up the ghost as it first showed signs of an early death early in Feb. Of course after ordering the replacement the old alternator started working fine again (at least my assumption as no battery light on or charging/starting issues). It finally started getting bad again this past week which led to nearly needing a jump start yesterday and loads of dash light warnings flashing on just as I was headed to my buddies heated garage. After install the warnings lights have gone off. No issues at all. The old alternator has a nice coat of dusty oily residue all over it. The dealership is to blaim for the failure as they were the only one's to change the oil while it was still under warranty. They, of course, won't admit fault. Whatever. Still, I can't understand how they could have been so sloppy to spill any oil in the first place. I changed the oil for the first time a few weeks ago and didn't spill one drop. Oh well. They are the one's that have to deal with their own conscience: ALTERNATOR HOMICIDE!!!
 
#17 ·
scootr, my initial signs of failure were the battery light. It started coming on at idle RPMs and would go away as RPMs rose. After a while it stayed on pretty much all the time it was running. I took it in to the dealership to confirm it was the alternator before I sunk a bunch of $$ into a fix that wasn't a cure. But like I said it was a pretty slow death. I could have limped it along for a while longer if I would have put a charger on the battery and only planned short trips with it. Fixed now though, thankfully. Maniac is the best. Saved me at least $300.
 
#18 ·
OK thanks for the update.....

You know what I saw on my 2010 MB ML350 was a plastic piece that fits around the oil fill...it is obviously there to stop oil from dripping down to the alternator. I actually test fitted it on my Jeep and it works great.

I will try to find out how much it cost....

MB part # is A 642 018 01 80

Pictures attached...this may be way better than the Chrysler piece.



 
#21 ·
Post to refresh for forum user who PM'd me asking for help but his inbox is full and it won't take my reply to his alternator replacement questions. I hope he sees this thread.

Scoot, my alternator failure was gradual. It would not charge at idle and eventually the RPMS where charging occured slowly creeped higher until complete failure. I was able to drive it for a while (mostly highway driving at 2700-3000 rpm) until it died.

I can't say enough about maniac electric. I've recommended them here and to other Jeep forums (Jeep Liberty forums)....excellent product, excellent service, and a great price. My rebuilt alternator is still going strong.
 
#23 ·
Yes, it is possible to take a peak at it but its been a while so I don't know if you have to remove the airbox to do it. If you are towing and camping, last thing you want is to get stuck in the middle of nowhere hours from civilization.

Tuco: Guess whose travel trailer got a 4 inch lift today? When my wife and I moved back to Colorado we made fun of "redneck" travel trailers that were lifted. We are now one of them and now I won't have to worry about tearing my sewage/grey water lines off or destroying my under carraige when we go dispersed camping. True Colorado travel trailer camper's do not camp with hookups at state parks....they do it in the rugged backcountry ;-)

PS: true campers backpack into the wilderness to camp but that only lasted one summer as my wife prefers a bed, toilet, and a shower....
 
#24 ·
Yes, it is possible to take a peak at it but its been a while so I don't know if you have to remove the airbox to do it. If you are towing and camping, last thing you want is to get stuck in the middle of nowhere hours from civilization.
Yeah!! That is exactly what happened to us last year. We were on a 6500 mile round trip to Michigan and back (lots of side trips and back roads) and our alternator went out.
We were literally out in the middle of nowhere when it finally died. Fortunately, I purchased a spare battery at a small town when I first saw the light quivering and suspected trouble. It was Labor Day Weekend...Ha. Drove to Spokane....three dealers there refused to help us in a timely fashion. We did not want to camp in their parking lot for a week or more so we bought two battery chargers and armed with two batteries and the chargers we drove to Twin Falls Idaho, where a dealer promised to get us going right away. It took us 3 days to get there running on battery power...drive, camp, charge, drive, camp, charge.

The dealer in Twin, was true to his word. He already ordered the part and had it waiting. Fixed the rig in one day and got us on the road. The bill was $800++ bucks but it was covered on extended warranty....except for small shipping charge.

The aforementioned dealers in Spokane said they couldn't find a part anywhere and it would be at least a week, maybe more to get the part, then they could schedule the job. Also, even though we were stranded, they would not give us any priority in scheduling after they got the part.

Here is a photo of us broken down near "Clarkia, Idaho" .... google it!!
:mad:
 

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#26 ·
Not too long. I ended up dripping some holes in mine and zip tying it cuz I didn't like how it felt loose installed. I like the picture of the cap leak guard posted earlier.

I love the lift. It looks great and rides just as before. In fact, we had 50mph cross winds yesterday and at 60mph (traffic wouldn't allow me to go faster) trailer felt just find.

Now I have to get some new tires. I'm hearing good things about the towmasters that Costco sells. Won't get marathons and dont want to spend $$ on Maxxis but the Greenball towmasters seem to have a loyal following. Had 2 tire blowouts several years ago on a single camping trip and won't ever go with that brand again.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Made it all the way to trying to put this thing back together....

How do I get the serpentine belt back on?

Tried a bolting the alternator on first and prying it on..didnt work out. tried putting the belt on first but cant get the alternator back to the bolt holes...

Most serpentine belts have a method to loosen or tighten them like a spring loaded pulley.... am I missing it?

Thanks!

EDIT: Found a tension bolt on the bottom driver side pulley, seems to have given out some slack in the belt. Got IT!
 
#28 ·
Made it all the way to trying to put this thing back together....

How do I get the serpentine belt back on?

Tried a bolting the alternator on first and prying it on..didnt work out. tried putting the belt on first but cant get the alternator back to the bolt holes...

Most serpentine belts have a method to loosen or tighten them like a spring loaded pulley.... am I missing it?

Thanks!
There is a belt adjustor.....I have a picture somewhere if I can find it I will post it tonight...
 
#29 ·
You need to release the belt tensioner by pulling it tight and using a pin or allan key to hold it in place. Install the belt then release the tensioner, it is very simple once you know how it works.
 
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