It was super easy:

Remove bolt from passenger-side motor mount.
Remove bolt from front motor mount.
Jack engine up as high as it will go.
Remove FPR.
Remove bolts that hold AC and PS lines in place (strut tower and next to timing cover).

I believe that is all I did.

Alternator came right out, next to the strut tower.

WARNING: I did scrape the paint on the rear of the valve cover. I don't really care and nobody will ever see it, but the hard parkers may wanna avoid this method It also will scrape along the ABS lines, but they move a bit, so no big deal. It is probably possible to prevent the scratches with some ingenuity and more patience.

Alternator came right out, with pulley facing the valve cover. It went right back in the same way. Minus time I took replying to texts, phone calls, and playing with Pandora, I think the actual job only took about 45mins.

 

Awesome! Not that my alternator is bad but I dreaded the day it were to happen. This makes me feel better!

 

Same here. I was told i had to pull the front, passenger axle, drop the exhaust, blah blah. This was SO much easier.

 

Glad to see that this method worked out for you Kaj

For me it was easier to pull the axle and take the alternator out from the bottom. After trying both methods, I just can't see it worth spilling gas, scratching up the ABS, AC lines, rear valve cover, and side of the intake manifold as opposed to dripping a little TC fluid by pulling the axle.

Either way, good work!

-pal215

 

I scratched stuff because I don't worry about aesthetics enough to prevent it. I'm sure I could have taken my time and used a rag or something. Nobody sees any of the areas that got scuffed. The AC lines have no paint on them, so i really, REALLY didn't sweat that. True I did spill an ounce or two of gas. Not worried about that either, but preference is preference.
If I had a pretty car and couldn't bring myself to risk scratches and scuffs, I may have tried another route, once I saw how tight the fit was. My car is so far from show quality it's not even funny LOL





Note for original post: I have a IX with MIVEC stuff in the way. Someone with an VIII will find this even easier.

 

LOl,

Well at least you're not being a sissy and actually using the car for what it's built for. Show is nothing without go. A lot of the FWD guys don't understand this concept...

-pal215

 

I agree with that 100%!

 

I changed my alternator this past weekend and holy crap this was the most annoying thing I've ever done on a car. I haven't done anything crazy like pulling out an engine but this was just super annoying. I brought it out the top of the engine also but it took me a good hour or twisting, turning and scratching stuff up to get the alternator out. Putting it back in surprising took not more than 10 minutes but glad I went with an oem alternator and not autozone. Don't want to change this for another 10 years... Next time I'll try removing the front MM which I didn't do, just the passenger. Maybe taking off the front will give me more clearance when lifting the engine.

Also my tensioner pully where you attach a breaker bar to to loosen the belt broke. Had to install a new one of those as well....

 

Well if you are going through all the work anyway you might as well throw a new belt on there. At least I do when ever i have to take it off. What are you guys doing with your old cores? I have been wanting to try my hand at repairing/reconditioning/upgrading one of these and mine has yet to fail.

 

My core is just sitting on the kitchen counter... I did get a little form that came with my new alternator to ship the new core in but it didn't say anything about compensation so not sure if I should send it in. Maybe rebuilding it would be something cool to try/learn.

 

It actually does look pretty damn easy and cheap. the hardest part might just be choosing the parts you want to use. You can go hit up youtube and watch some videos on alternator rebuilding to get an idea of whats involved. No speacial tools, other then maybe a soldering iron are needed, and when your done you will have a nice spare on standby or you could sell it.

 

I tried passenger mount only, and the engine didn't really move much. After pulling the bolt from the front, I got everything to go up about 3-4". I'm not sure I could have done it otherwise.
Sorry to hear about the tensioner breaking. Holy crap. Never seen that before.

I bought OEM because AutoZone = quarterly replacements LOL. No thanks. This should last me another 10yrs/100k miles LOL
My core is chilling. I would like to try to fix it.. I'm a DIY guy. Maybe I will, seeing how I don't know what else to do with it. Mine came with a core form to fill out and send back to Mitsu.. but I think that's for dealers only.

 

There are usually only 2 causes of failure on these things. The most common being the brushes wearing out. The brushes are nothing but spring loaded metal pegs that make contact with the spinning rotor to excite the field. These are like 4 bucks to replace and some pretty easy solder work. The other thing would be the bridge rectifier which is a little harder to replace but still pretty easy. I would probably just replace both as well as the bearings at the same time, because why not its all cheap and your already in there.

 

Funny, looks mine mine went out the same time as yours. Wonder if 10 years is about the norm life for these.

 

Maybe. 130k miles. I can't complain!