DIY Alternator replace

[twinblown]

So after 200,000 miles my rear bearing in the alternator went out.
I thought it was the belt tensioner but after replacing it my clack, clack, clack noise did not go away. Closer inspenction I determined the alternator pulley
wobling. It was time to tackle this job as I can only imagine how much it would cost be to have it done.
I figured the alternator would have to be removed from the botom of the truck (I later found out the SM wants you to do so from above by removing the shroud)

1. disconnecy the battery.
2. remove upper engine cover.
3. Unplug MAF connector and remove breahter hose
4. lossen clamp to throtle body and clamp closest to air filter cover, then remove all that out of the way.
5. Untension the belt tensioner (a floor jack handle helps tremendously with and a 1/4 in. rachet) remove serpentine belt.
6. loosen upper alternator bolt (this one will be tight, 48 foot pounds) there's little room here.
7. now get under the truck and with a long flat scewdriver carefully unwiggle the body harness from the two spots mounted to the altrnator.
8. grab the regulator plug (3 wires) and carefully squeze the tab and pull it out. Unplug the oil preasure switch
9. lift up the the plastic boot covering the B+ terminal and turn it sideways carefully so you dont break it.
10. loosen the 12mm battery terminal (very little room to work here) an angled closed end wrench helped tremendously)
11. remove small plastic triangled shapped shroud mounted to the right side of the chassis.
12. get back up and completely remove the upper bolt you loosened.
13 back under the truck ,remove the lower alternator mounting bolt (very little room to work here) an angled closed end wrench helped tremendously).
14. wiggle the alternator to dismount it from the bracket. once out try and turn it around so the pulley is facing down and towards you (this worked for me
and I played around for the best poosible angle to eventually get it out; even though the stupid power steering line gets in the way, so be patiente.
15. Alternator is out . repair or replace as needed. Assembly is the reversal.

Tip: When installing back the alternator do so with the pulley facing you and play around, you'll get it in.
The hardest part for me was alingning the uper bracket hole to get the bolt thru ...took me around 15-minutes.

Hope this helps any one who wants to tackle the alternator in the Path and save hundreds!

[smj999smj]

I've heard of a couple people replacing it through the passenger side wheel house. You have to remove the wheel, of course, and bend the plastic wheel house as needed to access the alternator.

[NH07r51]

Sorry to revive an old thread here, Hoping to get some help.

07 Pathfinder
103,xxx

Volt meter looked low, checked with obdII scanner via Torque app, read out was 12.1 V, questioned it but left it for the night. Dead battery this morning, jumped it and it started eventually at 12.1V, drove for about 5 miles and jumped up to 13.0-13.3. Battery is OK when checked, Charging system reads OK, when running 13.1+ but reads low at 12.1v. Tapping the alternator appeared to have fixed it "for now" but it will stay parked.

Here are my questions,

Has anyone else had to do this fix? did you DIY or let the dealer tackle it?

Should only alternators from NISSAN be used? or is a NAPA built from a nissan core sufficient?

The space looks very tight to work in, and damn near impossible to see what your working at, I have replaced alternators before, but this looks a little more involved, any thoughts?

[twinblown]

First question is how old is the battery? did you have it load tested?
Charging voltage is going to be around 14.2V At cold start up with no load; then depending on load demand the ECU controls the voltage ranging from 13.5 to 14.2V. ....If you can remove the alternator I would just have it rebuilt at a local Alternator rebuilder shop; otherwise buy a whole alternator from a reputable parts store. Fortunately My alternator hadn't fail to charge after 200K miles , what failed was the rear bearing. I replaced both front and rear bearing to be safe and it still charging fine. If you are mechanically inclined you should be able to do it.

[eieio]

First question is how old is the battery? did you have it load tested?
Charging voltage is going to be around 14.2V At cold start up with no load; then depending on load demand the ECU controls the voltage ranging from 13.5 to 14.2V. ....If you can remove the alternator I would just have it rebuilt at a local Alternator rebuilder shop; otherwise buy a whole alternator from a reputable parts store. Fortunately My alternator hadn't fail to charge after 200K miles , what failed was the rear bearing. I replaced both front and rear bearing to be safe and it still charging fine. If you are mechanically inclined you should be able to do it.

good call!
I've lost track of how many peoples electrical issues turn out to be the result of a crummy battery and/or a battery cable/clamp/terminal issue
Basics First!

[NH07r51]

Thanks for the quick response guys, I load tested the battery and it looks good, The sticker on it is 1/14 so is pretty fresh. I replaced the negative battery clamp and cleaned/tightened the positive. My scanner is giving me a readout of 12.9-13.1V.

While engine running, I disconnected power and car continued to run so shouldn't that rule out a bad alternator?

So far, I have not had anymore issues so Im hoping that the new tight clamp will work but still doubtful due to low voltage.

As far as removing the Alternator, did you consider taking off the right front tire, and then removing the plastic shrouding to give access? I have looked at it and am comfortable doing alternator replacements, however this location seams much harder than the norm. Do you happen to have any pictures of your removal?

[porksoda]

If you disconnected the battery while the car is running and its still going I would assume the alternator is working correctly. I would start at the battery and either start to get a good charge on it. When I worked at sears auto center we would have batteries come in with 12.5+ volts and still test bad. Sometimes bad cell or just something weird going on. Also I would look at the fuse block that is attached to the positive battery clamp. I have seen them when they are failing that they will cause problems also.

Hope that info help.

[eieio]

Thanks for the quick response guys, I load tested the battery and it looks good, The sticker on it is 1/14 so is pretty fresh. I replaced the negative battery clamp and cleaned/tightened the positive. My scanner is giving me a readout of 12.9-13.1V.

While engine running, I disconnected power and car continued to run so shouldn't that rule out a bad alternator?

So far, I have not had anymore issues so Im hoping that the new tight clamp will work but still doubtful due to low voltage.

As far as removing the Alternator, did you consider taking off the right front tire, and then removing the plastic shrouding to give access? I have looked at it and am comfortable doing alternator replacements, however this location seams much harder than the norm. Do you happen to have any pictures of your removal?

not a good idea!
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