Well I couldn't find a "General Electrical" forum, so hopefully I put this in the right place.

Anyways, the alternator on my truck is toast, and I need a new one. I'm not terribly mechanically-inclined, but I know a few things. What I'm curious about though, is how difficult would it be to replace the alternator in my truck? Can anyone give me a quick run-through of how I'd go about doing it? And perhaps how long it might take to do so? Thanks a ton!

-Kyle

UPDATE 5/26 2:06 PM

Just got back from the shop. They did an electrical system test and this is what they say:

Battery Voltage: 12.4
voltage drop across terminals (volts): 0
Starter amp draw: 129 amps
Voltage supply to back of alternator (volts): 12
Charging voltage: 12.2 volts.

They recommend changing the alternator and rechecking for possible problems they can't tell at this time.

When I went out to my truck to get it from the shop, I checked the fuses. No broken fuses. I guess they charged the battery because the truck turned over perfectly the first time and the battery meter in the truck didn't go down at all over the 10 miles or so it was from the shop to my house.

I guess what I'm wondering is... what should I do? I don't want to have to buy an alternator unless I'm sure that's the problem. I'm going to take the battery to Ford (it's a motorcraft within it's free replacement time) and see if getting a new battery won't help, because I got a new battery about 15 months ago when the same sort of problem was occuring. I'd just bought the truck though so it was still under the carmax warranty. Any words of wisdom about what those test results mean or what I should do from here? Thanks so much!

 

its very simple on our trucks... remove belt, unplug wires to alternator, unbolt and remove alternator... installation is the reverse of removal

 

it is pretty simple. if you feel uncomfortable wtih it, go to autozone and get a haynes manual, it iwll walk you through each step. if you can turn a wrench and have some ambition you can do it easily

 

Great! Thanks for the help guys. Any idea how much a new alternator will cost?

 

And if you need help, I can help, it isnt hard.

 

Thanks Leo, I appreciate that. Just gotta find me the part. A Haynes manual would probably be a good thing to get, seeing as I'm gonna be a poor college kid soon and won't be able to pay other people to fix the stuff on my truck I'm gonna break.

 

i believe it cost my broter around 100$ for a 94 grand marquis.

Probably around there.

 

Oh, I forgot to add that they wanted about $180 for a rebuilt alternator, an idea I'm not too fond of. I do realize that the vast majority of the alternators sold by shops will be rebuilt though =(

And I guess editing a post does not make it active again here either, haha.

 

My GF just paid $285 for one on her Civic. With a discount for being a girl (something every guy is jelaous of - no discounts for being hot).

I am not sure what they cost, but they arent cheap.

 

$129.99 for a rebuilt alternator from AutoZone with a lifetime warranty for my 94 4.0.

I don't know how much they have changed, but you shouldn't have to pay more than that. They sell them for $89.99 with a 1 year warranty. I get the lifetime, that way I don't have to pay for another alternator.

 

you ever check on power master Kyle?

 

180 bucks!

Go pull one from a bone yard!

 

Nah, get the lifetime one at autozone, or you can probably pick up a higher output aftermarket one online for that price, sans warranty.

 

Ok, I went to autozone and talked to the guy there, and I made this thread for it. Anyone who knows anything please help me out!

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ead.php?t=7108

 

you should have gotten a stock tremor alt if anything..

 

The didnt have the tremor alternator in their parts catalog. Didn't want to go to the dealer to get one because I would have paid out the *** for it.

 

after watching many replacement videos for 2.3 it is a nice easy job. unless I'm missing something