Alternator

[jestersv]

Ive had to do 1 on my 7.3 on a lows parking lot is the 6.0 that much different?

 

[DaveBen]

It shouldn't be more difficult. But...

Dave

 

[kingkevindavid]

Ive had to do 1 on my 7.3 on a lows parking lot is the 6.0 that much different?

Not sure how difficult a 7.3 is but if you want to take the belt off a 6.0 you have to cut the shroud in half. (pre-marked and bolts back together)
Idler pulley is almost impossible to access without removing the shroud.

 

[BIG JOE]

You can also pull the idler pulley down from the bottom using a small ratchet strap with hooks on the ends, like you'd use to tie down a quad on a trailer. Hold the belt up with a bungee, replace alternator, release belt, then release ratchet strap and your golden. This can be accomplished in a Hotel parking lot, if needed.

I have heard of this technique before as well, It looks to be an extremely tight fit to get to the idler pulley I found this picture and it all made sense though.
sounds like you talk about a hotel parking lot from experience!

Just pray the bungee on the hood doesn't close the hood on you when you're in there working on it... that would leave a mark in both you and the hood!

While in a Hotel parking lot... or along side an Interstate.. when dealing with the Bungee Cord holding the belt up.. but not closling the hood.. on yer head thing? You can wrap some tape around the hood support arm shaft (so you don't Gar it up) and clamp it with a pair of Vise-Grips..... to hold the hood up. I'm also told.. a halfa tent pole works well too, or a stick ? or a small limb, from a near by tree

 

[kingkevindavid]

While in a Hotel parking lot... or along side an Interstate.. when dealing with the Bungee Cord holding the belt up.. but not closling the hood.. on yer head thing? You can wrap some tape around the hood support arm shaft (so you don't Gar it up) and clamp it with a pair of Vise-Grips..... to hold the hood up. I'm also told.. a halfa tent pole works well too, or a stick ? or a small limb, from a near by tree

The key is to use the proper bungee cord length combined with the proper tensile strength. If the length is to long or the tensile strength to high, whammo, right on the noggin. There is a pretty scientific technique that I developed that involves trying all the bungee cords in your tool box until you find one that holds the belt up and wont slam the hood. If you look at the picture in my first post you will see the delicate balance between bungee length and bungee tensile strength.

 

[VinceJE]

Already again??!!

I have to do this again. It seems my new alternator (only a few months old) has crapped out already. Hmmmm....

I'll add a stick as a hood prop to keep the bumps off my head.

 

[Scot]

I went through 3 on the wife's truck before we got one with a good regulator. All of them fluctuated the voltage from 12-15. No more autozone parts for me after that.

I'm going to sound old here; "But they REALLY don't make things like they used to!"

 

[VinceJE]

I got mine from XL Parts here in town. They actually supply OEM parts to all the area dealers. They had several options/manufacturers to choose from. I chose ACDelco over Motocraft becuase it was $204 instead of $216 and the delco had a lifetime warranty (Motocraft had only a 1 year).

Pulled it this morning. I noticed that the regulator harness/plug looked like one of the 2 conductors had gotten hot at some point. I was just a little discolored around the one socket. Not melted. The little socket looks like it may have a bit of corrosion. I'm thinking that the corrosion created some resistance which created some heat. Heck... This could be my problem instead of the alternator itself. So, I'm getting a replacement alternator and a new plug from XL. That little bugger is $30, but I don;t want to have any doubts.

Take a look at the pics and tell me what y'all think. Any ideas on what might have caused the heat/discoloration besides maybe a little corrosion?