So, I just maintenanced the shit out of my car today

"Joel Ness" (joelness) 01/27/2016 at 19:48 • Filed to: None

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Put a new alternator in. An indie shop quoted me $1500 to $1800 and I said “oh that’s nice.” What I wanted to say was “fuck you.” But I was nice to the indie mechanic. Took me 7 hours but I got it done.

macanamera > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 19:52

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holy moly 7 hours??? What motor?

I used to swap Crown Vic alternators in like 30 mins

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 19:53

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$1,500-1,800?! What motor is it, and what did you have to remove to access it?

Joel Ness > macanamera 01/27/2016 at 19:54

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BMW 540i circa 2002

Joel Ness > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 01/27/2016 at 19:57

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Let’s see here. All coolant, fan, fan clutch, fan shroud, belts, hoses, belt tensioner and 3 pullies, the stupid water cooled alternator and just for good measure I dropped the oil pan to inspect and did an oil change.

FlimFlamMan > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 19:59

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Well... time is money, and unless you make well over $1800 for a days work, I’d say it was time well spent.

DrJohannVegas > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 19:59

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Water-cooled alternators are pretty much the biggest pain in the ass. All of the elements wrapped up into one miserable package, then wedged into a tight space.

Joel Ness > DrJohannVegas 01/27/2016 at 20:00

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You my friend get a star today

Toby F., Manager > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 20:02

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Yeeesh, $1500? Mine happened to slip off while in the driveway a few months ago. I called my family mechanic friend, and he drove over the next morning. The cost? A new belt, and cooking him lunch (he turned the cash payments down). Took 15 mins tops. I don’t know what I’ll do when he’ll be unable to work on cars (70+ y/o man); we’ll be really lost.

Joel Ness > FlimFlamMan 01/27/2016 at 20:02

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Yeah, and all told I may have cracked $500 for everything. So yeah, it was definitely worth it.

garagemonkee > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 20:02

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For that kind of money and effort I would have just swapped in an LSx motor. Geez.

Joel Ness > Toby F., Manager 01/27/2016 at 20:03

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I love dudes like that.

Joel Ness > garagemonkee 01/27/2016 at 20:05

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4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 20:06

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Dayum. There’s nothing more expensive than a cheap luxury car. When I did the alternator on my Defender I had to remove the belt, three wires, and two bolts. £55 and 30 mins later it was generating 120A.

Joel Ness > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 01/27/2016 at 20:08

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Although I agree with you, my feelings get in the way of objective reason.

105 HP of fury > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 20:15

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Can’t believe you finally turbo'd it! Congrats! ;)

Joel Ness > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 01/27/2016 at 20:32

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Oh, and to answer the “which motor” question: M62TUB44

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 20:34

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Looks like a M62TU engine..... I’ve had to do the alternator on mine twice.

first one failed at 205k miles. Straightforward stator or brush failure. It happens with age and repeated heat cycles.

Second (used) failed at 230k miles due to a seized bearing. When the bearing froze, it threw the belt, which got chewed up.

Yes, the alternator is water cooled on our engines, but it’s stupid easy to replace. I can do the job in 2hrs from car on ground to car back on ground and cooling system bled.

I hope you were able to bleed the system well. This video helps

RallyWrench > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 20:45

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Way to do it yourself. I have no idea how they came up with $1,800, I run an indy shop and even if I charged full pop ($873) on the part it’d be $1200 with tax. The job only calls for 2.2 hours.

As SnapUndersteer said, be very, very sure you’d bled the system fully. These are hard engines to kill, but air pockets will cook them.

Joel Ness > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/27/2016 at 20:45

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Yeah, I'm doin the drive and fill till it stays full method.

That's gonna leave a mark! > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 20:48

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At least a worthy engine.

Joel Ness > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/27/2016 at 20:51

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Okie doke, I'll do that tomorrow

Joel Ness > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/27/2016 at 20:54

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I could see how you could get this down to around 2 hours after doing the first time. The hardest part is taking off that damn fan. The fan clutch tool is way loosy goosey and hard to make sure it stays on those two bolts.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 20:58

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I don’t use that. It’s a waste of time... I just use a hammer and a 32mm (or 1-1/4") wrench.

d15b > Joel Ness 01/27/2016 at 21:39

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Heh, you love dudes eh?

Needmoargarage > macanamera 01/27/2016 at 22:48

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Any time I have to do an alternator, I can’t help but compare it to a Ford modular engine. Same goes for water pumps.

Joel Ness > d15b 01/27/2016 at 23:03

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Only the ones that will work on my engine if you catch my meaning

d15b > Joel Ness 01/28/2016 at 00:28

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CONTEXT! How does it work? Inquiring minds want to know!

orcim > Toby F., Manager 01/28/2016 at 04:58

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I’m pretty sure he knows all the tricks.

Like the old guy at the gas station. Car drives up, running rough and an old codger comes out of the garage wiping his hands on a rag. Driver says, “It’s running rough. Can you help?” The codger signals to pop the hood, the driver gets out and watches. The old guy stares at the engine, shakes his head, reaches into his pocket for a clip on straight screw driver and reaches into the engine bay, under the air filter, finds a screw and turns it. The engine immediately smoothes out. Driver gets back in, pumps a few revs into it, all good, and says “That’s great. What do I owe you?” Mechanic says $50. Driver says “What? All you did was turn a little screw?” Mechanic says, “Yeah, $.05 to turn the screw and $49.95 to know which screw to turn.”