swillmerchant
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2013
- Messages
- 70
- Fluid Motion Model
- C-248 C
- Non-Fluid Motion Model
- Sea Sprite 23
- Vessel Name
- Indian Summer
A little advice for anyone needing to repair the alternator in their Classic R25: Hire someone to do it for you.
I fried my alternator due to a stupid mistake rushing to get the boat in the water. 😳 Instead of driving her to WIYY to have Peter (who has been fantastic) complete the repair, I decided to take out the alternator myself to reduce costs and learn more about the engine. I learned something alright. While I did learn how to replace the serpentine belt, I also learned how painful the experience is! My right forearm is 1 giant bruise and my left looks like I laid it on top of a belt sander with 80 grit paper. It looks much worse than Baz's pics of the aftermath of replacing the impeller belt.
The alternator bracket was VERY tight, and the bolts holding the alternator on are external torx bolts with soft heads. The lower bolt head nearly stripped, so be careful taking it out. I replaced it with a 3/8" x 5" (I think) stainless steel conventional hexagonal head bolt. You can wiggle the alternator out after taking out the bolts. Putting it back in is tough, as there's no place really to tap or lever it in. :x You just gotta wiggle and muscle it in. It took 2 hours to get the alternator back on. The serpentine belt was tough too. It took me quite some time to replace because the tension pulley nut is soft, causing the ratchet (23 mm) to slip off and round off the edges. I recommend using a long-handled crescent wrench instead, as you can put your left arm down the more spacious gap towards the starboard front of the engine area to push on the wrench. NOTE: The tension pulley rotates counter-clockwise.
So, do yourself a favor and let someone else take our your alternator. At least they're paid for it! :lol:
I fried my alternator due to a stupid mistake rushing to get the boat in the water. 😳 Instead of driving her to WIYY to have Peter (who has been fantastic) complete the repair, I decided to take out the alternator myself to reduce costs and learn more about the engine. I learned something alright. While I did learn how to replace the serpentine belt, I also learned how painful the experience is! My right forearm is 1 giant bruise and my left looks like I laid it on top of a belt sander with 80 grit paper. It looks much worse than Baz's pics of the aftermath of replacing the impeller belt.
The alternator bracket was VERY tight, and the bolts holding the alternator on are external torx bolts with soft heads. The lower bolt head nearly stripped, so be careful taking it out. I replaced it with a 3/8" x 5" (I think) stainless steel conventional hexagonal head bolt. You can wiggle the alternator out after taking out the bolts. Putting it back in is tough, as there's no place really to tap or lever it in. :x You just gotta wiggle and muscle it in. It took 2 hours to get the alternator back on. The serpentine belt was tough too. It took me quite some time to replace because the tension pulley nut is soft, causing the ratchet (23 mm) to slip off and round off the edges. I recommend using a long-handled crescent wrench instead, as you can put your left arm down the more spacious gap towards the starboard front of the engine area to push on the wrench. NOTE: The tension pulley rotates counter-clockwise.
So, do yourself a favor and let someone else take our your alternator. At least they're paid for it! :lol: