Replacing the alternator

[crazymittens]

Hello everyone,

First post here as I don't own an Aveo, but I'm going to be (attempting) to replace the alternator on my friend's wife's 2004 Aveo automatic, 4 door I believe. (he's out of town on a fishing trip, hopefully catching the biggest muskie he's ever seen) I have yet to even look in the engine bay, but I'm not a stranger to automotive work, so I figure it can't be that hard. That being said, I've never worked on an American car before (Subaru, VW, Mazda), but I know I probably won't be needing any metric sockets - unless things have really changed.

I found this post: http://www.aveoforum.com/phpBB3/view...27464&start=90

The pictures seem to show it at the back of the engine bay - under the intake manifold it looks like. Are there any special cases of corrosion? Special tools I'll need? Tips or tricks?

Okay, haha, before I posted I googled and found this: http://www.ehow.com/how_5978560_repl...hevy-aveo.html , and this: http://www.justanswer.com/questions/...-my-2004-chevy ) It actually looks pretty easy, but that's usually where things start out.

Any extra info is still greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[parking_lot_mechanic]

make sure you do an idle relearn when your done putting it all back together. i did my alternator today and had to search for the service manual cuz my engine was idleing so rough i thought my battery was toast. im gonna make a new thread with the link to the online service manual i found so its easy for everyone to find. let me know if you want me to post the relearn procedure so u dont have to search the manual.

[hellbentangels]

yep. crazy project.I'm glad I got on here and found this thread cuz I've been having the same problems

[maxpower10]

make sure you do an idle relearn when your done putting it all back together. i did my alternator today and had to search for the service manual cuz my engine was idleing so rough i thought my battery was toast. im gonna make a new thread with the link to the online service manual i found so its easy for everyone to find. let me know if you want me to post the relearn procedure so u dont have to search the manual.

Could you please post the relearn procedure. Just replaced timing belt which included a new head. Now the battery light is on and the car keeps dying. I put the charger on it, then it starts up, runs great but dies when I take the charger off. Thank you.

[Kirby]

Anyone know if you can just replace the pulley on the alternator? Got a bad bearing but the alt is still charging...

[avguy]

Good to read another success story, and thanks for posting the helpful information. It's also good to post the vehicle year and how many miles are on the clock.

[smrh20]

there is an easy way to do this, you do not have to take off the manifold, you do not have to take off manifold brackets. all you do is take off the mounting the alternator sits on. there are 3 screws. then u take the altanator with bracket it sits on ,off from the bottom of car and then unscrew the last screw off the alternator that is still connected to the "alt mounting."

Hello everyone,

First post here as I don't own an Aveo, but I'm going to be (attempting) to replace the alternator on my friend's wife's 2004 Aveo automatic, 4 door I believe. (he's out of town on a fishing trip, hopefully catching the biggest muskie he's ever seen) I have yet to even look in the engine bay, but I'm not a stranger to automotive work, so I figure it can't be that hard. That being said, I've never worked on an American car before (Subaru, VW, Mazda), but I know I probably won't be needing any metric sockets - unless things have really changed.

I found this post: 2005 Aveo 5-spd sedan - timing belt broke - being repaired

The pictures seem to show it at the back of the engine bay - under the intake manifold it looks like. Are there any special cases of corrosion? Special tools I'll need? Tips or tricks?

Okay, haha, before I posted I googled and found this: How to Replace the Alternator in a Chevy Aveo | eHow , and this: http://www.justanswer.com/questions/...-my-2004-chevy ) It actually looks pretty easy, but that's usually where things start out.

Any extra info is still greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[smrh20]

the Bottom Bolt Issue

there is an easy way to do this, you do not have to take off the manifold, you do not have to take off manifold brackets. all you do is take off the mounting the alternator sits on. there are 3 screws. then u take the altanator with bracket it sits on ,off from the bottom of car and then unscrew the last screw off the alternator that is still connected to the "alt mounting."

[79jasper]

there is an easy way to do this, you do not have to take off the manifold, you do not have to take off manifold brackets. all you do is take off the mounting the alternator sits on. there are 3 screws. then u take the altanator with bracket it sits on ,off from the bottom of car and then unscrew the last screw off the alternator that is still connected to the "alt mounting."

Exactly. 20-30 minute job, and people are making it sound like brain surgery.

But people will always have the mindset of "I don't care how you said to do it, I'm a newb and will do it my own way." Then come back to say you were right, but won't actually admit it.

Remember people, disconnect the battery first. Ground is first off, last to put on.

[avguy]

But people will always have the mindset of "I don't care how you said to do it, I'm a newb and will do it my own way." Then come back to say you were right, but won't actually admit it.

I take part in multiple auto forums, and based on my own experience, don't agree with that statement in any way. I've seen a number of folks reply to advice that I've given, confirming it worked for them. And on the other side, I've received tons of help from reading what other have done, and have tried to confirm positive results to them as well. And I personally know of many other guys who do the same as I do.

Now if you're bothered by the fact that so many people post a problem and never reply with their result, well that's just the way it is, and it's not going to change. I never expect a reply when I post - it does happen some of the time, but more often there is no reply or result posted. But regardless of that, the overall benefit from these forums is HUGE. And for certain there are sometimes disagreements about which way is best, but there's nothing wrong with that either, and it ususally results in lots of information.

A perfect example is this thread. I've never had to replace the alt on one of our Aveos, but have followed the various threads because eventually it probably will happen. So when I read the post by smrh20, I wanted to take a look at this myself. But it's been so cold here in MA that this evening was the first time I could crawl under and check out what he wrote.

And so I'll say thanks to smrh20 for your info. It looks good to me, and I'll definitely try that route, if and when I have to do this job