Wednesday, September 14, 2011

How difficult to change 96 Taurus Alternator? Info?Tips?

96 Taurus 3.0 - (163,000 miles) Was riding 24 miles to work, @ mile 17 all electric went dead, car continued w/ no power for 1 more mile until it died. Now will not start,run, ZERO power. Problem came out of the blue. WAS running fine prior. Questions. How do I determine problem is the Alternator.? or the Battery? or something else?

How difficult to change it myself. It looks TO easy to be true. I'm Fairly handy. Any tricks to make easier? Wud u go w/ Junker, Rebuilt or New? Thanks all.How difficult to change 96 Taurus Alternator? Info?Tips?
A rebuilt alternator is your best bet for replacement since they are cheaper than new, and come with a warranty, although normally if your alternator quit working your battery light would come on. You may have just a bad connection to your battery or fuse panel. Which engine do you have the 3.0 duratec (DOHC) or the 3.0 Vulcan (OHV) The duratec is easy to recognize since it says DURATEC right on the engine, or it say 24v DOHC.



If you have the OHV engine, disconnect the battery, then relieve belt tension (you can do this with a half inch drive breaker bar in the idler pully by inserting the drive into the square hole on the pulley and turning it away from the belt) Make sure you take note of how the belt is run cause it can sometimes be confusing. now disconnect the wires from the back of the alternator, unbolt the alternator, drop a new one in and reverse the process. Simple. Now you are gonna have to go play X-Box for a while so you can kill some time and convince your friends that it was a hard job.



If you have the DOHC engine

1. Disconnect battery and jack the car up high enough to remove tire

2. Remove tire and front fender liner to access bottom of alternator

3. Remove engine control wiring from bottom. Note. do not try to remove another wire yet. That is power line to battery and it is screwed on alternator. It is impossible to remove it now

4. Loosen the bottom blot of alternator

5. Remove hood strut (optional)

6. Move power steering reservoir aside (optional)

7. Remove drive belt the same way you would if it were the OHV

9. Loosen one bolt and one stud on top of alternator. Note. there is not enough room to remove them yet.

10. Remove bottom bolt

11. Turn around alternator to gain room to remove top bolt and stud and disconnect the power line to battery

12. Here is the trick: Turn around alternator to let its pulley face inside so that you can slide alternator right out from bottom. With pulley face outside, it is impossible to slide it out.

13. Reverse the process with your replacement alternator



Anyways, before going the alternator route, try a different battery in your car, if it doesnt start with a different battery, then you have problems with your wiring. My guess is that you have either a blown fuse or a bad connection somewhere.How difficult to change 96 Taurus Alternator? Info?Tips?
You can remove the battery and have it checked at Auto Zone. If the battery is OK, Auto Zone's web site has a %26quot;How To%26quot; section that explains how to replace the alternator. Just use the directions for how to remove the alternator then take the alternator to Auto Zone for a free check. If the alternator is bad, use the install section to replace it with a new one.How difficult to change 96 Taurus Alternator? Info?Tips?
It seems to be as yu described the alternator,

and it sounds like you ca do it yourself but I suggest buying a repair manual for back up, and you can have it for long term,

the belt may be tricky to doHow difficult to change 96 Taurus Alternator? Info?Tips?
have the battery tested, the alternator will not keep a car from starting, a dead battery will. you could have a blown fuse in there some where, and if you have nothing at all, it will be a large load fuse.