My alternator is gone and i needa replace it, and i did a search and it seems that i cant do it in my garage due to motor mounts and head removal juss to take the alternator out... so my question is, with our cars how many miles could a BRAND NEW regular battery from wal-mart last me? i need to go about 20-25 miles to get to a shop, or would my car eat it up and die on the road??? any quick info would be great, gotta do this tomorrow morning, or pay a tow truck =o(

Why do you have to take the head off to remove the alternator? You should be able to get it out from the bottom of the car.

what kinda car do you have? if you have a 2gnt i dont know where you got your info from but there is no need to pull your head?? in fact the alternator is a job you can easily do in your garage, its not that easy your first time but its not that hard either, you need to pully your tire and shield that alll no need to mess with motor mounts or head?? i mean removing the motor mount might make it easier but no need to i did mine without removing the wheel the first time and it wasent fun. as for the battery, a brand new one as long as you dont signal use your radio or headlights or any other acc in the car i dont see why you wouldnt make it 20 miles. but i say fix it your self you will save a few hundred dollars. just my .02

try it yourself, and if it doesnt work...big deal. You can get it dome somewhere. And dont worry about the battery dieing out....just roll ur car and pop it into gear :)

Originally posted by jonhix
And dont worry about the battery dieing out....just roll ur car and pop it into gear :)

If the alternator is dead, the car will run off the battery until the battery is drained (I'd guess less than 20 minutes) and then it's all dead as a stone. You can't push start it. You can't jump start it. D-E-D, Dead.

You can get the alternator out from the bottom. It's the only way to do it, really. It requires a bit of snaking around to get it out, but there is no need to remove the head or any motor mounts. The hardest part is navigating the alternator out of the bay. Unbolting it is a piece of cake. I'd say, it might take you 30 minutes to get the alternator free, and then another 30-60minutes to get it out (trust me - it CAN be done this way). Give yourself another 30 to get it back in, and then another 15-20 to bolt it up and you're done. You only need maybe three sockets and maybe an extension.

You can doo eet!

Originally posted by DR1665
You can get the alternator out from the bottom. It's the only way to do it, really. It requires a bit of snaking around to get it out, but there is no need to remove the head or any motor mounts. The hardest part is navigating the alternator out of the bay. Unbolting it is a piece of cake. I'd say, it might take you 30 minutes to get the alternator free, and then another 30-60minutes to get it out (trust me - it CAN be done this way). Give yourself another 30 to get it back in, and then another 15-20 to bolt it up and you're done. You only need maybe three sockets and maybe an extension. You can doo eet!

Exactly. Had mine off 2 weeks ago and I suck at this mechanic stuff.

The battery will last about 10 minutes w/o an alternator. I had an alternator problem and I couldn't drive 3 miles to work before it died in my N/T.

Alternator replacement isnt bad at all..Jack up front end/passenger side, remove wheel, and black plastic shroud in the pass wheel well that is in front of the crank pulley. Be SURE to disconnect the negative battery cable FIRST!! Once you have the belt off(you need to take off the accessory belt first), disconnect the electrical connections, loosen and remove the top and bottom mounting bolts for the alternator, then pop it out of the bottom mounting bracket, and rest the alternator on the axle. Now remove the bottom alt mounting bracket, it's a small black bracket, with 3 bolts holding to the block. With this bracket removed, you have JUST enough room to weezle out the alternator.