[andel]

hi everyone
I posted a thread telling you all that I managed to change the alternator on my cdti from the top and if enough interest would write a tread on how I did it so here I go..... if a mod thinks this will make a good how to please feel free

anyway I started by placing a jack under the sump of the engine with a piece of wood to prevent any damage to the engine and raised the jack to just take the weight of the engine, I then proceeded to remove the power steering pump reservoir from the drivers side engine mount and move to one side, I don't mean disconnect just move to one side, I then removed the drivers side engine mount completely which gave me access to the aux-belt tensioner,
I then placed a 24mm ring spanner onto the nut of the tensioner and held in place while with my free hand jacked up the engine just enough not to trap the spanner allowing me to push it towards the back of the car letting you remove the belt off the steering pump, once done release the spanner.
now its time to remove the steering pump ( not disconnect ) and move to the side with the reservoir, this gave me access to the alternator and so at this point I removed the battery leads and before you say anything... I know I should have done it at the start and please do so when you do this, now I removed the plug going to the alternator just press the spring clip and it will come away, now if you follow the thick black wire which is also attached to the alternator down to were it meets the engine ( starter ) you will find a rubber cover, peel this back to reveal a nut joining the cable and another cable together remove the nut and pull the cable away replace the nut, now undo the two nuts at the front of the alternator and the back one, if you look down the back you will see it and can use a 10mm socket and an extension to remove it, you will need to slide your arm across and down to the nut and in doing so find the access hole which is your access for the socket, once all three bolts are removed wiggle the alternator back and forth until it come loose and then manoeuvre it out, its not difficult, once out you can remove the cable and fit it to your new alternator, reason for removing the cable now is that it can break at the joint if done when attached to the car.
now that you have done all that fitting is the reverse of the above, all this only took me one and a half hours and is easier than it sounds so good luck and feel free to pm me if you need any advice
regards
Andrew


disclaimer.. all work is of your own doing and the above is only meant as a guide