Ford F150 Alternator

[bmwgs]

I know we have some professional and shade tree mechanics on this forum so I thought I would ask a question about replacing the alternator on my truck.

This morning the alternator on my 2004 Ford F150 V-6 went south.  Looking at it, it appears to be pretty straight forward to change.  I see two mounting bolts, that are on the top side, and one other nut that appears to hold a bracket.  I want to put a Motorcraft alternator on since I plan on keeping the truck, so before I try this myself, are there any hidden bolts or issues that I might run into?  I searched the net and it all appears to be straight forward to replace.

Thanks

Fred

[rogwar]

What not get a shop manual beforehand for insurance? Be sure to disconnect the battery! I've done it on a 2001 F150 with a 4.6L and it was no biggie.

[Maverick]

It's pretty straight forward, what you see is pretty much it. As recommended, disconnect the battery first, The ground cable should be enough. Second take notr of the wires and where they are secured to the alternator. I use small zip ties to hold the ones that are grouped together in place when I do the job. It may help to use masking tape to label the wires if there are several of them. Remove the wires before doing the bolts holding it to the engine. It's hard to do the wires one handed while holding the alternator you just took the last bolt from at the same time in the other hand...... Just saying ya know. Not that anyone has EVER done that......

[helbent]

And when you get the new in there, theres a bolt that adjusts belt tension.  Get a lengthy prybar, broom handle or anything that will provide leverage.  Pry that rascal up or whatever so that the belt is somewhat tight and tighten that bolt at the same time.

[CAP1]

I know we have some professional and shade tree mechanics on this forum so I thought I would ask a question about replacing the alternator on my truck.

This morning the alternator on my 2004 Ford F150 V-6 went south.  Looking at it, it appears to be pretty straight forward to change.  I see two mounting bolts, that are on the top side, and one other nut that appears to hold a bracket.  I want to put a Motorcraft alternator on since I plan on keeping the truck, so before I try this myself, are there any hidden bolts or issues that I might run into?  I searched the net and it all appears to be straight forward to replace.

Thanks

Fred

 that alternator  is gravy. it should take ya 30 minutes tops. just remember to disconnect the battery before doing anything.

[Rob52240]

Loosen your serpentine belt, unbolt the old alternator and take it to a parts shop.  Get a new alternator bolt it on and reattach the belt.  Spray some lubricant into the belt tensioner then reattach the belt.

Buy one with a lifetime warranty.

Done.

Take the old alternator in when you buy the new one.  They should waive the core charge when you buy the new one.  Otherwise when you're done take the old one in to get credit on the core charge.

[bmwgs]

Thanks to everyone for all the responses. 

It looked pretty simple, but I was concerned there may be a hidden bolt on the under side.  I don't think I want to go with a rebuilt alternator.  I have had some bad experiences with them in the past, and since I do some traveling in this truck, and it is getting up there in mileage, I think I want to stick with an OEM alternator.

Thanks Again

Fred

[jeep00]

Big fan of percussive maintenance. Have you tried to give the alt a tap or two with a dead blow hammer, or piece of wood? This was the cure for my Volvo and my Audi. The brushes stop contacting properly after time. Far cheaper than replacing it. Ford could be a wholly different animal though. Sounds bad and lazy, but I hate wasting money. 

[CAP1]

Big fan of percussive maintenance. Have you tried to give the alt a tap or two with a dead blow hammer, or piece of wood? This was the cure for my Volvo and my Audi. The brushes stop contacting properly after time. Far cheaper than replacing it. Ford could be a wholly different animal though. Sounds bad and lazy, but I hate wasting money. 

 these ford alternators have the volatag regulator built into them. tap tests generally don't work. one thing i WOULD do though, before replacing, if you're just going on the battery light being lit........verify with a voltmeter before replacement. you should have min. 13.2V at the battery with the engine idling, nothing on. ideal would be 14.2V. anything less, isn't good enough. if it IS charging, but the battery light's on, check the tiny single wire connector. that's the one for the light. those connectors come loose sometimes. if you're reading less than 13V at the battery, leave the black wire from your voltmeter on the battery negative, and put the red one to the big red wire on the back of the alternator, with the engine idling. voltage should be within .1 of what you read at the battery. if it is, alternator is bad. if it isn't, you need to find out why you don't have bat. voltage there.

[bmwgs]

Big fan of percussive maintenance. Have you tried to give the alt a tap or two with a dead blow hammer, or piece of wood? This was the cure for my Volvo and my Audi. The brushes stop contacting properly after time. Far cheaper than replacing it. Ford could be a wholly different animal though. Sounds bad and lazy, but I hate wasting money.  

Naw, haven't resorted to using a hammer yet.  That will probably happen when I change it.   

Fred

[SkyRock]

I just changed mine yesterday, two bolts, two wire connections.  Quick and easy.  Good luck.

[bmwgs]

these ford alternators have the volatag regulator built into them. tap tests generally don't work. one thing i WOULD do though, before replacing, if you're just going on the battery light being lit........verify with a voltmeter before replacement. you should have min. 13.2V at the battery with the engine idling, nothing on. ideal would be 14.2V. anything less, isn't good enough. if it IS charging, but the battery light's on, check the tiny single wire connector. that's the one for the light. those connectors come loose sometimes. if you're reading less than 13V at the battery, leave the black wire from your voltmeter on the battery negative, and put the red one to the big red wire on the back of the alternator, with the engine idling. voltage should be within .1 of what you read at the battery. if it is, alternator is bad. if it isn't, you need to find out why you don't have bat. voltage there.

I first noticed the light, but my gauge was reading normal.  I didn't want to take a chance so I turned around and headed to the house. I didn't feel like getting stranded today.  A couple of blocks from the house, my volt gauge dropped all the way to the bottom.  I did put the truck on a charger on for a while, and when I checked the battery it was good.  It is a fairly new name brand battery, so I kinda figured it wasn't the problem.  I did all the voltage checks and the alternator was not putting out 12 volts.  I am used to doing electrical checks on my bikes, so I am familiar with the procedure of doing a voltage system check to see if the battery or alternator is bad.  I did check the wires and all appear to be good. That is when I noticed that this thing might be pretty easy to replace, so I decided to post the question here before I started yanking things off.  

Thanks

Fred

[ap1102]

Whoa  on the pry bar. 2004 should have single serpentine belt. Use a wrench on the tensioner pulley bolt a nd pull down to release tension off belt . Should be a diagram on radiator shroud to show how belt runs. Ford alternator easy to replace only two bolts.

Rhino