REMOVING ALTERNATOR 1.8t (make sticky?)

**jzsickaudi** · 12-08-2008 02:02 AM

I recently followed some fairly useful pictures for pulling my alternator so these pictures are not mine but i'm using them for reference! Also, Tightt i used your motor picture too because its the best one i could find at showing the front of the motor and all the pulleys.

FIRST: Use a monkey wrench to lift up or clockwise on the belt tensioner (yellow circle). Its easier to reach if you remove your intake inlet there (the 2 scews). So while lifting on the tensioner, simultaneously pull off the belt from the alternator pulley. Once you get the belt off, be careful not getting it off track of the lower pulleys, and make sure to take a visual note of how it runs through there.

*note...this next picture is with the alternator and intake manifold hose already removed and fan blade pushed forward.

SECOND: Move on to the second picture. Follow the green arrow. Remove the two clamps that hold on your intake manifold hose. Pull that bad boy off so you have more hand room in there.

THIRD: Is the tricky step. You have to stick something fairly skinny through that groove on the fan assembly and through the fan pulley (blue arrow). Theres a hole in the pulley you cant see so place something in that groove, push it towards the radiator, and keep rotating that pulley until it slides through. I used a t-handle allen wrench. Then there's the allen hole in the back there (red arrow). Not quite sure what size this is but I want to say it's around 8mm. I had to use an allen head socket. Just remove that bolt and then push the fan towards the radiator. Should pop off with a little effort.

FOURTH: Back to the first pic. Now you can access and remove the bolts that hold the alternator on. This is the part that was hardest for me because i had no idea if they were allens or torx bits and what size they were. This next part is described with what I used, ive heard they are allens but i tried them and they werent working so i used torx bits. The top one is a Torx 40 bit (orange circle), and the bottom is a Torx 50 bit (pink circle). May have to use a little pb blaster to break these loose, just be careful to not spray it on anything electrical. Remove those bolts and you're now able to access the plug and power wire on the back of the alternator. MAKE SURE YOUR BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED HERE BECAUSE IT IS A LIVE WIRE YOU'RE ABOUT TO TOUCH! Both are easy and straight forward so no worries there. Now pull that thing out of there! It's easier to remove if you take out that little plastic cover on the power steering resevoir. Hope this helps and like always, i am not responsible if you break or strip anything or mess anything up

GOOD LUCK!!

**T3hD0gg** · 12-08-2008 02:29 AM

Originally Posted by jzsickaudi

FOURTH: Back to the first pic. Now you can access and remove the bolts that hold the alternator on. This is the part that was hardest for me because i had no idea if they were allens or torx bits and what size they were. The top one is a Torx 40 bit (orange circle), and the bottom is a Torx 50 bit (pink circle). May have to use a little pb blaster to break these loose, just be careful to not spray it on anything electrical. Remove those bolts and you're now able to access the plug and power wire on the back of the alternator. MAKE SURE YOUR BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED HERE BECAUSE IT IS A LIVE WIRE YOU'RE ABOUT TO TOUCH! Both are easy and straight forward so no worries there. Now pull that thing out of there! It's easier to remove if you take out that little plastic cover on the power steering resevoir. Hope this helps and like always, i am not responsible if you break or strip anything or mess anything up

GOOD LUCK!!

I did this recently also and the bolts weren't Torx but that might be because I had a Valeo 120A alternator. They were metric allens that are common all over the engine (6, 7 or 8MM.. I can't remember but they weren't just one size). Didn't need PB Blaster either even though the car saw 120,000 miles in a state that uses salt.

It is okay to touch the live wire on the back of the alternator, as long as you don't touch any of the metal on the car. I made the mistake assuming it was a ground and let it touch the engine block and it sparked a bit. I just wrapped it with electrical tape and let it hang because I didn't undo the battery. I did this because I didn't have a new alternator handy and I needed to be able to turn my alarm on.

What alternator did you have before you replaced it?

**jzsickaudi** · 12-08-2008 02:41 AM

mine was the same, 120amp valeo and I definately tried allens but they were starting to strip the bolts so I tried the torx and they came right out! Wonder which they were supposed to be? If anyone can clarify, that would be sweet! I didn't have to use pb blaster either but they were torqued down pretty good so I was just throwing that out there just in case :) And yes, you can get away with not disconnecting the battery but I figure better safe then sorry, u can always tape it after u disconnect it and reconnect the battery.

**lifwanian** · 12-08-2008 03:07 AM

Haha yeah justin I was gonna say I don't remember taking out the engine fully like that...

If I remember right, for the torx size, it was 40 on the top screw and 50 for the bottom. Right?

**Don Supreme** · 12-08-2008 07:27 AM

Nice post.

**mkturbo3** · 12-08-2008 01:52 PM

thanks alot for this 1

**jzsickaudi** · 12-08-2008 02:32 PM

No problem michael, hope it helps!

**T3hD0gg** · 12-09-2008 01:14 AM

Originally Posted by jzsickaudi

No problem michael, hope it helps!

You should definitely change the part talking about Torx. I am 100% sure they require allen drives or allen wrenches.

**jzsickaudi** · 12-09-2008 01:27 AM

see but I used torx without a problem. So I made a note of them being allens but that I used torx. Let me know what size allens you used and I'll make a note of that being another option.

**mkturbo3** · 12-09-2008 11:39 PM

quick question when pulling the pulley off what else did u guys use to stick into the hole in the back of the pulley i used a allen key and its just bending it up it wont budge ?

**jzsickaudi** · 12-10-2008 12:51 PM

hey I emailed u but I didn't say what I used. I first used a small Allen wrench and it snapped so don't worry it takes a little muscle, just try and find something stronger. I see a stainless t Allen wrench and that worked. If u have any more questions feel free to email me back.

**mkturbo3** · 12-10-2008 03:43 PM

yea i will be going to autozone to find something stronger everything ive been using has just been snapping. thanks alot ! ^

**Cornelis** · 02-28-2010 12:52 PM

Quick question. Is the pulley bolt left threaded?? and is that why I keep snapping allen wrenches I used to lock the pulley?

**dangerous_dave** · 02-28-2010 01:45 PM

You forgot a huge step in this. You need to disconnect the battery anytime you are messing with that alternator cable.

The best thing to use to keep the fan clutch in place when trying to remove the 8mm bolt in back is a drill bit or a small punch. The bolt is not reversed thread. I have broken many drill bits trying to get them off. I just use an 8mm allen socket at a ratchet that can swivel.

**Cornelis** · 02-28-2010 05:00 PM

Thanks for the tip, the punch works well. Too bad the pulley bolt stripped when I torqued the bolt counter clockwise. Any suggestions to extract the stripped bolt...easy out maybe?

**goodhews** · 02-28-2010 05:11 PM

on the belt tensioner you shouldn't use a monkey wrench to release the tension, stick a 1/2" ratchet in the hole and turn it that way, much easier.

**AudiA420.** · 07-12-2011 01:31 PM

Hey thanks for the great replys and great help, the other day my alternator died onthe highway, my double din dvd deck started dimming and alll my lights and meters started sketchin out, had to be the alternator everything else was fine, the batery just couldnt recharge, so what i found as a tip i used a oil filter plier to hold the fan pully as i used a torx wrench to make things easier. good luck to all

**a4rings** · 08-08-2011 11:33 PM

If my car comes with a valeo alternator can i replace it with a bosch unit?

**Seerlah** · 08-08-2011 11:52 PM

If I recall correctly, mounting points are different. But you can replace a 90 amp with a 120 amp. Anyone want to confirm about the moutning points?

**walky_talky20** · 08-09-2011 06:24 AM

IMO, the valeo is a better unit. But I have wondered about the interchange. I don't know the answer.

**ECS Tuning-Audi** · 08-09-2011 09:08 AM

Looks like the 90amp and 120amp have the same mounting points but the electrical connections are different

120 amp

90 amp

Jason

**Seerlah** · 08-09-2011 09:14 AM

That's wierd. I had mine replaced professionally when I first purchased my car (alternator took a crap on me maybe 5 months into ownership). It came with a 90 amp, and he swapped in a 120 amp unit. Also curious as to what that outlet on the pic of the 90 amp unit goes to?

**ECS Tuning-Audi** · 08-09-2011 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by Seerlah

That's wierd. I had mine replaced professionally when I first purchased my car (alternator took a crap on me maybe 5 months into ownership). It came with a 90 amp, and he swapped in a 120 amp unit. Also curious as to what that outlet on the pic of the 90 amp unit goes to?

What year is your car? I believe there is a VIN split so yours very well may have been on that cusp where 90amp and 120amp alternators used the same electrical connection.

Jason

**Seerlah** · 08-09-2011 11:48 AM

2001

**walky_talky20** · 08-09-2011 12:42 PM

AFAIK, the snorkel is for cooling for V6 30V fitment. I think it would interfere with the manifold for 1.8T fitment, but I'm not sure.

I think the terminal differences are more year split than anything, as the engine harness listing in ETKA does not give a "bosch" and "valeo" version. But I'm not an expert here.

I swapped my 120A Valeo for a 90A valeo (which was nearly identical visually) - same plug.

**ECS Tuning-Audi** · 08-09-2011 12:46 PM

I think it also has to do with what options your car came with. Most cars that have the 120amp alternator from the factory have the Bose stereo.

Jason

**a4rings** · 08-09-2011 10:52 PM

Hey guys so i took a picture of the alternator that i took off my 2000 a4 1.8t and i'm trying to find out if this alternator i found on ebay works because my pulley is pressed on and all of the junkyard ones i find all have larger puleys and they are bolted on.

NOW THIS one below IS THE EBAY ONE. Can i replace my old one with this unit? Is the pulley the same?

http://cgi.ebay.com/98-99-00-01-02-A...item19c75d6c84

**a4rings** · 08-09-2011 11:07 PM

The only difference in terms of #'s is

Mine: 2542232A
Ebay: 2542232B

**ECS Tuning-Audi** · 08-16-2011 03:26 PM

Should work, you may just need to swap pulleys.

Jason

**jonb6cam** · 12-27-2012 10:47 AM

I've got a 2002 a4 1.8TQ do I need to take the front bumper off to remove the alternator?

**Jam'sAudiFix** · 04-04-2014 12:03 AM

Hey guys i kno this thread is suuuuuppper old but its worth a try. I have an older wiring harness where my plug part is an o ring connector identical to the power connector except smaller. CAn i splice in the plug or do i have to get down n dirty and change the whole wire harness? Is the smaller o ring/plug the negative or ground?

**walky_talky20** · 04-04-2014 11:57 AM

The small wire connection to the alternator is the field voltage from the ignition switch. So it is also battery voltage. The ground is through the alternator case/engine block. Both the older stud-type connection and the newer D-shaped connector have the same purpose and only 1 wire. You should be able to simply splice the different style connector and make it work - so long as the alternator physically bolts up and the belt aligns.

**Tanzimur** · 04-04-2014 12:13 PM

Alrite i have a 97 a4 1.8t and im replacing the volt reg and i want to make sure, do i have the bosch and not the valeo regulator...

**Jam'sAudiFix** · 04-05-2014 06:26 AM

Originally Posted by walky_talky20

The small wire connection to the alternator is the field voltage from the ignition switch. So it is also battery voltage. The ground is through the alternator case/engine block. Both the older stud-type connection and the newer D-shaped connector have the same purpose and only 1 wire. You should be able to simply splice the different style connector and make it work - so long as the alternator physically bolts up and the belt aligns.

Nice ok thank you so much! thats was exactly the info i needed. much appreciated.
now to source a harness that isnt $100 lol. Does anyone know of a spot in nyc that I can get jus the d-shaped connector? or am i better off looking for a part-out.