Installing the Alternator & Alternator Bolt

Video Transcript

"Hi! My name is Nate McCullough on behalf of expertvillage.com. In this clip we are going to talk about the proper way to reinstall the vehicle's alternator to its mounting brackets. As you can see we have two mounting holes to deal with. What we will do is take and drop our alternator down in the approximate location to where it goes, grab one of the bolts we've got here and we are going to line it up. What I like to do is to get both bolts started before I tighten either one. That way I secure a nice good fit. If you were just to roll one bolt in and run it down tight, the alternator more than likely isn't lined up with the other bolts corresponding hole. Then you are going to have to loosen it back up and install the other bolt. Once we've got the first one started, go ahead and get the second one in there and run them down While the bolts are loose, it is going to be best to run them down your fingers as far as you can. That will save you ratchet time. Your fingers will operate faster than a ratchet as long as there is not a whole bunch of resistance in the threads. It's a good idea to take and just kind of wiggle the alternator around as you are snugging the bolts up. That will help it make nice and flat, this bolt here ran down finger tight. You are going to take a run down its partner. You can use the socket and extension as a kind of screwdriver and that will give you a little bit more grip on the bolt and allow you to run it down just a little farther without having to stick your ratchet in there. These bolts are not a hard and steel bolt and do not have to be extremely tight. The specification on this bolt is going to be some where in the neighborhood of 15 and 20 foot pounds. As about as tight you want to put in a spark plug, once its bottomed out it is going to be a quarter turn, possibly a half turn, past tight. As you can see I'm using a relatively small ratchet so not to put too much lever on them and there you go. Go ahead and give it a wiggle. Don;t have any slop in your alternator. That is properly installed our far as bolts go. "