Do It Yourself Alternator

[Gary N]

Hi folks.

I own a 92 SC400. I was cruising along when the battery light came on and eventually the electrical shut down. I know it is a bad alternator/power steering pump thing.

My question is, how difficult is it to replace the alternator and/or powersteering pump yourself? I can get an alternator for about $100. Really don't want to send it to the repair shop...no Lexus places aroung where I live and I am fairly handy with tools.

If anyone has done this themselves, any help would be greatly appreciated...or, should I leave it up to the shop?

Also, I haven't tried, but will I be able to jump start the car to get it to its repair destination?

[jzz30]

which island do you live on?

anyway you can totaly do it yourself. its fairly straight forward and simple. and the hardest part may be getting some hoses off for the power steering pump.

[geoffreymg]

just picked mine up from the dealer about 2 hours ago. It was $1,600 but my local dealer extends the Lexus 12 month warranty to 24 months. Can't beat a dealer warranty and the free Camry they gave me for a week. Not to mention the countless hours of frustration and sweating that you might encounter. Bite the bullet and have it done correct. good luck

[Marty Witt]

I bought my alternator from a local parts supplier that specializes in Japanese cars in the Chicago area. It was a rebuild from Denso and cost about $220 if I remember correctly. The I called Pep Boys and had them install it for like $80 bucks.

[jzz30]

i dont know about biting the bullet for 1600 bucks when all you need is an afternoon and a replacement alternator. man they must have sold you a brand new alternator!! the best case is if you have your own alternator rebuilt.

[geoffreymg]

Something about "remanufactured" or "rebuilt" components doesnt sit well with me. Whats the point of putting used components in, especially when they are the components that are known to crap out. Even if they guarantee the part for a few months that only buys you a few months. I believe Chris Farley said it best, "why do they put a guarantee on the box? Cause they know all the sold you was a guaranteed piece of *BLEEP*. If you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time"

If you do proceed with the DIY I say good luck to you sir. Please post any problems or fixes you might run into. Pictures of the removal would be helpful too. --geoff--

[RockfordFile]

$1600 to put the alternator in?? Or did they do the PS pump and the alt?

[Gary N]

Thanks for the help everyone. I think I am gonna replace the alternator myself:

Alternator Replacement

...and do a seal replacement for the PS pump:

Power Steering Pump Rebuild Seals

Looks simple enough, although time consuming.

BTW jzz, I live on the big island, Kailua Kona side.

[geoffreymg]

$1600 to put the alternator in?? Or did they do the PS pump and the alt?

PS pump and Alt. Also a new V-belt and tensioner.

Furthermore, if you think as your time as money; a 10 hour job at $20 an hour plus the $500 to $600 in USED parts equals a pretty good chunk of change. And double that if you have any problems with it down the road. There is always the hassle of borrowing a friends car to run to the dealer for the parts you forgot or did not know you'll need. And in your case, ordering parts and waiting a few more days for them to arrive while your ride sits torn apart. I don't like to be a downer but i like to think of every possible CON that happen, not just the PRO's. good luck

[monarch]

Something about "remanufactured" or "rebuilt" components doesnt sit well with me. Whats the point of putting used components in, especially when they are the components that are known to crap out. Even if they guarantee the part for a few months that only buys you a few months.

If you don't know the life expectancy of the components then you cannot understand "the point".

In the case of the alternator, the life expectancy is in the 300,000 - 500,000 miles range, with brush replacement needed about every 150,000. Toyota makes a brush holder assembly you can buy that costs only $20.

In the case of the PS pump, the life expectancy is also up around 500,000 miles, but if the PS fluid is never changed and if the steering rack solenoid filter screen isn't periodically cleaned then leaks are likely to develop due to abnormally high fluid pressures. In that case the PS pump can be resealed using a $25 Toyota PS pump reseal kit.

I agree with you that time = money and for many owners the $1000 saved by doing it yourself and learning how to do it yourself is not worth the tradeoff of lost income. But it might be for retired or mostly retired owners or those who enjoy learning how to maintain their own autos.

[onebadshot556]

Wow im sorry, mostly because im young, but 1000 bucks is alot of money. Plus its an Alt. Gary replacing an Alt. is a very simple task. Also alows you to get in there and help you understand more about your car. Also when you do things yourself you can make sure they get done right and know exactly whats hapening to your car. On a side note though agreeing with geoffreymg working on a car can be very tiedous and anyoning.

[jzz30]

Thanks for the help everyone. I think I am gonna replace the alternator myself:

Alternator Replacement

...and do a seal replacement for the PS pump:

Power Steering Pump Rebuild Seals

Looks simple enough, although time consuming.

BTW jzz, I live on the big island, Kailua Kona side.

also you can check out lexls.com for the power steering pump rebuild. its in the tutorial section i helped do it ;)

too bad you live on the big island, there are many shops around oahu that can rebuild tha alternator.

anyway good luck to you and if you get stuck we can always help!

[geoffreymg]

The dealer told me that the PS pump fails because it has internals that wear and start to spin and grind (they shouldn't spin). The tension from the V-belt also has a hand in the leaking, although the tension is needed for proper operation. I've done every preventative maintenance procedure that should have been done except for monitoring the pump for leaks. Unfortunetaly it's just one of those components that sux on the SC.

[Gary N]

Great tutorial jzz30.

One question. In your instrucions (#18) you list the part no. (bearing) for the LS400, but not the SC400. Are they the same?

[jzz30]

The dealer told me that the PS pump fails because it has internals that wear and start to spin and grind (they shouldn't spin). The tension from the V-belt also has a hand in the leaking, although the tension is needed for proper operation. I've done every preventative maintenance procedure that should have been done except for monitoring the pump for leaks. Unfortunetaly it's just one of those components that sux on the SC.

if you actually take appart a PS pump and look at it, there really isnt anything that looks like it goes bad except for the rubber seals.

Great tutorial jzz30.

One question. In your instrucions (#18) you list the part no. (bearing) for the LS400, but not the SC400. Are they the same?

thanks!

i think its the same but just to be sure you should confirm with a parts supplier. the pump is off of a SC400 but the guy who put together the tutorial is an LS guy so he put in the part numbers and stuff like that.