The alternator on my car went kaput. Nowhere in my area would do the job for less than $800-something, and most places were quoting $900-$1k.
So I looked up how-tos on YouTube and it looked like something I, a woman with zero experience or knowledge of working on cars, could do.
I got a remanufactured alternator for $180 and got to work following the tutorials I’d found.
It certainly did not go smoothly, but I managed it. It took me 6 hours to get the alternator out, mainly because every goddamn bolt holding the parts in place were basically cemented in. I had to use my foot to stomp one loose because I didn’t have the strength in my arms.
Today I spent another 4 hours trying to put in the new one and all the parts back in place. And I did it!!
Except for the power steering belt. That fucker would not go into place, and trying to force the belt tensioner back took every ounce of strength I could muster.
All that work. All that time and effort and THE VERY LAST STEP to get my car up and running defeated me today. I had to get a task rabbit guy. He’s coming tomorrow to get my belt back on.
On one hand I feel proud that I made it this far. On the other I feel like a complete failure because it turns out I couldn’t complete the task myself.
Anyway, how was your weekend?
I’ve been there, I once replaced the alternator on my dad’s truck took like five minutes. Well, I was driving a 2002 ford focus and needed to replace the alternator on that. I did one before, should be easy right? That SOB fought me for 6 hours. They put that damn thing in such an inconvenient spot, to where I had to loosen up the engine mounts move the whole engine enough to squeeze it out. Still loved that little car even if it was a pain in the ass.