How to Replace Alternator 2007-14 Chevy Suburban
Created on: 2017-07-25
How to repair, install, fix, change or replace a broken or bad alternator on 09 Chevy Surburban
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step 1 :Disconnecting the Battery
- Remove the 10mm bolt from the negative terminal
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step 2 :Removing the Serpentine Belt
- Pop off the engine cover
- Familiarize yourself with the route of the serpentine belt
- Insert a 15mm socket and breaker bar into the tensioner
- Turn the tensioner clockwise to loosen the belt
- Pull the belt off the alternator
- Release the tensioner
- Pull the belt off by hand
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step 3 :Removing the Alternator
- Unplug the alternator wiring harness
- Remove the cap from the positive terminal
- Remove the 10mm nut rom the positive terminal
- Set the cable aside
- Remove the two 15mm bolts from the alternator
- Lift the alternator off with a pry bar
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step 4 :Installing the Alternator
- Press the alternator into place
- Insert the two 15mm bolts to the bottom of the alternator
- Tighten the 15mm bolts 41 foot-pounds of torque
- Place the positive cable on the stud
- Tighten the 10mm nut to the positive terminal
- Tighten the bolt to 81 inch-pounds
- Replace the boot cap
- Plug in the alternator wiring harness
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step 5 :Reinstalling the Serpentine Belt
- Bring it around the idler pulley
- Over the alternator
- Down around the power steering pulley
- Bring it around the water pump
- Loop the belt under the crank pulley
- Bring it around the power steering pulley
- Pull the tensioner clockwise with the 3/8 inch ratchet
- Bring it around the water pump
- Release the tensioner
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step 6 :Reconnecting the Battery
- Press the engine cover on
- Tighten the 10mm nut to the negative terminal
Tools needed
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Socket Extensions
Torque Wrench
15mm Socket
Pry Bar
10mm Socket
Ratchet
1/2 Inch Breaker Bar
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We're going to start by disconnecting the battery. This is a 10mm bolt. You always want to disconnect the negative side. Just get it loose. You reach in, and you pull it off. Just set it aside.
We have to pop off this cover that's on top the engine that just pops up. There's two points where it pops on to. Just kind of get them, and then you work it out straight from the back, just like that. See here? This is where it pops on here and here, and then these two tabs slide into the back. We're going to set this aside so it doesn't get broken.
Okay, so you don't have to remove the intake tube here. It just makes it a lot easier to see, especially for the video. You can see what we're doing.
We're going to start by loosening this tensioner, which tensions the drive belt. Before removing your belt, there's usually a belt path diagram under the hood somewhere. This truck doesn't have it, but you can also take note of it and draw your own on a piece of paper. We're going to take a 15mm socket and a breaker bar. We're going to put it on the tensioner. We're going to push it down to loosen it. You can pop the belt off. It's just going to come right off.
You can slowly let the tensioner go back. That's about as far back as it's going to go. Let's see if I can get it up over the hose here. Going to pull the breaker bar off.
Before we take the alternator off, before you unbolt it, we're going to unplug it here. Squeeze this clip here. Pull it out and set aside. We're going to pull the positive cable off the alternator using a 10mm nut. Once that is loose, just thread it off by hand, and you can remove the cable. Place that aside. And then what I like to do so I don't lose the nut, just put it back on the stud just hand tight.
To remove this alternator from the bracket, these two 15mm bolts need to come out. Start by loosening one and loosen the other. Then you can just thread them out. With those bolts removed, the alternator should lift off the bracket. You might need a pry bar to get this off. Just gently pry on it from either side. You're going to have to work it back and forth. Once it's loose, you can lift it right out of the engine bay. Okay, so to reinstall the alternator, I've put a little bit of weight lifting grease on the ears here just to make it easier to slide into the cradle. Just sort of work it down. Might need your pry bar again to just line it back up. Start threading that in, and then start tightening them down with your 15mm socket and ratchet.
With the alternator bolt installed, now we're going bring them to the final torque of 41 foot- pounds. All right, so now we're going to reinstall the positive cable. We're going to take off that nut. This cable over. Bring the nut all the way down. Torque is like 81 inch-pounds and 9mm. It's real light. You don't want to snap the set off, so you basically just bring it down just so it starts to get tight. You don't have to kill it. Make sure you put the rubber boot over it, because that is a live wire when the car's running. That way nothing shorts out against it. Keep that rubber boot on there.
Final thing is to plug in this connector back into the alternator. Okay. Now we're going to install our serpentine drive belt. We're going to lay it down like that. We're going to run it up around the idler pulley, over the alternator, down around the power steering. It goes up and over the water pump. It goes back, down around the crank pulley. Make sure it's sitting in all the pulleys as we go around them. See? It's sitting in all the pulleys. You can actually pull it tight a little bit. We're going to take our breaker bar. Slide the breaker bar around the belt. Now I can push it down. Feed the belt over. Make sure it stays in the crank pulley. It can get a little tricky. Kind of walk it over the pulley tension. This pulley's new, so it's not as stretched out as the other one. It's going to be a little bit more difficult to get on. Just before you release it, make sure it's around all the pulleys and seated in the grooves. Once you're sure it's like that, just gently release the tensioner. You can see it's nice and tensioned up, and it's looped around all the pulleys.
Okay, so now we're going to put this engine cover back on. You've got these two little pins here, and there's two little, sort of clips in the back. This needs to slide up and into and then over these to lock it down. It's easier to slide it to the back and get these hooked and then push it down onto these. It's got a little bit of a curve here. There's some heater hose lines on the other side that they need to go over it like this. You basically just start it and just kind of slide it down. You can almost see it. It hits those hooks. And then you push it over those pins and down, and it's on.
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