LC or LX470 Alternator replacement how to (2 Viewers)

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Thought I'd post this because I couldn't find anything on it BEFORE I did it...
Just replaced the alternator on a 2001 LX470
searched the net and found zero help... that was a first...
simple steps I'll assume you all know how to be safe so I'll skip that...
1. put truck on ramps... most work will be from below
2. disconnect battery (10mm )
3. remover plastic engine cover and the air box (10mm)
4. in the right fender well there is a small triangle filler piece about 10" long toward the front that connects the inner fender to the frame...has about 6 plastic rivets that hold it on.. you can squeeze most of these from the engine compartment to remove them or pry them out you will need to reuse them, you are removing this piece so you can see what you are doing...
5. remove the front skid pan from below you'll need 1/2" or 13mm socket with short extension
6. remove the serpentine belt you;ll need 9/16 or 14mm socket
7. you'll need to unbolt the power steering pump it has 3 long bolts 14mm you will need a deep well socket that will go through access holes in the pulley, once bolts are removed you need a piece of rope or wire to pull the pump up and out of your way... I tied it through a hole in the pulley... you might need to move where you tie it off to a couple times up and back or up and front depending on what you want to see or do...
8. the alternator has one top nut on the top mounting stud and a long bolt on the bottom both 14mm it also has the rear wire harness plug top and to the side a 4ga wire on a stud with a 10mm nut and a side bracket with a 13mm bolt... unbolt the 14mm top nut and bottom bolt the alternator will be hanging on the top stud... pull forward on the alternator leaving it on the stud for now... you will need lots of light so you can see the rear wire harness... from the top (oh yeah I needed a 4ft ladder to be able to reach in from the top) pull back the rubber boot squeeze the clip and pull the connection from the rear of the alternator... from below 13mm socket on a 1/4 drive ratchet by feel you need to remover the 13mm bolt the holds some bracket to the side of the alternator... yes they used the alternator as a mounting point for some wires or lines... you have to MAKE room to get the socket on... now pull the alternator as far forward as you can get it and move back to the top... the 4ga wire on the stud is under a plastic cover... pop that cover off... under that cover is a 10mm nut a LONG extension with a 10mm socket will help here... now your alternator is FREE back under the truck to get it out... you will need to push/bend several lines and hoses around down and out of the way i used a small 1x2 wood stick to kinda pry a few of them to open up a hole to get the alternator out... mounting brackets of the alternator toward the engine worked for me... this should take less than 1 hr to remove... i did use a small cheater bar to break the bolts loose on the pump and alternator... I took mine to a local rebuilder and they charged $125 to rebuild it and that took 1 day... while it was there I took the time to replace the spark plugs and changed the oil... I also got a new serpentine belt...
replacement was far faster and easier that I thought it would be... pushed alternator up from below... with it off the mounting stud and held in place with a rope around the pulley to hold it in place I connected the rear harness and the 4ga wire to the side stud... then slid it onto the top mounting stud... this all from the top... then from below I bolted on the bracket to the side with the 13mm bolt... from there it's just a reverse of what you have done...
everything I found on the net and the manuals say you have to remove the radiator NOT SO one guy said at the least remove the lower radiator hose NOT SO... you need the ladder because the truck is up on the ramps a foot off the ground... and a lot of light helps drop light and flash light I used a 1/4 drive ratchet with a couple different extensions and a 10mm and a 13mm socket, a 3/8 ratchet with a deep well 14mm socket and a 14" long piece of 3/4" metal conduit as a cheater bar to break bolts loose and i used a 1/2" drive with a deep 14mm putting it back together... this was maybe a 5 on a 10 scale on hard to do...it'd be a 3 if you had done it before... hope this helps someone
pony
 
Thanks Pony. I'm considering this a preventative maintenance.
 
There are a few threads on this from about three months ago when two of us had alternators go out set about the same time. I tried EVERYTHING over two days to get it out the bottom, but finally had to remove radiator hoses and loosen fan shroud. There must be enough differences year to year so that some can get them out the bottom and some can't. Not sure I'd do this as PM, failures here on MUD are few and far between, even on the high mile rigs. Less than 10 documented on here so far.

Typos sent from my HTC EVO using the IH8MUD app...
 
thanks re_guderian

I was thinking of a preventive aspect because I've notice a slight leak out of the battery caps. The batt is only 4 years old and I was assuming it was overcharging or something from the alternator.
 
I managed to get my mom's alternator out through the bottom... Had to remove the power steering mount bolts though and swear a few times, but I got it out.
 
Thanks for the post. I just replaced the alternator on my wife's 2006 LX470 with 107K miles today. I was able to get it out through the bottom without disconnecting any hoses. It was a little easier job than I was expecting it to be based on some of the other threads I saw. I did have it on a lift which made it much easier not have to work from my back.
 
..... failures here on MUD are few and far between, even on the high mile rigs. Less than 10 documented on here so far.

Typos sent from my HTC EVO using the IH8MUD app...

Mine just went. About 190,000 miles. And it is a 2000 so I guess I can expect trouble like you did. I can not purchase coolant here, I have to order it. Most numb-skulls here just put water in their radiators. Trying to figure out which to order high output to order.
 
Appreciated this thread tonight! 2005 LX470 w/~150k and was able to get mine out through the bottom - not easily but doable. Disconnected the PS pump and hung it w rope to keep it out of the way. PITA with such limited space to work with but was doable in a couple hours without any drama.
 
Agreed. Did mine last week. This thread was super helpful as I had to change mine in the dark and on gravel. There were several moments when I did not think there was anyway it was coming out the bottom. 07 with 120k I might add.
 
This was a helpful post, 07 128k, Thanks very much. Unfortunately broke the majority of the skid plate bolts when removing, will have to drill and remove those to fully complete the job.
 
I don't have a manual. Anybody know what the torque specs are for the bolts on the PS pump and alternator?

Tight, as tight as you can get them without snapping them off.
 
I don't have a manual. Anybody know what the torque specs are for the bolts on the PS pump and alternator?

upload_2017-8-13_17-28-9.png


upload_2017-8-13_17-29-33.png
 
Generally a 14 mm is about 27ft-lb (like motor oil drain bolt): 12 mm is about 17 ft-lb
 
Thought I'd post this because I couldn't find anything on it BEFORE I did it...
Just replaced the alternator on a 2001 LX470
searched the net and found zero help... that was a first...
simple steps I'll assume you all know how to be safe so I'll skip that...
1. put truck on ramps... most work will be from below
2. disconnect battery (10mm )
3. remover plastic engine cover and the air box (10mm)
4. in the right fender well there is a small triangle filler piece about 10" long toward the front that connects the inner fender to the frame...has about 6 plastic rivets that hold it on.. you can squeeze most of these from the engine compartment to remove them or pry them out you will need to reuse them, you are removing this piece so you can see what you are doing...
5. remove the front skid pan from below you'll need 1/2" or 13mm socket with short extension
6. remove the serpentine belt you;ll need 9/16 or 14mm socket
7. you'll need to unbolt the power steering pump it has 3 long bolts 14mm you will need a deep well socket that will go through access holes in the pulley, once bolts are removed you need a piece of rope or wire to pull the pump up and out of your way... I tied it through a hole in the pulley... you might need to move where you tie it off to a couple times up and back or up and front depending on what you want to see or do...
8. the alternator has one top nut on the top mounting stud and a long bolt on the bottom both 14mm it also has the rear wire harness plug top and to the side a 4ga wire on a stud with a 10mm nut and a side bracket with a 13mm bolt... unbolt the 14mm top nut and bottom bolt the alternator will be hanging on the top stud... pull forward on the alternator leaving it on the stud for now... you will need lots of light so you can see the rear wire harness... from the top (oh yeah I needed a 4ft ladder to be able to reach in from the top) pull back the rubber boot squeeze the clip and pull the connection from the rear of the alternator... from below 13mm socket on a 1/4 drive ratchet by feel you need to remover the 13mm bolt the holds some bracket to the side of the alternator... yes they used the alternator as a mounting point for some wires or lines... you have to MAKE room to get the socket on... now pull the alternator as far forward as you can get it and move back to the top... the 4ga wire on the stud is under a plastic cover... pop that cover off... under that cover is a 10mm nut a LONG extension with a 10mm socket will help here... now your alternator is FREE back under the truck to get it out... you will need to push/bend several lines and hoses around down and out of the way i used a small 1x2 wood stick to kinda pry a few of them to open up a hole to get the alternator out... mounting brackets of the alternator toward the engine worked for me... this should take less than 1 hr to remove... i did use a small cheater bar to break the bolts loose on the pump and alternator... I took mine to a local rebuilder and they charged $125 to rebuild it and that took 1 day... while it was there I took the time to replace the spark plugs and changed the oil... I also got a new serpentine belt...
replacement was far faster and easier that I thought it would be... pushed alternator up from below... with it off the mounting stud and held in place with a rope around the pulley to hold it in place I connected the rear harness and the 4ga wire to the side stud... then slid it onto the top mounting stud... this all from the top... then from below I bolted on the bracket to the side with the 13mm bolt... from there it's just a reverse of what you have done...
everything I found on the net and the manuals say you have to remove the radiator NOT SO one guy said at the least remove the lower radiator hose NOT SO... you need the ladder because the truck is up on the ramps a foot off the ground... and a lot of light helps drop light and flash light I used a 1/4 drive ratchet with a couple different extensions and a 10mm and a 13mm socket, a 3/8 ratchet with a deep well 14mm socket and a 14" long piece of 3/4" metal conduit as a cheater bar to break bolts loose and i used a 1/2" drive with a deep 14mm putting it back together... this was maybe a 5 on a 10 scale on hard to do...it'd be a 3 if you had done it before... hope this helps someone
pony

You sir are a lifesaver. This DIY is 100% spot-on for a 2001 LX 470. This was the only writeup I could find specific to the early LX. I originally had tried with a 2006 Land Cruiser DIY but it's actually different.
 
For those with later models...
I'm doing my wife's '06 LX470 as soon as I receive the Amazon alternator.
Any significant variations from the '01 instructions I should look out for? Or can I follow as written?

Thank you!
Skip
 
For those with later models...
I'm doing my wife's '06 LX470 as soon as I receive the Amazon alternator.
Any significant variations from the '01 instructions I should look out for? Or can I follow as written?

Thank you!
Skip

Should be the same. I just did 1998 LX. Basically pulled away the power steering pump, and dropped alternator down the bottom. I couldn't get the alternator out the bottom easily, so I drained radiator, unhooked the bottom radiator line, and the transmission cooler line to remove the alternator.
 
This should be in the FAQ
 
I had a hell of a time doing mine, and I've done it twice now. The Oreilly Alt quit almost exactly 1 year after I put it in, but I didn't have any cash for another OEM at the time. I'm pissed I didn't save my Core and replace the brushes, I found that thread about a week after I did it the 1st time.

I did not end up removing the radiator either time, I just unbolted it everywhere, and was able to wiggle it out of the way enough to squeeze the alternator through. If I hadn't just changed the coolant less than 2 months before the alt went the 2nd time, I would have just drained the coolant and pulled the lower hoses.
 
The only conveniently placed thing on the LX470 that I have found during repairs so far are ash trays. The alternator placement is frustrating. So far I have replaced timing belt, water pump, boots, coils, steering rack, and now the alternator. On the positive my alternator made it to 196k, lol.
 

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