Curious, do you put a lot of miles on it? A timing belt should be good
for at least 50/60K miles.

Why did your mechanic tell you your alternator was going to fail?
Unless its making noses or the output was low, i am curious to why
he would tell you that. He did not tell you why?

Next time, hit the raccoon.....  ;)

Bob

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Esp if you are planning on selling
it in 6 months.  The worst that can happen is the alt will go out and
the light will come on.  If you have a good battery you can drive many
miles with the light on, probably 50 to 100 miles if you turn off all
the accessories, lights, and AC.  And for the cost of the alt you are
thinking of buying you could buy a good "throw in the trunk" emergency
battery-jumper which would let you start the car if the battery is too
low to start it - once it's started you will probably have enough
battery to get home if it's within 10 to 20 miles.

paulmbedard@earthlink.net wrote

Doesnt surprise me.. after all you probably told him what happened... and
he is judging you for that.

FIRST!

YOu would endanger your life for a vermin animal?

NEVER EVER EVER swerve to avoid any animal smaller than a deer.  And
dodging a deer is useless they are totally unpredictable and quick.

Put the brakes on and stop straight!  If you end up hitting it, too bad!  
It's called "Darwin in action"!
 AND make sure your wife and kids get that in their heads, too.

I dont blame you for the instant reaction... my first wreck involved
dodging a dog.  NEVER again.  It's only if you do that that twice that
you're an idgit!
;)

SECOND: I doubt very much that guy ran a load test or anything else on
that alternator, he looked at your mileage and saw it was about 140k or a
little more.

And he knows the brushes in the alternator usually go at about that time,
depending.

So call around and see if NAPA or other parts jobber stores have the
replacement brushes for your car's alternator.

It's an easy enough job to replace them, using common torx drivers,
available almost anywhere

Or just ask the guy how much he wants to just do that and check the rear
alternator bearing lube while he's at it.

I'm not familiar with that specific layout but anyone that's ever done it
before should be able to remove the alt, check bearings, replace brushes
and reinstall within an hour.

Google the group and search my name and Alternator in the subject line.

Or just look down the posts, I'll post it again.. been a while.

Hi Paul, My 2 cents worth . . .

at autozone the rebuilt alternator is indeed 180$ , that's after you take
them the core return. I have a neighbor that is a master mechanic and he
showed me how to remove the alternator. The best way is to:
a. chock and lock wheels with brake
b.   place a flat floor jack under the engine where it won't mess up anything
like threads or pans and take tension or weight off the mount ( I'm talking
1/8 inch here, not a foot)
c .remove 2 engine mounting bolts that secure the mount on the passenger side
in the engine compartment.
d. Remove the screws that secure the reservoiors for coolant and brake fluid.

e. Tuck out of the way and tie up so the fluid won't spill.
f. disconnect the fuel flow mechanism( I don't really know what this is
called) from the 2 stainless bent tubes at the back of the passenger side
firewall. Mine said Rochester on it with a round canister the size of 1/2 a
cola can and a electrical switch on the top.
g. Slowly raise the jack to rotate the engine forward to ease removal of the
alternator.
h. Take tension off the serpentine belt tensioner and remove the belt. ( i
bought a 18$ tool at napa.) Check for wear and replace if it has more than 45
K miles on it. About 16$ at autozone.
i. loosen, then remove the bolts and nuts that hold the alternator on.
j. If you can remove the tensioner, and I did, it will give you more room to
manuver and rotate the alternator while lifting up and out. (Buy the way, our
tensioner was bad, 35$ at advance auto.)

Note here: It took 2 grown men to rotate the engine to get enough room to
remove the old alternator.
Just pull forward from the top of the engine, and don't bend the fuel
injector main feed tube. there is a engine lift ring on the front drivers
side of the top of the engine. Place a hooked iron bar in it an rock the
engine forward.

Additional note: Our alternator had a 3 prong electrical connection. Most
have 2. That makes it hard to find at the junk yard. I believe it is a 110
amp alternator.

Install in reverse order, yes its that hard and yes it can be done!

Good luck  
Tim in Ohio