step by step mk4 vr6 alternator / fuel line replacement! Pix included!

[Slimjimmn]

So I was only getting a charge of 13.8v on my car. Spec is 13.8-14.2 and when I turned on heated seats and headlights and fan it would charge 13.6. So I replaced the alternator! I believe the glx uses 120A and the gls uses 90A but call the dealer and give them your vin and they should be able to tell you. Also I got mine used at the junk yard for $40.00. A new one is 350.00 at factory motor parts, and 480 at the VW dealer! Not too shabby of a job really, actually took longer to replace fuel lines than the alternator. How I didnt notice the rubber lines severly cracked after owning the car for almost a year, i dont know. Anywhoooo... I did it when the w/ the engine warm and it wasnt that bad, but its like 5deg out here and it cooled down pretty fast.

Tools /stuff needed:
T20 torx
T30 torx
10mm
13mm
14mm
8mm (for taking b+ cable off alternator hold down)
Hose clamp pliers
Flathead screwdriver

2gal 50/50 or 60/40 coolant depending on where you live.
alternator
New serp belt and tensioner because you gotta take them both off anyway

1-Pull lower radiator hose and drain coolant and leave hose off. Just take the clamp off and pull the hose off, dont do the quick disconnect part, the seal cant be found, and if it leaks from there you buy a 85.00 hose at the dealer.. Disconnect the NEG battery cable and push aside!

2- Remove middle and side belly pan covers
3- Remove grille and detach hood release rod, remove bumper side air dam grille deals
4- Remove front bumper cover (5 t30 torx where grille is, 2 behind air dams, 3 t20 torx screws on fender liner and the 1 that goes straight up between the bumper / fender crack )

Should look somewhat like this (but i got the core support off in the pic.

5- Remove driver and passenger side headlamps
6- Unbolt and support the core support , you need to remove the little 1" coolant hose on the passenger lower side by the a/c reciever dryer lines, and the upper radiator hose (access the clamp through the removed driver headlamp assembly. (2 10mm bolts at the end of the fender on both sides, 4 green 13mm bolts that go through the bumper support into frame) They are the bolts that are to the left the larger ones.

7- After its supported you can pull if foward about 8-10" to gain access to the front of the engine!

8-remove the serp belt and tensioner
9-Unbolt the 13mm nut for the b+ cable and push back a little. The cable will still be attached but thats a couple steps from now.
10- remove the upper and lower bolt that hold the alternator to the bracket and pry the alternator foward (pry on the bracket not the intake manifold!) Disconnect the electrical connector

11- Pull the alternator foward enough to get to the 8MM nut that holds the cable bracket to the alternator and remove the nut.
12- Snake the alternator out and install a new one.
13- bolt everything back up in reverse order and put all coolant lines on.
14- top off coolant and start-er up Mine now charges 14.2 with all accessories on and 14.2 with them off!

Now is a good time to replace the lower radiator bushings. Its a common problem and usually causes clunks from the front end arround town. They look like this: New on left old on right.

There about 8.00 each at the dealer. Located here on theese pics.


Just remove the t30 screw from the front of the core support (refer to pics above for the 13mm bolts you remove to remove the core support from the frame. They are the middle screw in the pictures. Just remove the screw and pry caretully at the bottom of the radiator and sneak the old ones out. I usually remove the passenger side first then the driver side, then put the driver side new one in and then the passenger side new one in. I found it prys out more that way!

I also replaced my rubber fuel lines at the same time. You need 3ft rubber fuel line and 4 hose clamps. The hardest part is where the line goes into the plastic coupler at the line by the shock tower. BE CAREFUL when prying the micro clamps off the line here because if you snap the end of the line off you have to replace the whole line back to the tank @ 180.00 for the lines.

I also replced the little 1/8" braided vacuum lines under the intake manifold that go to the combi solenoid for 2ndary air and the vacuum canister ball by the oil pan.

[staggered mk4]

Added to the DIY/FAQ.

- Marshall.

[Slimjimmn]

nice, hope this helps some people save some $$$ off the dealer!

[Sam6644]

nice write up.

Dealership quoted me $950 for an alternator.

[Masace18]

I wont say that this method of changing the alternator is stupid, but I will say that its very unnecessary. The only thing thats good about it is that it makes taking the actual alternator off much easier. An easier way to get to the alternator is to go from the bottom. First, remove the side piece of the engine cover on the passenger side and the release the tension on the belt. then remove the tensioner (3-13mm bolts) and then get under the car and take off the plastic guards (the one in the middle and the one on the drivers side.) then unbolt the power steering pump (5-13mm bolts) but dont disconnect any of the hoses. then use a wire or bungee cord to support it. Next, remove the bolts from the compressor, (2-16mm bolts) then let that suspend without disconnecting any hoses. now you're at the alternator theres a ground wire with an 8mm hex nut holding it on, a plastic connector and the power cord held on by a 13mm hex nut. The alternator itself is held on by 2 13mm bolts. once you have the bolts out and everything disconnected from the alternator its ready to come out. It takes a little maneuvering but it will come out i promise. just be careful and pay attention to what you're doing. I like this method better because it doesn’t require taking the ENTIRE FRONT END off. And as always, don’t forget to disconnect the battery!

[CorradoMagic]

Dont use worm clamps on fuel lines. Use FI clamps. The rubber contracts & expands under bay temp. changes. Worm clamps cut into the new lines you just added.

[Slimjimmn]

I didnt use worm clamps. I used vw fi fuel hose clamps. The worm clamps with the slots in them cut the hose. And it only takes maybe 15-20min to get the front bumper off and core support unbolted. Plus I took the front end off because I had to replace oil cooler seals and the vacuum hoses under the intake.

[paslocal1]

yeah, going in from underneath might be easier... but some of us don't have that much room to work under the car.. i drive my vr6 up rubber ramps from the parts store and just have an extra 8-12 in of clearance.

& Lock carrier position to Service position is not tooo bad.. at least its just a bunch of easy to get to bolts...see below for a nice write up I used to replace the billet pipe (aka crack pipe).

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2368291

[-SLugO-]

i so needed this

[Slimjimmn]

bump, some dude pm'd me about this like a month ago lol

[artie325]

Thanks for the writeup on this job. I took bits and pieces from everyone's posts and had the whole job done in two hours. I didn't take the front end apart. I simply took off the splash guards underneath, removed the engine cover and tensioner for the belt and then removed (Just the bolts) the power steering pump, the a/c compressor and then the alternator. It took a bit of finesse to get it out, but surprisingly, it was relatively easy to get in and out from below. The only tips that I would advise is to wear safety glasses to prevent stuff from getting in your eyes and use a brass punch and a hammer to tap the bushings to the a/c pump in a bit so it slides in nice and easy.

[Ramo]

I wont say that this method of changing the alternator is stupid, but I will say that its very unnecessary. The only thing thats good about it is that it makes taking the actual alternator off much easier. An easier way to get to the alternator is to go from the bottom. First, remove the side piece of the engine cover on the passenger side and the release the tension on the belt. then remove the tensioner (3-13mm bolts) and then get under the car and take off the plastic guards (the one in the middle and the one on the drivers side.) then unbolt the power steering pump (5-13mm bolts) but dont disconnect any of the hoses. then use a wire or bungee cord to support it. Next, remove the bolts from the compressor, (2-16mm bolts) then let that suspend without disconnecting any hoses. now you're at the alternator theres a ground wire with an 8mm hex nut holding it on, a plastic connector and the power cord held on by a 13mm hex nut. The alternator itself is held on by 2 13mm bolts. once you have the bolts out and everything disconnected from the alternator its ready to come out. It takes a little maneuvering but it will come out i promise. just be careful and pay attention to what you're doing. I like this method better because it doesn’t require taking the ENTIRE FRONT END off. And as always, don’t forget to disconnect the battery!

I must say my man... this small post alone got me through the entire process! Of course the photos above helped.... thanks!