has anyone had to change the alternator in the 3.0l fwd escape. if some one knows of an easy way to get it out i would love to know. We had to take the manifold cover off right down to the "o" rings as well as what ever we could undo to make a gap between the engine and the fire wall. it took us so long that the repair shop was closed and we had to leave my engine apart overnight with tissue stuffed in the pistons. The one part you know your going to have to get to to fix, and it's almost impossible to get at. It would have been easyer to tilt the engine, but we had no hoist, tell me there is an easier way

 

The Ford-recommended method is to pull the right half-shaft and intermediate shaft and pull it out from below. I guess the short answer is that there doesn't seem to be an easy way to change the alternator.

 

are you talking about the steering rack, it's the only hole we could find, but if anyone has seen an alternator for the fwd 3l escape, then you know how oversized the damb thing is, it looks like it belongs in a tracktor, not a 6 cylinder, we didn't think it would have a chance at fitting through there

 

No, not the steering rack, the right axle half-shaft and the intermediate shaft from the tranny that it connects to.

 

I am in the process of changing the alternator currently. The vehicle needs to be lifted , the front right half shaft and axle removed. I had to remove the exhaust pipe too to remove the vent cover from the rear of alternator, and then the two bolts and a stud attaching the alternator to engine. Even after all of this it is a tight squeeze to pull out the alternator . Total time to remove it about 4hrs and lots of busted knuckles. Still waiting for the new alternator to arrive and then to reverse the process.

 

My son just called as he couldnt start the Escape. I jump started him and he drove it home without going out. I am assuming it is just the battery which I will have tested. However, I started looking for the alternator and see now why service departments want so much. I just replaced plugs on my F150 and did plugs on my Aerostar 6.0! The Escape looks like it is no different. These are engineers sitting behind CAD's trying to cram all this into such small spaces. I wonder if they are directed to do this to keep us DYI out of the engine compartment. If my alternator is out I will chalk this project up to another engineer who needs to take what he designs apart over and over. He/She may just design it right. Planned Labor Obsolesence is all it is. And we wonder why the Big 3 are in trouble? However, I also have a Toyota Camry which I have not yet had the pleasure of replacing any parts. I wonder if they do the same thing--hiding parts?

 

My poor mechanic had to replace the alternator in my 02 Tribute 4 times. The first time when the original failed (150,000 miles) and the next 3 times to replace the Bosch aftermarket units that had a lifetime warranty only to fail after 3 months, then 3 weeks, then 1 week. The most recent unit has been in there for 10 months without problem -except that the battery light is always on. Think of the fun he has had pulling that half shaft out. Again and again and again.

 

Tcesni: Thank God it was just my bad battery. I have no problem changing the alternator at 150K miles. My issue has always been with the Big 3 that the quality has to be turned up. I would buy any American car that gave me 10 years or 100,000 miles. We aren't perfect, but the days the cars are built when the competition pushes warranty and quality are HERE! However, more and more people don't and wont change anything in their cars. These forums are great for videos how to change stuff etc. Before any work is done, I am on the net for a good hour getting as much info as I can. Thanks to all of you who ventured into the mess under these hoods for your help. Keep on You Tubing the videos! Maybe this forum will allow DYI videos on all the issues we see!

 

When my alternator went south at 150,000 miles it was the first time the Tribute had been to a mechanic other than scheduled maintenance. My 2000 Mustang GT has 106,000 miles and has yet to see a mechanic. I have pretty good faith in Ford's quality.

 

what OVE1 said jack up the right side take out the cvc shaft and steering stuff as need be and unbolt it put it just right throw he hole and thas it 2 1/2 hr no bigdeal 02 ford escape v6 80.xxx

 

For future reference, I followed this process and was able to get it out "fairly" easily. Only a little bit of cussing. Once you get the axle out of the way, it'll come out. You just have to keep turning it til you find the sweet spot! Finished it up in about 6 hours, but that's including an hour for dinner!
WikiAnswers - How do you replace the front wheel bearing on a 2003 Ford Escape

 

Just wanted to bump this since I used it to change my alternator today. I'm going to post up what I did, there are some changes maybe due to different year and I did a couple things different too.

DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE


1. Block the tires, set the emergency/parking brake, and put the truck up on jack stands and remove the front wheel.

2. Remove the black plastic splash shield from underneath the right side of the engine. It's held on by about 5 M8 bolts, and one Phillips head screw.

3. Remove the serpentine belt. With the cover off, from underneath you can put a 3/8" drive socket into the tensioner pulley.

3. Next you need to remove the front axle. Do it in one piece. Loosen the 32mm nut that assembles the shaft to the spindle. Back the nut off so about half the threads can be seen- you will hit the head of the nut to get it to go back through the spindle. Remove the front (15mm) and rear (I used a 3/4" but it was slightly too large) bolts holding the lower control arm to the frame. I pulled the assembly away from the truck at this time and braced it. Use a socket on the nut. This will star the process. After it started to go through I used the jack handle until the axle went back through the spindle. Now remove the 2 nuts (10mm) holding the half-shaft bearing and slide the front axle out of the trans-axle case in one piece. PLACE A CATCH CAN UNDER THE AXLE, YOU WILL LOSE FLUID!!

4. (YOU DID DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE, right?) There are 2 plastic snap clips holding the back splash guard for the alternator. A flat head screwdriver will pry these out and and if you're carefull you can reuse them. There are (3) M13's holding the alternator, two on bottom, one on top (do the top one first, it's easier to hold the alternator up to get the last bolt out. Remove these bolts and slide the alternator out of the way. (Try using different extensions and a u-joint on the ratchet, they can help in different combinations. This will also help when you are removing the alternator bracket.

5. Now, that the alternator is unbolted, you need to take off the alternator bracket. There are 3 (10mm) bolts that go from the rear into the engine block. The top can be seen from under the truck. The next one is below and the third is easily remove from the side of the car near the wheel.

6. Once the bracket is out, you can you have a little more room to get to the electrical connections. Be careful with the regulator connector, you need to push inn the tab that holds it in. I used a flat screw drive on the tab to release the lock. If you look at the new alternator and you will see a square hole in the connector where the lock engages the connector). The positive wire is held on by a 10mm nut.

Put is all back together. You will lose a little over a quart of tranny fluid so you may want to pick that up when you get the alternator.

The hardest part for me was literally unplugging the alternator. There is no extra wire so getting in there to push the tab and pull the plug was rough.

Total time from start to finish was 2hours 15minutes from the time I broke the first lugnut until I started the truck, this included a run to the auto store to empty my oil container so I could catch the tranny fluid and a 10 minute break for some water. It was about 90 degrees and very humid. I used all hand tools, no air. I'd be happy to go another 6 years and 180,000 miles before I had to replace this thing again, especially in the summer when my other truck is broken down and taking up the space in my air conditioned shop.

 

I'm trying to replace the alternator in a 2001 Escape. I have removed the drive axle, intermediate shaft and alternator mounting bracket yet I still cannot seem to get the alternator out through the space create by removing those items. From what I have read you have to position the alternator just right to fit it thru. Can anyone offer a picture or description of how this is done? I tried everything I could think of for 2 hours and I have nothing to show for it. :-)

 

I had the same dilema with mine, but I managed to roll it around enough to get it out. Seems like it comes out pulley end first and really only comes out ONE way. It's a major PIA to deal with. Going back in isn't any easier either.

 

Approximately, how much you think Ford would charge to do the job? Including of course the cost of a new alternator.