Can anyone give me some suggestions on the easiest way to replace the alternator on my 98 F150. I have the 4.6L V8 engine and the alternator looks like it is hard to get to in order to get it out.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Start by removing the negative battery terminal. Then remove the plastic cover over the throttle body so you can remove the big air intake hose that runs between the air filter and the throttle body. Once you have that out of the way the alternator is easy to see. Pry up on the belt tensioner to remove the belt. Pay close attention to the belt routing and look on the fan shroud to see if there is a diagram that shows the belt routing. Next remove the 2 bolts on the front of the alternator and the 2 that hold the brace to the back of it. After the alternator is loose you can remove the wiring to it. Like the manuals say.....assemble in reverse order

 

The alternator on my '97 F150 Supercab 4.6L Windsor
went kaput yesterday. I bought an alternator and
borrowed the serpentine belt tensioner kit from Autozone.
Everything was going alright until the right front
Alternator retaining bolt wouldn't come loose. It
is frozen solid. I busted 6 sockets trying to break it
loose. Please help with suggestions on what
to do. I soaked the bolt area with WD-40 and
another penetrating petroleum distillate lubricant.
I'm going to exchange the lifetime socket set, but will
look for a very heavy duty single socket with thick
walls. Is there anything else you can suggest?
I can't quite seem to come at it straight on,
another wheel is in the way, and the breaker
bar can't reach it because it has a half inch long piece
of bar hanging off the end of it after the fitting.
Please help.

Joe Finn, because they are heavy duty?
Good grip? My friend at work said when he had
that problem with one of his alternators,
he heated the bolt up and it came loose.
Thanks for the advice. I'll look for one of those today.

 

You might try a socket designed for air tools.

 

Went and picked up some high impact
sockets. Hope it works and doesn't strip
the bolt off now! Thanks again.

 

Got the bolt loose. Put in the new 130 amp
alternator. The truck runs great again.
The brushes were worn way down.
The transmission works better, the ujoints
don't make that noise anymore, it affected
everything. The check engine light reset when
I took the cable off the battery, but then came back
on. I'll get the code read tonight. Not quite there,
but running alot better. Thanks Joe, worked like a charm.