You made this look easy. Even in my garage with a nice arsenal of tools required better part of a day. Changed belt too, which is a booger by itself. Appreciate your sharing this.
Great video, would not have been able to do this without it! I have a 2011 Avalon (same layout) and everything was spot on. Advice for those about to do this: watch the entire video before starting anything! If you don't, you'll miss necessary steps that the video explains later and can save you time. I can't stress enough how much the right tool for the right job is critical. We had to go to the store multiple times (back bolt was a pain so our deep socket on wrench was too deep to fit and our short socket was too shallow so couldn't get onto the bolt head (played with both 3/8 and 1/2 socket wrenches and socket combinations). Also, for the tensioner pulley, a $2-3 2-foot PVC pipe from a big home store was crucial to tighten as we used it for a breaker bar on top of our 10mm wrench (socket wrench won't fit). We actually bought two PVC pipes (one to fit over 10mm wrench head on tensioner and one for socket wrench to fully tighten lower back bolt, you need both due to spacing issues). It was a real pain to do. If I had to do it over and especially if you don't have a helper, I suggest paying to have it done at the shop. It took us two days due to running into problems and having to go buy the tools we need multiple times for each specific problem we encountered. Huge thanks to the video poster!
I was able to remove the alt w/o draining the water or removing the rad support. Here's how. Remove the heat shield over the exhaust manifold. It's held in w three small bolts. Swivel the alt and then remove the bracket in the rear of the and the alt comes out. I'd also suggest you label every bolt as you remove them because they r not interchangeable. Take photos too.
Thanks,I just did this on my 05 Avalon and it came out with a little maneuvering but nonetheless it worked great.Didn’t have to remove anything other than those 3 bolts on the exhaust shield and dipstick bolt🤘
Yes i removed the bolts for the heat sheild and the bolt for the dip stick. What would help most if folks will share what tool works for the 2006 serpentine belt release.
Good video. I took the one bolt out the bottom motor mount ,remove coolant hose remove the dog bone and jacked the motor up then you have plenty of room and dont have to mess with radiator support.
Your video surely helped. Saved my sister $$$ from dealing with the Toyota Stealership !! Would have been nice if they made a two piece cooling fan...to slide up out of the way. Also...Be sure to check that the parts lady/guy gives you the correct amp for your model. Another note...have the store bench test the replacement....Trust me...ask me how I learned !! I agree with everything the Doctor is saying..I am sure the Stealerships hate UA-cam !!! Thanks again...for the education...
Dude! I nearly broke the mounting because I didn't know about that secret 3rd little mounting bolt in the back. Stopped for the day because I was about to get a sledge hammer. I feel much encouraged for the morning's efforts. Thanks a bunch, felt really blessed to see this video. Wish I'd watched it prior to starting.
Thank you so much for this video. Your video is the only one that shows how to do this job without draining the coolant or fully removing the belt. The only thing that tripped me up is the special decoupled pulley in these alternators. It would have been nice to hear your take on making sure you get the right alternator. Thanks again, you rock!
A little late commenting on this, but I just got done doing mine at a parking lot beside the expressway in Chicago. There isn't any need to take the radiator upper tie bar off or heat shield off. Just take the radiator hose off the thermostat housing and stuff it to the side. You will lose maybe a cup or so of coolant.
Did this on my 2011 Avalon and was able to do this without removing bracket from motor. I removed the bolt that attached alternator to bracket. Gained access by removing dipstick bracket and pushed to the side. Also removed 3 bolts holding heat shield. Gave plenty of room to get that bolt.
Testing at the store is a good idea. Just did a 2008 Avalon and the alternator had a bad voltage regulator. It was a PITA to take it all apart..trust me have them do the bench test before leaving the store.
Avalons rarely ever break down. I know of 3 with over 300k miles on orig drivetrains between friends and family. I think my neighbor will need her alternator replaced soon...
Ha! Same here, will be doing this work on the Mother in Law’s Avalon also when we returned from vacation. Luckily she got it towed to her home and her nephew has verified it’s the alternator since he’s an electrician. Thanks for your video, it’ll make the R&R a little easier 👍
Thanks a ton it was encouraging to watch you do it in the parking lot right before I go out into my driveway. I was dreading it, but I'm glad now. Thanks again
Hello I replaced the battery car drive for 6 months In December all the warning lights came on the dashboard , brakes and steering locked. The car wouldn't start or respond to jump. I replaced the alternator it drove for 1 week with no problems and then I all the indicator lights flashed again. The alternator was taken out and put back in the car . The car drove with no problems for a week then something happened again. What could my possible issue? I was thinking a fuse but would have worked for a week with a bad fuse?
@@YourCarGuyDR thank you . I took to a repair shop. They said that the alternator and the battery needs to be replaced again. They said possible bad battery damaging the alternator
@@angiescott4884 that is possible. There is a ground wire block over on the passenger side. If those have become corroded it can cause a lot of issues.
YCG DR - thanks for your video! It was the maker or breaker as to whether or not I thought I could try to tackle the job myself and save some $$$. After watching your video I felt confident I could do it, and a little over two hours after getting the part it was out with the old and in with the new. Not too difficult, thanks to keeping in mind every little detail you mentioned. Cheers. If you see my comment I would like to ask where on the difficulty scale you would rate this car for water pump swap. Thanks again!
Joey Carter great job getting the alternator done. As far as the water pump goes i would rate it between 6 and 8 out of 10 for difficulty. If you go slow and take your time it’s not bad. However like most things on this engine access is limited.
14 mm wrench to release tension off belt. then slide belt off the alternator. use socket with 3in extension for third (lower) bolt. flexhead ratchet=more leverage. use a 14mm deep well socket for the flexhead ratchet (in the previous step.) take the radiator off. pop out clips; remove 6 or so bolts;detatch tab from brace. there is also a 12 mm bolt head on the radiator. wiggle alternator out. test new alternator: find a local place. no need to drain any fluids--give yourself space by following the afore mentioned steps.
I changed my alternater 07 avalon put belt back thought I put it right turn over the engine it ripped got a new belt now its loose what you think happen?
Thank you sir! This is my first time digging under the hood of a newer car (I do some tinkering on an older car with a lot more room innthe engine bay) and your explanation to do this replacement was great. The only thing missed really was the wire attached to the bracket at the back right, you mentioned it in passing but did not show on screen or how to handle it. What I ended up doing was getting the alternator mostly out and turned on its side with the pulley down, then I took off the second bolt on the bracket so the wire and the bracket stayed in the car. It was one extra thing to screw back on but avoided figuring out how to detach and reattach the wire in the cramped space. Any newbies reading this take a look at replacing the serpentine belt, you will need to detach and reattach the belt as part of this replacement so knowing how to do that will help you. Again for newbies, this was my first time outside of oil changes and brake jobs under the hood of a modern car and it took me 5 hours to do. I had help the last 2 hours so if there were a pair of us the whole time it would have only been about 3 hours. But I dropped several tools and had to fish them out, ended up taking off the underbody plastic to make thst easier, and also had to use a box wrench on the end of my ratchet handle for the lower bolt and tensioner pulley since my ratchet was not long.
Very informative. One thing to add, when putting back alternator bolts, do bottom one first. Its pain to get it on without removing thermostat housing. Also, i had to remove the tire and belt covering in order to put the belt back on...
I have the same exact car and I’m trying to figure out if my alternator has gone bad. I was in a accident a couple of weeks ago and now my car keeps going dead my dashboard lights will flash on and off and my car will to cut off slowly and then once it’s off when I try to turn it back on it does absolutely nothing but when I jump it or charge the battery for a while it cuts right on but eventually does the same thing again
Fantastic video. I did the removal at night, and unfortunately did not notice a two wire harness attached to mount bracket. Crank sensor. Still saving a bunch over having a shop do repair. Many, many thanks.
Thank you for the video. Just did this on my 08 Avalon and really struggled but got it done. Would have been way harder without your video. I appreciate you making this and posting!
I have a 2005 that had a bad alternator i took to a mechanic and he put in a new alternator but the AC compressor stopped working for some reason and the car feels jumpy now. The RPM acts weird sometimes. Does anyone have any idea why is this happening ? Please help. The mechanic didnt take out the radiator he somehow forced it out.
@@YourCarGuyDR ua-cam.com/video/85ZtdfzFypE/v-deo.html (Toyota Avalon Alternator Replacement) Approx 6 min 40 sec into the video you explain about a wire on alternator bracket , what component dose this wire run to , mine bunt off
Kelvin Aiken so to help figure this out let’s make sure we are talking about the same thing. When I speak of cranking it means that the starter engages and turns the engine but the engine does not begin to run on its own. If it doesn’t crank it means you turn the key and nothing happens at all. Depending on which it is we can work through diagnosing it fairly quickly.
@@YourCarGuyDR it tries to crank but never runs. Starter does turn the engine but does not run. Started perfect b4 I did the alternator work. Checked all fuses. None are blown.
Kelvin Aiken it sounds like one of the sensors is not connected or damaged for either the cam position sensor or the crankshaft position sensor. The bracket does not act as a ground but if the sensor is not fully plugged in it will cause your issue.
Thanks for the video. Just replaced the alternator on my daughter's Avalon this weekend. The insights into mounting bracket locations made it much easier. Didn't need to remove the hood latch. Did access the belt from the underbody cover to make it easier.
@@williamwalters9403 the same here...I use AutoZone alternators on all four of my vehicles and none of them have failed on me yet. Five years running strong. Not saying that you can't get a faulty alternator because it's electronics, electronics just give out without any notice
There’s a few things in this one that got me through it. Thanks for the video. Very helpful
You made this look easy. Even in my garage with a nice arsenal of tools required better part of a day. Changed belt too, which is a booger by itself. Appreciate your sharing this.
Great video. I ripped my crankshaft position sensor connector a loose, but i ordered a new one. Hopefully i can get it back running
Buen video, gracias por compartir tus conocimientos.
Great video, would not have been able to do this without it! I have a 2011 Avalon (same layout) and everything was spot on. Advice for those about to do this: watch the entire video before starting anything! If you don't, you'll miss necessary steps that the video explains later and can save you time. I can't stress enough how much the right tool for the right job is critical. We had to go to the store multiple times (back bolt was a pain so our deep socket on wrench was too deep to fit and our short socket was too shallow so couldn't get onto the bolt head (played with both 3/8 and 1/2 socket wrenches and socket combinations). Also, for the tensioner pulley, a $2-3 2-foot PVC pipe from a big home store was crucial to tighten as we used it for a breaker bar on top of our 10mm wrench (socket wrench won't fit). We actually bought two PVC pipes (one to fit over 10mm wrench head on tensioner and one for socket wrench to fully tighten lower back bolt, you need both due to spacing issues). It was a real pain to do. If I had to do it over and especially if you don't have a helper, I suggest paying to have it done at the shop. It took us two days due to running into problems and having to go buy the tools we need multiple times for each specific problem we encountered. Huge thanks to the video poster!
😊
Great video, big help. Moving the radiator a little was a key part of the process. The one I changed didn't have the third bracket. Thanks!
I was able to remove the alt w/o draining the water or removing the rad support. Here's how. Remove the heat shield over the exhaust manifold. It's held in w three small bolts. Swivel the alt and then remove the bracket in the rear of the and the alt comes out. I'd also suggest you label every bolt as you remove them because they r not interchangeable. Take photos too.
Nice how many miles on the car
Thanks,I just did this on my 05 Avalon and it came out with a little maneuvering but nonetheless it worked great.Didn’t have to remove anything other than those 3 bolts on the exhaust shield and dipstick bolt🤘
Yes i removed the bolts for the heat sheild and the bolt for the dip stick. What would help most if folks will share what tool works for the 2006 serpentine belt release.
Thank you for this video great help
Good video. I took the one bolt out the bottom motor mount ,remove coolant hose remove the dog bone and jacked the motor up then you have plenty of room and dont have to mess with radiator support.
Thanks a lot, you save me a lot of coolant mess & time
Fantastic, well spoken & video. Saved a ton of money doing it myself. Be even easier if you had all just the right tools!
Your video surely helped. Saved my sister $$$ from dealing with the Toyota Stealership !!
Would have been nice if they made a two piece cooling fan...to slide up out of the way.
Also...Be sure to check that the parts lady/guy gives you the correct amp for your model.
Another note...have the store bench test the replacement....Trust me...ask me how I learned !!
I agree with everything the Doctor is saying..I am sure the Stealerships hate UA-cam !!!
Thanks again...for the education...
Dude! I nearly broke the mounting because I didn't know about that secret 3rd little mounting bolt in the back. Stopped for the day because I was about to get a sledge hammer. I feel much encouraged for the morning's efforts. Thanks a bunch, felt really blessed to see this video. Wish I'd watched it prior to starting.
Thank you so much for this video. Your video is the only one that shows how to do this job without draining the coolant or fully removing the belt. The only thing that tripped me up is the special decoupled pulley in these alternators. It would have been nice to hear your take on making sure you get the right alternator. Thanks again, you rock!
Thanks for the video mate, i wasted 2 hours before watching it and had no success
A little late commenting on this, but I just got done doing mine at a parking lot beside the expressway in Chicago. There isn't any need to take the radiator upper tie bar off or heat shield off. Just take the radiator hose off the thermostat housing and stuff it to the side. You will lose maybe a cup or so of coolant.
The shop is telling me this is a 2 and 1/2 hour job... Seems like BS to me. 😔
Did this on my 2011 Avalon and was able to do this without removing bracket from motor. I removed the bolt that attached alternator to bracket. Gained access by removing dipstick bracket and pushed to the side. Also removed 3 bolts holding heat shield. Gave plenty of room to get that bolt.
sipock97 great info thank you.
Testing at the store is a good idea. Just did a 2008 Avalon and the alternator had a bad voltage regulator. It was a PITA to take it all apart..trust me have them do the bench test before leaving the store.
William B excellent advice.
Great Vid! Ty for taking the time!!
The wire that clips to the bracket where does that go I rip it out by accident
Just replace the alternator in my 2006 Toyota Avalon and your video was very helpful, thank you!
Adam Hosman I am glad it was helpful.
Avalons rarely ever break down. I know of 3 with over 300k miles on orig drivetrains between friends and family. I think my neighbor will need her alternator replaced soon...
Lowest in the room they are great vehicles and very reliable in most cases.
Now how do I clear or reset the “Check Charging System” battery light???
If that light is on your system probably isn’t charging properly.
Ha! Same here, will be doing this work on the Mother in Law’s Avalon also when we returned from vacation. Luckily she got it towed to her home and her nephew has verified it’s the alternator since he’s an electrician. Thanks for your video, it’ll make the R&R a little easier 👍
El Gato Gordo enjoy the job. Maybe you will get lucky with some cooler weather.
Your Car Guy DR Me too, she does have a tree that will produce some good shade for the R&R...
Good job man huge help
Sylus Ellis thank you I appreciate the feedback.
Thanks you gave me the confidence to try this. Only room for major error is messing with the radiator.
Just replaced mine today. Thank you for the video it helped a bunch
I just took one out last night putting the new one in today enedup doing the starter to
Thank you!! Great video
Helps me o lot thanks
Excellent! You are a great instructor!
Carolyn Buquet thank you.
Come fix my car gee
Great video! Thanks!
Thanks a ton it was encouraging to watch you do it in the parking lot right before I go out into my driveway. I was dreading it, but I'm glad now. Thanks again
Bobby Jester I appreciate the feedback. Glad the video was helpful.
Thanks. I got it out because of your video.
Glad it helped.
Hello
I replaced the battery car drive for 6 months
In December all the warning lights came on the dashboard , brakes and steering locked. The car wouldn't start or respond to jump. I replaced the alternator it drove for 1 week with no problems and then I all the indicator lights flashed again. The alternator was taken out and put back in the car . The car drove with no problems for a week then something happened again. What could my possible issue? I was thinking a fuse but would have worked for a week with a bad fuse?
It wouldn’t be a fuse but could be a bad battery cable or connection. Particularly I would check the ground or negative cable and connections.
@@YourCarGuyDR thank you . I took to a repair shop. They said that the alternator and the battery needs to be replaced again. They said possible bad battery damaging the alternator
@@angiescott4884 that is possible. There is a ground wire block over on the passenger side. If those have become corroded it can cause a lot of issues.
@@YourCarGuyDR thank you
Great video
YCG DR - thanks for your video! It was the maker or breaker as to whether or not I thought I could try to tackle the job myself and save some $$$. After watching your video I felt confident I could do it, and a little over two hours after getting the part it was out with the old and in with the new. Not too difficult, thanks to keeping in mind every little detail you mentioned. Cheers. If you see my comment I would like to ask where on the difficulty scale you would rate this car for water pump swap. Thanks again!
Joey Carter great job getting the alternator done. As far as the water pump goes i would rate it between 6 and 8 out of 10 for difficulty. If you go slow and take your time it’s not bad. However like most things on this engine access is limited.
@@YourCarGuyDR thanks for getting back so fast, much appreciated. Thinking the water pump swap is more than I could accomplish. Thanks once more.
14 mm wrench to release tension off belt. then slide belt off the alternator.
use socket with 3in extension for third (lower) bolt.
flexhead ratchet=more leverage.
use a 14mm deep well socket for the flexhead ratchet (in the previous step.)
take the radiator off. pop out clips; remove 6 or so bolts;detatch tab from brace.
there is also a 12 mm bolt head on the radiator.
wiggle alternator out.
test new alternator: find a local place.
no need to drain any fluids--give yourself space by following the afore mentioned steps.
I changed my alternater 07 avalon put belt back thought I put it right turn over the engine it ripped got a new belt now its loose what you think happen?
Check your belt tensioner.
@@YourCarGuyDR I did checked it its ok I did put the belt back now the car won't start lol
@@willpage79 is the engine cranking but not starting?
@@YourCarGuyDR I figure it out the starter went out too thanks
Thank you sir! This is my first time digging under the hood of a newer car (I do some tinkering on an older car with a lot more room innthe engine bay) and your explanation to do this replacement was great. The only thing missed really was the wire attached to the bracket at the back right, you mentioned it in passing but did not show on screen or how to handle it. What I ended up doing was getting the alternator mostly out and turned on its side with the pulley down, then I took off the second bolt on the bracket so the wire and the bracket stayed in the car. It was one extra thing to screw back on but avoided figuring out how to detach and reattach the wire in the cramped space.
Any newbies reading this take a look at replacing the serpentine belt, you will need to detach and reattach the belt as part of this replacement so knowing how to do that will help you. Again for newbies, this was my first time outside of oil changes and brake jobs under the hood of a modern car and it took me 5 hours to do. I had help the last 2 hours so if there were a pair of us the whole time it would have only been about 3 hours. But I dropped several tools and had to fish them out, ended up taking off the underbody plastic to make thst easier, and also had to use a box wrench on the end of my ratchet handle for the lower bolt and tensioner pulley since my ratchet was not long.
very helpful video!
Thank for the help
Very informative. One thing to add, when putting back alternator bolts, do bottom one first. Its pain to get it on without removing thermostat housing. Also, i had to remove the tire and belt covering in order to put the belt back on...
I enjoyed it. I’m curious is the 2013 Avalon the same procedure
Not sure but they are likely very similar.
My gf has a 2007 and they're trying to charge her $900 to replace her alternator and serpentine belt.
Michael Eastman you can save her some money.
I have the same exact car and I’m trying to figure out if my alternator has gone bad. I was in a accident a couple of weeks ago and now my car keeps going dead my dashboard lights will flash on and off and my car will to cut off slowly and then once it’s off when I try to turn it back on it does absolutely nothing but when I jump it or charge the battery for a while it cuts right on but eventually does the same thing again
take it to an autoparts store like autozone or oreilys and ask them to test the battery/alternator. They'll be able to help you diagnose it.
Fantastic video. I did the removal at night, and unfortunately did not notice a two wire harness attached to mount bracket. Crank sensor. Still saving a bunch over having a shop do repair.
Many, many thanks.
I did the same thing? How did you repair the crank sensor cord? Do you know the part I need?
Did you have a issue with it not starting after? I think it’s locked out on anti theft
I did not have any issues
Could this work for a 1996 Toyota Avalon?
Daijah Fuller should be similar.
Thank you for the video. Just did this on my 08 Avalon and really struggled but got it done. Would have been way harder without your video. I appreciate you making this and posting!
I have a 2005 that had a bad alternator i took to a mechanic and he put in a new alternator but the AC compressor stopped working for some reason and the car feels jumpy now. The RPM acts weird sometimes. Does anyone have any idea why is this happening ? Please help. The mechanic didnt take out the radiator he somehow forced it out.
M3no0osh I would check the wiring that goes to the a/c compressor. It runs right along past the alternator. Check that first.
@@YourCarGuyDR thank you so much sir i'll make sure to check that. Thanks a lot.
M3no0osh let me know what you find
there is a video of how to reset the rpm. it takes about 15 min. I had to do it when my battery went a few years ago.
The bracket wire tab you mentioned , Where dose this wire connect to ? When removing mine the wire was a dead end not connected to anything
Mike Rand let me know where in the video you are referring to and I will get you an answer.
@@YourCarGuyDR ua-cam.com/video/85ZtdfzFypE/v-deo.html (Toyota Avalon Alternator Replacement) Approx 6 min 40 sec into the video you explain about a wire on alternator bracket , what component dose this wire run to , mine bunt off
Mike Rand I believe that the wire you are referring to runs to either the a/c or one of the sensors on that side of the engine.
How long did it take you to do it?
halzton78 plan for about 1-2 hours.
I have the same Avalon and I am going to do this tomorrow. I was hoping you had a way around removing the radiator stuff but I guess not.
therrell lyon unfortunately it is a tough job with not a lot of room.
Your Car Guy DR thanks. I'm not worried about it I was just hoping you had a nifty trick that might work.
therrell lyon I wish I did. It wasn’t a fun repair to do on a hot day.
Great job. I did mine and now the car won't start. You got any ideas.
Kelvin Aiken does the starter engage and the engine turn over?
@@YourCarGuyDR yes the car just won't crank. I also left the bottom bracket bolt off. Is that a ground for the crank shaft sensor
Kelvin Aiken so to help figure this out let’s make sure we are talking about the same thing. When I speak of cranking it means that the starter engages and turns the engine but the engine does not begin to run on its own. If it doesn’t crank it means you turn the key and nothing happens at all. Depending on which it is we can work through diagnosing it fairly quickly.
@@YourCarGuyDR it tries to crank but never runs. Starter does turn the engine but does not run. Started perfect b4 I did the alternator work. Checked all fuses. None are blown.
Kelvin Aiken it sounds like one of the sensors is not connected or damaged for either the cam position sensor or the crankshaft position sensor. The bracket does not act as a ground but if the sensor is not fully plugged in it will cause your issue.
Thanks for the video. Just replaced the alternator on my daughter's Avalon this weekend. The insights into mounting bracket locations made it much easier. Didn't need to remove the hood latch. Did access the belt from the underbody cover to make it easier.
Hey my battery is dropping in voltage after driving for an extended period of time, could it be my alternator, thanks?
Joshua Brazezicke take a multimeter put it on volts and put the leads to the battery. should have 14 vots if not alt bad
Autozone alternator ? Good Luck my friend ! You will do again soon !
I have replaced many parts and used autozone parts and they have not failed yet,90% of the time it is the installers error
@@williamwalters9403 the same here...I use AutoZone alternators on all four of my vehicles and none of them have failed on me yet. Five years running strong.
Not saying that you can't get a faulty alternator because it's electronics, electronics just give out without any notice
My wrench is stuck on the tensioner bolt and cant get it off 😡😠😩
CreativeMinds Show that is not fun. This usually results in the use of many choice words. Try prying it off with a long screwdriver or pry-bar.
Got it. Used some xlr cable to pull it back and managed to wedge a flat head and hit it out.
Good vid it helped
Switch from 12 point to 6 point combination wrenches for automotive work.