2008 - 2016 Toyota Highlander / Lexus RX350 Alternator Replacement 3.5 V6
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- In this D.I.Y. how to video. I walk you through installing a new alternator in your 2008 - 2016 Toyota Highlander / Lexus RX350 with 3.5 liter v6. If you find this video Helpful subscribe, I put out a repair video every week.Thanks for watching, see you in the next video.
link to alternator - amzn.to/2UCTLIp
link to the belt tool used - amzn.to/2BKiQYV
Disclaimer:
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Thanks for posting video! Video would have more helpful if done during the day. Tips I learned myself and am passing along. I have a 2012 Highlander with 120K miles. Petcock is on driver's side of radiator. I tilted radiator fans 90 degrees upward and towards battery to get more room. I did this first and it gave me more room to work. I did NOT remove thermostat housing pipe or idler pulley. A lower cable that held onto lower alternator bracket gave me the most problem. After wasting 2 hours trying to get it loose, I tapped out plastic tab from the backside and used a zip tie to hold it on afterwards. I DID use a 1/4" drive rachet with a 14MM socket to get lower alternator bolt out. I marked underside push tab locations with White Out. I had only 2 push tabs. I highly recommend using a 1/8" allen wrench to hold tensioner pulley in an untensioned position. Way easier to get belt back on later. I replaced serpentine belt just in case. Hope this helps someone! It would have helped me!
all if it was great, but 5:31, where you pointed out using the compressor bracket as a guide,...THAT was the most important part of the video, IMO. Every other video pointed out the nightmare of finding that bracket. You were the only person who showed how to overcome the mysterious hidden nut/bracket. Thank you.
You're welcome.
Thank you
Thank you Toyota engineering for managing to make this task so easy! Said no mechanic ever!!
Keep up the GREAT videos. After watching this, I decided to take on the replacment myself instead of taking it into the shop and saved myself over $700!!! I appreciate the motivation
Cool
Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. I jumped a two battery ford diesel with my Highlander and fried the Alternator yesterday. I tried to help someone and screwed myself. Broke down on the interstate. Had to get towed home. Needed my car working by Monday and your video helped me make that happen. I did things slightly different, but I never would have found that nut on the support bracket. Thanks again.
Great video. Shows all the steps and all the BS as well.
I am replacing the water pump, belt and tension, etc. I'm going to go ahead and do this too, because why not. It'll be worth it not to have to take all of this apart again.
Thanks. Be careful pulling off the upper radiator hose, I broke the radiator removing it. If I was to do it again, I would have cut it off and replaced it.
@@GrimRepair OK. I was thinking about replacing the hoses anyway. I'll go ahead and plan for that.
Thank you for showing me how much I am going to hate my life doing this. It’s 20 degrees out, two hours before a foot of snow is going to come down. Greatful for the info.
You're welcome. Sorry about your life. Knowing where that 3rd bolt is will save you a ton of time.
Take the cooling fans out First, and you can wiggle alternator out by smooshing lower radiator hose out of the way. (without removing thermostat housing-I just did it)
Can anyone tell me what the black and white wire behind alternator on block attached to the bracket goes to
@@geraldchasteen1123 Did you ever figure this out? I need know as I accidently ripped the wire out of the plug removing the alternator.
Helpful video. Finished this yesterday. Had to remove the strut to motor mount to allow tensioner tool to swing enough, 15min.
Placing a bit of adhesive in the 10mm socket helps to keep the nut in place on the hidden thermostat nut.
Just wanted to share in hopes it helps someone We were having such a hard time getting the infamous 3rd bolt off… took the Heat exhaust Insulator shield manifold and was able to see it and get to it without having to remove fans or idler pulley, thermostat housing etc… thanks for the video
Did you get the alternator out without removing the fans, idler pulley and thermostat?
Just completed this yesterday. Thanks to your video I completed in one day. Much thanks especially for that 3rd bolt locating shot. You nailed it. Subbed
Thanks.
At first I was like wow, this guy knows how to remove the alternator without removing the fan.. 😆
Thankyou for showing me how!!!! The belt diagram really helped me too!
You're welcome, thanks for watching.
Thanks for the video, I would never have attempted to do this without it. I just replaced the alternator on my 2013 Highlander. I purchased the alternator from the dealership. It was about the same price as other retailers. I had a couple of notes. 1. I had to remove the battery to get access to a bolt so I could remove the air duct that goes to the air filter box. 2. When I tried to install the dreaded 3rd alternator bolt, I found that the bracket did not line up well at all with the hole. Although you can see from under the car, I put a webcam down there so I could see better and jiggled the alternator until it did line up. 3. I removed the passenger front wheel to get access to the tensioner pulley. 4. When removing the idler pulley, there is a washer at the end that will fall off if you are not careful. 5. The tensioner pulley is a left hand thread but the idler pulley is a right hand thread. 5. First thing I did was drain the radiator using the drain cock at bottom of radiator on drivers side.
Wow man thanks for this break down!
Awesome! Alternator just went out. Your video just saved me at the dealer. Great instructional video 👍.
Thank you Grim Repair My fun begins this week ! I had a feeling it was going to be a bit of a project !!
Thanks for showing me that, in this cold, there's no way I'm attempting to remove all those things with my tool set. Guess my buddy is gonna make some money.
It isn't a fun job.
just got into a similar fix today...after fighting for >3 hours to get the alternator out I found your video and realized the fan shroud does in fact have to come out. Gonna try to finish tomorrow... which I see it took you at least an extra day too.
Yeah, they sold us the wrong alternator. The radiator also broke where the upper hose is plumbed.
@@GrimRepair had trouble getting my new alt back in...almost seems like the span for the mounts aren't wide enough
@@dustonthewind3748 I can't remember exactly how the highlanders alternator is set up, I have had to us a c clamp and press the nuts in farther on some alternators.
@@GrimRepair yeah I was about to stick it in my vise but yeah a c-clamp should work too
@@GrimRepair got it all finished earlier today... I'd still be fighting it if not for this video and your tip about the c-clamp. Thank you so much!
Seriously, thank you for posting this. Your vid has saved me a lot of frustration.
Good to hear, thanks for watching. Finding that bolt on the bracket took me a while.
So awesome, thanks so much for making this video, you literally saved me a grand from the stealership! !!
You're welcome.
Thanks for taking the time to show us how it’s done
Happy to help
You are a life saver, can't thank you enough bro.
Do you have any torque specs for the alternator, idle pulley, and thermostat housing bolts/nuts?
Everything about this car is difficult. Did water pump- pain in the butt. Control arms- pain in the butt. Alternator- pain in the butt. This is not an easy car to work on. Can’t say it’s not reliable though. 308000 miles.
Thank You for taking the time to post!
I didn't remove cooling fans, just pulled thermostat housing and pully, if you minipulate the alternator in the far left corner it will come out.. If you lean down and look through the grill you can see the other hard to see bolt on the thermostat housing. Also I found by tightening the main two alternator bolts the back bracket bolt was easier to restart, for some odd reason no matter what I did I couldn't get the bracket bolt to restart with the two other bolts loose.
I am trying to do a big three upgrade to my 2008 Highlander limited with this motor and I'm trying to figure out the positive and negative nuts on the alternator.
I assume the positive nut is the one that is covered by the rain guard and wired up already but which nut is the negative for the ground wire?
I don't think there is a negative wire. The case is metal and bolted to metal.
@@GrimRepair Okay thanks! I kind of figured but I have heard several references to a negative post, connection etc when doing research for the big three. I guess the battery just needs to be grounded to the alternator casing as well as the chassis. Can use any of the bolts on the backside of the alternator probably.
Appreciate the reply! After watching the video, I hope I never have to replace the alternator...
@@snauspockets9924 Replacing the alternator sucks. The negative battery cable should be bolted to the motor, and there should also be a ground from the engine to the body. If you beef those up you should be grounded fine.
What about the tension on the serpent belt? Do we need to remove that first to be able to remove the tension off the belt?
It keeps tension on the belt. You need to release the tension to slide the belt off. you don't remove the tensioner to get the belt off, it moves.
I am moving the tensioner at 0:45
How long is the process? Is it the same for 2015 Highlander 3.5 le?
Yes the thumbnail is incorrect. This is for 2008-2016. Knowing where that third bolt is, is key I showed it location as best I could. If you are fairly good with your hands and find that bolt quickly this could be done in 2.5-3 hours. I had 4 hours of footage that I condensed down into this video. A lot of that time was spent trying to find that third bolt and figuring out bolt sizes.
I found the third bolt
So did you leave the thermostat out?
No.
@@GrimRepair ok guess I missed the part where you put the new1 in and left the old1 up by the windshield.
Well Done!. I would let you work on my car, and I let no one work on my car.
Thanks.
That's a job better meant for the day time
I agree, half of it was. After I got the alternator out I realized they got the wrong one, I had to come back the next chance I got. If only I could schedule when things break.
I got it almost out and it got dark quit for the day lol
@@tacos4uce yeah tell me about it. the parts store gave me the wrong part so it was a 2 day project.
Hey we never plan to be out in the dark 🙄.. glad I’m not the only one who knows the pain!
Question, when you put the belt back on do you have to put it back to a specific tension spec by adjust a knob or tensioner or just pop it on over the pulley?
It has a spring loaded tensioner. So as long as your tensioner is good, you just pop it back on.
First and foremeost thanks so much for leading the way for this "more difficult than it needs to be" job... ur insight really helped. On another note, how on earth did u get that wire back on that bracket? On my 2011 Highlander there doesnt seem to be nearly as much room as u have appear to have
I believe it just clips on, if we are thinking of the same wire. Sometimes the clips can break. If you can't get a new clip you could use a zip tie.
@@GrimRepair yes same wire - there is a clip but no way I could possibly get my hand back there whatsoever. I was thinking about trying to get a wire tie back there somehow... thanks so much!
Do you think the alternator pulley can be changed without removing the alternator?
No.
Ok thanks 👌
Great video, this helped me. Thanks!!
About how long would you say this job takes? I had a mechanic tell me 4.5 hours and it seemed excessive to me.
I don't think that's excessive.
4.5hrs is from the labour time guide. It's accurate if all goes well.
How long did it take you
3- 4 hours they gave us the wrong alternator, and it took a long time to figure out where that third bolt was. I also thought it would come out without removing a lot of the stuff I ended up pulling. I think with the help of this video it should shave off at least an hour.
Ah! Is that why the service information says to remove the front bumper for alternator replacement because there is no room to get the alternator out?
Idk if removing the bumper would help.
Very nice video! Thank you.
Thanks. I did it!. And that bracket! Just F that bracket on the backside!
You can say that again, took me way too long to find it.
very educational and very dark😂
What’s the amp for the alternator?, I get to options. 100 or 150amps
Idk. They are probably the same other than that. If you need more power get the bigger one, if you don't get the stock one.
I have the towing package and winter package on my base model 2008. It needs the 150 amp unit. Just call the parts department at dealer, give them the VIN and they can tell you which one. I compared their cost to some other options and it wasn’t that different so I just got mine there. The same was true for the serpentine belt so I got it there too.
To find out what size alternator you need, give your VIN number to the Toyota Dealer Parts Person and they can tell you what size alternator your vehicle has. My 2012 Highlander was 150 amp because it has the Tow Prep Package.
There is no issue getting the higher amperage alternator, just don't go lower.
Thank you for your video 🙏👍
You're welcome. Happy to help.
Thank you so much
Ok you right this is horrible. Glad to have a subaru beside the sparkplugs that are a pain in the ass it much better to work on ahah
Please help! Autozone sold me a bad alternator so I had to pull it back out and the bracket snagged that cable run underneath that goes over the top of the compressor and under the back bracket. Broke the plastic and 2 wires that go back past the alternator. I don't know what they do or what that connector is called but I need to get that fixed before I can proceed.
Can you post a time stamp of what plastic and 2 wires you are talking about? if the plastic you're talking about is the plug they call it a "What ever its plugged into pigtail." You might be able to order it online, but you will probably have to get it from the dealer and solder the wires back together.
@@GrimRepair At time stamp 6:20, you are removing the back bolt from the bracket on the rear of the alternator. There is part of the harness that is clipped into that bracket and has silver tape over it. It goes under the alternator and top of the compressor to a plug on the side of compressor. Mine broke right at that plug.
@@thomasrahbar5855 If it plugs into the compressor, then it sounds like you will need the compressor clutch pigtail, and will need to solder it back onto the harness.
It may also be the ac pressure sensor if it plugs in to the compressor.
@@thomasrahbar5855 The parts department at a Toyota dealer will have diagrams and best be able to tell you which connector you need.
Be honest I’m about to do this job. Did you accidentally break the radiator removing the upper hose? I notice it was broken then at the end of the video a new radiator was installed. I don’t want to try and save a little money then end up spending more
Yes, good eye. I would cut the upper hose off and just replace the hose. Skip pulling it off, the radiator might come with it.
On the other hand, though if the radiator is that brittle it may break down the road,leaving you stuck somewhere.
If it does break you will have saved enough doing it yourself to pay for the radiator.
ua-cam.com/video/XiCzu1pma98/v-deo.html
Got the job done, lucky had no issues with the hose. Great video saved me a bunch of time and money
@@teenahnewell1635 Good to hear!
Please tell what an honest shop would charge me. Thank you rob
Its hard to tell you a price because they could be all over the place for legitimate reasons. I would not be surprised if a reputable shop charged around $700 for this. Just remember there are a lot of variables like where you live, condition of the car, if they use a new or reman part. It would also be a good idea to replace the belt and hoses and thermostat while they are in there.
The first thing I’m asking myself is why is the coolant draining out of the bottom of this Highlander. I have two Highlander’s and neither one require draining the coolant to get to the alternator. Are you sure that’s necessary?
I drained the coolant because I have had coolant leak onto pulleys before that lead to squeaks that don't go away. When you remove the thermostat coolant will leak out.
@@GrimRepair - but you didn’t remove the thermostat right? The thermostats on the right side of the engine at least from my 04 Highlander
Different design I guess. Good job getting it out and replaced
can not see what do you doing
Sorry can't schedule the break downs. Figured this video is more helpfull then nothing. It has the best shot of that hard to find bracket bolt in all the land.
Looks like you spent 3 days on this bc its light then night a few times. I hope to be rich enough in the future to pay someone to do this for me.
Yeah me too. It took 2 days because the parts store gave us the wrong alternator and the radiator broke when I removed the upper hose. If everything went well and I knew where that 3rd bolt was this would have been about a 2.5 hour job.
This was the worst alternator replacement I have had to do.
It might of been easier to take out the entire engine. Lol.
It was a pain, but I would leave the motor in. Figuring out where that third bolt is was the hardest thing, so I tried to show where it was the best I could.
@@GrimRepair I Wish I had read this comment yesterday LOL, I bet there's a "me too" club for this subject!
@@walterwolf2027 Did you remove the engine?
This is more complicated than on an audi 3.0 tfsi. And it's toyota...lol
It did suck.
WHY WOULD THEY BURRY IT!
It burried underneath all the extra fun.
👍
Hard work 😓
Worst alternator I've done.
Sucks didnt show the tensioner and how to take off the belt
This looks looks like a pain in the arse.
It was.
Why the fuck did you do this in the dark
I work 2 jobs and this is when I had time to do it.
Too much work…
It is a pain.
Im not sure but im thinking that next to you is your mother. I love how after the 1st night she was the new forman on this job. Because she was tires that her car was not ready yet.
Yeah. She got the wrong alternator, or it would have been done.
@@GrimRepair She didn't get the wrong alternator, she was givin the wrong alternator.
@@0OMG Right.
How many days it took haba😅
2 because we got the wrong part.