Installing '10 GT alternator in '06 GT: How to connect? Please help

Stangabe

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Hey guys, I would REALLY like your advice on the following:

I have an '06 Mustang GT and recently had to change out my alternator which had a bad diode. So after doing a lot research on the various forums I noticed a lot of people were recommending the alternator off the 2010 Mustang 4.6L. I understood that all you needed to do was ream out the O-ring that goes onto the alternator bolt and it would fit fine.

I got one off Rockauto however, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get both the O-ring and the connector to plug in at the same time. Once you fix the O-Ring in place the connector wire is too short to fit, and if you twist it in a way that both fit, the alternator will not slide into place since the wire is at a weird angle that touches part of the engine when you try to slide it in place.

Has anyone done this same mod who can help clarify this? I have the stock alternator/battery wires. I am almost ready to call the whole thing off and get a shitty auto parts store alt :'(
 

Jcg_3v94

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Hey guys, I would REALLY like your advice on the following:

I have an '06 Mustang GT and recently had to change out my alternator which had a bad diode. So after doing a lot research on the various forums I noticed a lot of people were recommending the alternator off the 2010 Mustang 4.6L. I understood that all you needed to do was ream out the O-ring that goes onto the alternator bolt and it would fit fine.

I got one off Rockauto however, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get both the O-ring and the connector to plug in at the same time. Once you fix the O-Ring in place the connector wire is too short to fit, and if you twist it in a way that both fit, the alternator will not slide into place since the wire is at a weird angle that touches part of the engine when you try to slide it in place.

Has anyone done this same mod who can help clarify this? I have the stock alternator/battery wires. I am almost ready to call the whole thing off and get a shitty auto parts store alt :'(

Can i see a picture of what your talking about ive used those alternators before


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msvela448

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Picture(s) would help....
You might have to undo the case bolts on the alternator and rotate the housing to "clock" it better.

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Stangabe

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Can i see a picture of what your talking about ive used those alternators before


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Thanks for the response!
Sorry they're not the best pictures. The problem is the connector wire doesn't reach after bolting down the o-ring. Is it a matter of cutting the wiring cover to make it reach?

thumbnail_20210113_183141.jpg

thumbnail_20210113_183157.jpg
 

Stangabe

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I appreciate the quick response!

Yeah I had seen that thread, although now I noticed a comment by JeremyH that reads "Then the pcm control connector on the new alt is in a slightly different location its same plug you just have to tweak the harness to make it reach. Very simple."

I guess that clarifies the nature of my question. How would I go about "tweaking the harness"?
 

Stangabe

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Picture(s) would help....
You might have to undo the case bolts on the alternator and rotate the housing to "clock" it better.

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Many thanks for the response!

Wow, would that be possible? That hadn't occurred to me at all.
 

07gts197

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Try removing that harness from the bundle, maybe that’ll give you enough slack.


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msvela448

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I'd just try just un-taping the harness a little to see if there's some more slack in there for the connector. That's your easiest route.

If there's not enough slack maybe you can rotate the housing to clock it. Before you try this I'd just hold it in there at a different rotation and see if that would solve the problem... If your wires would still be too short... Forget it, and start thinking about lengthening the wires. (If you are in Denver, CO..... PM me and I'll do it for you... All soldered with factory wires)

If you are going to clock the alternator:
....the front half is actually what you are clocking so the mounting points are rotated thereby causing the rear to rotate in the direction you need. The rear can't really be twisted because the plugs and stuff protrude through the housing.

Just remove the three bolts around the housing, and you might have to remove the pulley too. The housing is a pretty tight fit so you might have to wiggle and bang on it a little, or use a little bit of heat on the front portion... Nothing crazy... You should still be able to hold it... But hot. Once you get it to rotate just line up the housing bolt holes and retighten the bolts as evenly as possible.

Here's a good explanation video on clocking the alternator:

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Stangabe

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I'd just try just un-taping the harness a little to see if there's some more slack in there for the connector. That's your easiest route.

If there's not enough slack maybe you can rotate the housing to clock it. Before you try this I'd just hold it in there at a different rotation and see if that would solve the problem... If your wires would still be too short... Forget it, and start thinking about lengthening the wires. (If you are in Denver, CO..... PM me and I'll do it for you... All soldered with factory wires)

If you are going to clock the alternator:
....the front half is actually what you are clocking so the mounting points are rotated thereby causing the rear to rotate in the direction you need. The rear can't really be twisted because the plugs and stuff protrude through the housing.

Just remove the three bolts around the housing, and you might have to remove the pulley too. The housing is a pretty tight fit so you might have to wiggle and bang on it a little, or use a little bit of heat on the front portion... Nothing crazy... You should still be able to hold it... But hot. Once you get it to rotate just line up the housing bolt holes and retighten the bolts as evenly as possible.

Here's a good explanation video on clocking the alternator:

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Thanks a lot for the detailed response man! I appreciate the offer, but I'm based in LA. I'll have to mess around with it again tomorrow. Definitely will try un-taping the harness to see if that does it. I hope I don't damage the wires but I'll try to be careful. If you haven't noticed I am a total amateur! o_O The alternator reclocking would be another interesting new project for me but hopefully I doesn't come to that.
 

Forty61

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I did the same upgrade when my old alternator starting failing. I had the same problem too, reclocked the alternator and while still kinda tight it went right in.

Clocking the case on the alternator is easy, just loosen the bolts, turn the case and put the bolts back in. Don’t attempt to pull the case apart, simply rotate it and lock it back down, job done!
 

Stangabe

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I did the same upgrade when my old alternator starting failing. I had the same problem too, reclocked the alternator and while still kinda tight it went right in.

Clocking the case on the alternator is easy, just loosen the bolts, turn the case and put the bolts back in. Don’t attempt to pull the case apart, simply rotate it and lock it back down, job done!

Hi Forty61, Thanks for the feedback! That's great hearing from someone who has actually done it. I had never heard about 'clocking' an alternator previously but it seems straight forward enough. Will try it this afternoon!

I did the same upgrade when my old alternator starting failing. I had the same problem too, reclocked the alternator and while still kinda tight it went right in.

Clocking the case on the alternator is easy, just loosen the bolts, turn the case and put the bolts back in. Don’t attempt to pull the case apart, simply rotate it and lock it back down, job done!


Hey Forty61, how did you manage to rotate the case? Did you have to remove the pulley?
I took the screws out and tried to rotate the back of the case counter clockwise 90 degrees, but it won't budge one bit, even with some light rubber hammer blows.
 
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Forty61

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Hey Forty61, how did you manage to rotate the case? Did you have to remove the pulley?
I took the screws out and tried to rotate the back of the case counter clockwise 90 degrees, but it won't budge one bit, even with some light rubber hammer blows.

Interesting. I’m pretty sure I didn’t touch the pulley, just removed the bolts, spun it and put the bolts back. Perhaps I got lucky with it but I’ve clocked a couple for different cars and never had one stuck..
 

Stangabe

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Interesting. I’m pretty sure I didn’t touch the pulley, just removed the bolts, spun it and put the bolts back. Perhaps I got lucky with it but I’ve clocked a couple for different cars and never had one stuck..

I removed the 4 long case bolts as pictured. Am I missing any other screws? Did you use a hammer or you could you just rotate it by hand? Thanks


thumbnail_20210114_095722.jpg
 

msvela448

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Did you watch that video I linked? You might have to remove the pulley and tap the front tabs to loosen the slight press fit of the case halves. Then it should rotate.

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Forty61

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I removed the 4 long case bolts as pictured. Am I missing any other screws? Did you use a hammer or you could you just rotate it by hand? Thanks


View attachment 76044

That should be it and I turned mine by hand, it took me longer to find the damn socket lol. I wonder if it’s the manufacturer that makes the difference, I got a cheapie from O’Reillys.. someone posted about having to heat it to loosen it, might be worth a shot but I didn’t personally have to.
 

Stangabe

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That should be it and I turned mine by hand, it took me longer to find the damn socket lol. I wonder if it’s the manufacturer that makes the difference, I got a cheapie from O’Reillys.. someone posted about having to heat it to loosen it, might be worth a shot but I didn’t personally have to.

I do have the OEM part... Right, I may have to try heat like msvela448 suggested. Worst case I'll have to remove the pulley. I just don't have the right tool for that...

Did you watch that video I linked? You might have to remove the pulley and tap the front tabs to loosen the slight press fit of the case halves. Then it should rotate.

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Yeah, thanks for that video. It is helpful although my alternator is a little different from the one pictured. Of course the principle should be the same. So just to be sure, clocking an alternator won't do damage to any internal wiring? I just intend to rotate it counterclockwise 90 degrees.
 
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msvela448

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You won't hurt any wires... As long as you are rotating the front part closest to the pulley..... It's literally just a housing for the front bearing, and the mounting tabs.

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