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[a2reed]

Following a loud whiring noise from the engine bay, with help from this forum I tracked down the culprit....using a long screwdriver pressed hard against my ear and touching the other end on various parts of the engine while running ... it became clear that the loudest spot was the alternator indicating the bearings had gone. So I decided to change it ... here's how I did it

Firstly, it is important to  disconnect the battery before tacking this task, as we are going to be removing the wiring from the back of the alternator, and also using tools in this area, so go ahead and disconnect the battery negative terminal, tucking it well out of the way so it can't move and make contact with the terminal during work.

Remove the 3 electrical connections to the bagpipe set up .. the first two are the air intakes shown here



And then the one behind half way down at the back


Next loosen off the jubilee clips that hold the air intake connections first the two here





And  then this one here ...






It helps to loosen the clips at the other end of the pipe as well so that they can be rotated out of the way as seen above





And also the breather pipe here





The whole "bagpipe" assembly as it is known is held in place by two bolts (10mm) one at the front next to the radiator and one next to the air filter box





It is now a question of some jiggerypokery to coax the bagpipes out of the engine bay



Next completely remove the bagpipe arrangement to give you working space

[a2reed]

Next with the bagpipes removed you can get to the Aux Belt - Slip a socket on the tensioner and turn clockwise to unload the tension allowing the belt to be slipped off



At this point it would be wise to remove the air filter box to gain better access.... it pulls out no bolts... important in this case as my car has cruise control and you can see the unit arrowed here is difficult to get to otherwise ...this also needs to come out to get to the Alternator rear bolt



Next go under the car and remove the 4 bolts holding the plastic radiator bottom cover



From the underneath you can now get to the bottom bolt of the Alternator - From memory I think it was a 15mm bolt and a torx head ... I found that an 11mm ring spanner fitted the torx head really well


When it comes to the top bolt the 11mm spanner at the back was the only way to get to it without removing the starter motor - anyway it held it enough to be able to undo the other end if you see what I mean

[a2reed]

Next slide the electrical trunking out of the way to get access to the rear bolt





Next undo the electrical terminals on the back ... I found it easier to remove these after carefully dropping the Alt out of the car and holding it in my hand...access was much easier but don't let the Alt dangle on cables


Finally lift clear the old unit and here is the new (secondhand from the OOF) ready to go in ... refit is a lot easier than removal and is quite a straight forward reversal.

As a tip, you will note that there is a set of sliding shims which form part of the alternator casting, tap these out slightly with a hammer before re-fitting. This will ensure the mounts are a loose fit on the engine block casting, the shims will then re-adjust as the fixing bolts are tightened.

Also, ensure that the mounting bolts pass through the cast engine block mounts or you will experience difficulty in re-fitting the aux belt.