PoBoy

And boy was it messed up. Once I got it out, I gave it a little shake...it's worse than a baby rattle. Prolly has several bad bearings in there along wiht some pebbels and sand. Anyway, this solved a very loud and annoying engine whine. Im purring like a lion again. I was worried that it was just a bad engine swap I did a few months ago...

Quick Writeup:
The replacement is pretty basic (not as easy as it should be though). Unplug everything (2 sets of plugs) and disconnect the ground on your battery. First remove the bottom mounting bracket nut. Follow that bolt back to where it connects to a second bolt/screw (slide bolt). Loosen that screw and you will notice the alternator belt loosen as well (notice its position for when you put it back on). Remove the belt. Remove both top and bottom mounting bolts. Wiggle, jiggle and pry off alternator (I had to use a good amount of force and a hammer).

Take new alternator, connect the wires (not battery though). Sqeeze it into the top mount bracket (required a good amount of banging to get into place). Insert top mounting bracket bolt and tighten but not completely. Insert bottom mount bolt(bolt connected to slide bolt). Place nut on bolt but do not tighten. Place belt on alternator (may require loosening of slide bolt). Tighten slide bolt till belt is as tight as other engine belts. Tighten 2 mounting bolts. COnnect ground to battery. Fire her up and listen to her purr...

It would have been quite simple had we not unknowingly pushed down the bottom mounting bracket. For a good 2 hours we thought the replacement alternator was too small. We attempted to loosen the bottom bracket, but the bolt was damn hard to get to and was on super tight. Luckily I kept my waterlogged blown engine in my basement. We examined the engine and found that it was infact impossible to losen the bolt, but it was fairly easy to just bang the bottom bracket back up into place thanks to my body lift. Problem solved.

Tips:
Lube up the top mounting bracket. It's very tough to sqeeze the new alternator in there. I had to use a hammer to get it in there.

Be careful not to bump the bottom bracket, but is fairly easy to bump back into place (if you have a body lift).

You may have to wait on removing the plugs till after you get the alternator out...it quite difficult to reach back there and pull them out.

There are 3 bolt to loosen, 2 are just connected to each other, but require both loosend to remove belt and then alternator.

Cebby

Was it a stock replacement alt or a high amp model?

PoBoy

I got one from Adv Auto Parts (Autozone clone). Its a "stock replacement" but $150 cheaper than a Toyota and I got a lifetime waranty with it (well I get 2 free replacemtns). I was going to get a high amp one, but $360 was too much considering Im taking out all of my electronics save winch and lights. I figure if I burn this one up and the 2 free replacements...a good amount of time will have passed and a cheaper alternative will be out. Im sure 3 new alternators will last me several years even if I left in all my crap including my second battery (deep cell yellowtop).