Mitsubishi L200 Alternator Removal.
This is for the old body variety nominally 1997-2006 vintage.
After 120,000 miles it is likely that the brushes on the alternator will have worn down. There is typically little warning, perhaps a hint that the ignition light took a little longer to go out, or in my case the radio stopped working and the volt-meter was showing 5 volts before the solenoid on the injector pump finally let go and I came to a slow stop.
Thankfully brushes are cheap and easily obtained. There are many YouTube videos on how to dismantle your alternator, but I could only see a single reference on a website saying that you needed to remove the oil filter to remove the alternator from the engine compartment.
On most cars removing the alternator is a simple job. For this vehicle, the manual says:
Under Cover Removal
1.Drive bolt (for A/C)
2.Drive belt (for power steering)
3.Drive belt (for alternator)
4.Oil pipe connection
5.Oil return hose connection
6.Vacuum hose connection
7.Alternator
Some of these are unnecessary and a load more things have to be done to remove the alternator from the engine compartment.
1.Remove negative battery terminal
2.Remove air filter and box
3.Remove rubber hose from air box to turbo
4.Remove oil filter
5.Remove actuator for exhaust waste-gate
This should now look like:
And close-up:
The photos were taken after the alternator was removed, but you can now see the space we have to pull the alternator clear. There is insufficient room to remove from below due to the alternator bracket and suspension/cross-member parts.
After removing both sump guards, from below we can now:
1.Slacken and remove tensioner and remove alternator drive belts
2.Remove banjo for oil feed connection. Ensure both copper washers are retained.
3.Remove oil return hose
4.Remove vacuum hose connection, easiest is to release clip and pull off rigid pipe rather than under banjo.
We also need to remove the wire to the oil pressure switch to help clear the offending cables and other pipes. This is all very oily messy work from oil left in the return hose and feed pipes.
Finally the alternator and vacuum pump can be split:
It is quite simple to separate the alternator and I will leave this for you to find on YouTube how this can be done. You will also need a modest duty soldering iron to remove the old brushes and to fit new ones.
Good luck!
© Mike Perkins 15/05/2104