Used this video to successfully change the alternator in my 2003 Toyota Camry! Thanks so much! I've done a lot of work to my car over the years, and I have a lot of confidence and experience with it, but the alternator replacement might have been one of the biggest undertakings. Just some advice from my experience to anyone who might also attempt this: Having a friend or using a free hand to support the alternator while you're removing the longer of the two bolts might save you from having the experience I had. While I was removing the bolt, it broke! Because of this, my alternator was sort of stuck in place and couldn't be removed. Luckily only a little piece of the bolt was holding everything in place. After an hour of looking into the different options, I ended up chiseling away the nut on the other end and using pliers to grip the piece of the bolt and screw it out. Be very careful if you have to do this. I didn't end up stripping anything - but I think I was just lucky. It could have happened for a number of reasons, but one reason might have been the amount of pressure on the bolt since the alternator wasn't being supported anywhere else. Thus, why it might be helpful to have an extra hand supporting it. I needed to get a replacement bolt and one Advanced Auto store sold me the wrong one. It was the right length, but the thread size was off. Luckily the other Advanced Auto store in town had exactly what I needed. If you need new bolts, bring them along to the store with you to compare! Because I had to mess around with getting the remaining bit of the bolt out, my belt completely fell off somewhere in the process. It took a helping hand, a coat hanger, and a diagram, but I got it back on. Just try your best to keep it on all the components so you only have to slip it over the alternator when you're done! Finally, after I got the alternator in, the car still wouldn't start. I checked the alternator fuse, and I hoped that the starter wasn't the culprit, as it had just been replaced a year ago. I used a battery charger to charge the battery, and after patiently waiting and trying to start the car a few times, the car finally started up and ran very smoothly after roughly 2 days of sitting on the charger. All in all: - Be careful and move slowly - Make sure you have all the tools you need ahead of time (Advanced Auto actually lets you borrow certain tools) - Try getting a friend to help you out - Take as many breaks as you need to in order to not get discouraged - You can do this!! Oh and watch out for the bit of plastic on the wire harness that you have to remove. It could easily crumble on you like it did with me. I guess I didn't realize that plastic clip was holding everything together, or I would have been more careful. A lot of those plastic clips - like the ones connecting to your spark plug cores - will deteriorate over time.
I haven't started taking out my alternator yet. I'm a person with absolutely no mechanical experience. I've watched about ten different videos of how to do it and now feel confident enough that I can actually do it. I can't tell you how appreciative I am by reading your comment, it will really make me be a lot more careful then I would have been without it.
@@alfredsmalley25 how'd it go? This will be my 2nd time changing an alternator. It took me a while to build up the courage the first time around on my honda odyssey, which was a MUCH more difficult alternator to reach; and, although there were a few problems along the way, I did it successfully. Pretty awesome. Thank you to the creator of this video and the comment with side tips. Will be changing out my camry's alternator this weekend.
Followed your video for my ‘04 Camry and easily got mine switched out in less than two hours! Thanks from someone who hardly knows anything about cars!
Thanks for such a great explanation. I swapped out my alternator in a Advance Auto parking lot because of this video. The video is straight to the point and does the job. Big thank you!
That was a great explanation straight to the point . I grew up around my Dads shop he is no longer here . But this lady was able to get it done . Thank you !!!!
Really good video, straight to the point. No issues taking out old. You must be a magician to keep that belt in place, because that's where I had the headache (when removing old alternator the belt didn't stay in place so have to reroute that belt again). Have the new bolted on, but now I will be exploring another exciting video in the best way to reroute the belt. I'll get her done.
Ya sound like a military guy and a family man . Cool video especially that it was well lit and no annoying music drowning out what your saying . Very detailed information for a quick job .
yes sir lol 6 years in the air force. yeah i have a bunch of amateur videos with music in the background back in the old days lol. ive evolved the more videos i did. Thank you very much for the feedback.
Excellent video! Loved you had the socket sizes and torque settings. I couldn’t slip the belt back on as easy as you did. I had to put the belt on the alternator first then slip it over the pulley behind it. Thank you!
Thank you. Yeah I've noticed a lot of people commenting the same thing about the belt. lol After I re watched it, I didn't see anything different, the only thing I can think of was maybe they got as slightly bigger belt in the past.
VERY GOOD! This is the BEST video presentation! Thoroughly complete 💯% I couldn't see the 12mm bolt underneath. The other guy skipped over it. After, it was clear that he broke it and didn't even talk about it. You ROCK!
although i was not successful at alternator replacement last night, i thought this was one of the better videos, if not the best, for presenting the procedure for the said camry models. i got to the latter stage only to realize i cannot fit a 12 mm socket to remove the alternator's bottom bolt. right now, looking into getting a 6 point box wrench set to alleviate this rare clearance issue which i have not seen in any other how to video. kudos for the neat presentation.
@@hyr0llr there's a metal rod that almost kisses the 12 mm bolt. closest resemblance at 3:23 -- it looks like that vertical rod like structure left of the 12 mm bolt but instead of continuing downwards, the rod's end curves toward the 12 mm bolt. the spacing between the rod and 12 mm bolt can barely fit a 1/4 drive's handle end and will not even fit a standalone 12 mm socket whether it's 1/4 or 3/8 based. come to think of it, even if i were to loosen the 12 mm, the rod would physically touch the bolt, preventing the bolt's pull out. the rod is rigid perhaps due to being part of the engine.
@@flintfuentes7652 thats a weird setup. you can se at 3:38 i have my hole hand on the bolt and finger gap all around to unthread by hand. i doubt its something on the engine to purposely interfere with that bolt, cuz then access for service would not exist. but ill take your word for it. Just to clarify, you do have the same model and engine size. (im just trying to cover the bases) if you do find a video with your same setup, please link it, i would like too get a visual of it. thank you
@@flintfuentes7652 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_OYx4o78Ees.html at 2:52 are you sure your on the gold one and not the one with the torx stud?
@@hyr0llr i have a hunch on what's happening to the 2003 camry 2.4L. the metal rod seems to be a bracket for seating an electrical wire based on three observations. one, the rod is hollow underneath. two, the electrical wire is dangling adjacent the serpentine and has its housing partially shaved off. three, water pump replacement -- one of the last works done on this car by a shop -- involves displacement of this bracket (alluded by your torx stud). in a nutshell, the bracket is upside down. so now, i'm realizing my only way to replace the alternator is to remove the water pump pulley so i can right side up the bracket in order to get access to the alternator's 12 mm bolt. assuming no other surprises along the way, i should be golden like your video. admittingly, i'm tapped out for now, so i'm going to take a break from this task. here's a snapshot of my can of worms: drive.google.com/file/d/1i6AMPw-Opc6hidWS3SJ-XLBDrPZYj_4Q/view?usp=share_link
Thank you for this helpful video! I am always using RU-vid for BMW maintenance and repair videos. I work on my BMW alot but have never had to do anything on my Toyota, because they are so reliable! I can’t believe how simple and easy replacing the alternator is on this Camry!! On a BMW, removing the intake manifold to get to a single bolt, with no room to work, is pretty common. Also, I love how you have a bottle of Crown with your tools!
Als jemand, der regelmäßig sein Auto wartet und Reparaturen selbst durchführt, bin ich auf deinen RU-vid-Kanal gestoßen, Rolando Robles. Ich muss sagen, dass deine Videos äußerst nützlich sind und du eine hervorragende Arbeit leistest. Eines der Dinge, die ich an Toyotas wirklich schätze, ist ihre einfache Wartung und Reparatur im Vergleich zu deutschen Autos. In deinem Video-Guide zur Wechsel des Alternators beim Toyota Camry 02-06 hast du das auf beeindruckende Weise demonstriert. Du erklärst jeden Schritt klar und präzise, und es war ein Kinderspiel, den Alternator in meinem Toyota Camry auszutauschen, dank deiner detaillierten Anleitung. Ich finde es besonders bemerkenswert, dass du nicht nur den Wechsel des Alternators zeigst, sondern auch eine Fülle anderer Video-Anleitungen anbietest, die sich mit verschiedenen Reparaturen und Wartungsaufgaben befassen. Dein Wissen und deine Erfahrung sind offensichtlich, und du vermittelst sie in einer klaren und verständlichen Art und Weise. Deine Videos sind eine großartige Ressource, um Geld zu sparen und das Verständnis für die Fahrzeugwartung zu verbessern. Als jemand, der sich gerne selbst um sein Auto kümmert, schätze ich deine Arbeit sehr. Du erleichterst mir die Wartung meines Toyotas und trägst dazu bei, dass ich mich mit meinem Fahrzeug besser vertraut fühle. Ich möchte dir für deine wertvollen Anleitungen und deine Mühe danken. Dein Engagement und deine Leidenschaft für die Automobilwartung sind deutlich erkennbar. Bitte mach weiter so und teile weiterhin dein Wissen und deine Expertise mit der Community. Du bist eine Bereicherung für alle Toyota-Besitzer, die ihre Fahrzeuge selbst warten und reparieren möchten. Vielen Dank, Rolando Robles!
Thank you so much! Changed my alternator in under an hour. To those changing yours, don’t forget to reset the idle if it starts acting weird after putting the battery back on
Nice to see that I can get the serpentine belt off my Camry with the tools I have. I had our mechanic change out the belt on our 2008 Scion Xb; no room for the tools I have.
Very good video and easy to follow. Can't help but notice the corrosion on the battery terminals. This would be a great time to clean those up. You want that battery to get charged properly and efficiently with that brand new alternator.
To anyone who might have gotten spooked when loosening the belt: it’s not hurting the car. You’re not bending anything, it’s like a lever. The bolt doesn’t twist, which is why you’re pulling toward the front of the car. DO NOT PANIC. and use a breaker bar if you’re a petite human.
Hey thank you for this great video ! I’m extremely new to cars lol I’m wondering what exactly do I need tool wise for this what kind of kits could I get
Thank you very much for the feedback. a generic tool kit is enough for the job. I would say a breaker bar or a long ratchet is very useful for the belt removal/install. not necessary but have more leverage on that tensioner is good to have. other than that its just a couple of metric sockets and your good to go.
I needed the flat tensioner bar to access the tensioner bolt and I borrowed it from Autozone. It is better to use a 19mm six point impact socket when pulling on the tensioner to relief tension on the belt because otherwise you can mangle the 19mm bolt head and create a real headache.@@hyr0llr
I have a motor mount bracket sitting right? Where you put your breaker bar? So did you take yours off because I'm confused? And if you did remove it why not include that in the video?
CHeck to make sure that the clamp section of it is the same distance as the old one. there is usually a sleeve pressed in that you can make small tighter/loosen adjustments. If they are the same spacing then you just have to wiggle the alternator ears over there respective slot.
The 2002-2003 2.4L Camry alternator has a different connector than the 2004-2006 2.4L ones. The procedure for installation is the same for 2002-2006 2.4L Camry.
the tensioner you pull towards you. the mount bolts: if the handle is towards the sky , you push towards the back of the car. if the handle is pointing down, you pull towards the front of the car.
Having a hard time pulling the belt tension bolt. Apparently no one sells a rachet or wrench longer than 18 inches. Dunno if I'm doing something wrong, if I'm too weak, or if I just don't have a long enough tool to give sufficient mechanical advantage.
@@hyr0llr The car is quite a bit rustier than yours, it was a freebie from a neighbor. I imagine it's just an issue of loosening it up, unless I'm just not understanding how it works. Is it supposed to swing forward or does it pivot and swing forward and down (around the pivot point)?
@@KeanuOR the bolt head is the pivot point. the pulley swing down and away to loosen tension. so from the front, you get on the bolt head and pull towards you.
@@hyr0llr just uploaded a video on my account. Ordered a 18 inch, the video is me trying with a 12. I've tried both pulling and pushing, idk what I'm not getting, so I'm assuming it's just the force required is not something I can get with such a short length handle.
So stupid question when trying to remove the bolts holding the alternator in do you twist towards or away from the engine , I had one brake and I'm afraid to continue
@@joeyjconlon5251 you can ask a parts store to just borrrow one. Im wondering if its a faulty alternator and your running just on battery. Because if you voltage is above 13.5ish, you know your alternator is good.
Yeah that belt tensioner don't move enough to get the belt off the alternator I've been trying at it for 2 hours now with a breaker bar can't get the belt off
@@josephflanagan1070 also see if you have access to the tensioner from under the car. I didnt do it on this one but there was one car i couldnt get enough tension on it from the top. But underneath, after i took the splash shield. I had way more swinging room. And even then i had to fight the belt off.
don’t know if you’ll see this but i changed mine today and the performance is not the same, the car is a lot slower and it’s almost like it doesn’t wanna go. any advice on what i may have done wrong?
@@hyr0llr yes i disconnected, and i dont but i took it to autozone and it said they’re all good but when accelerating the car sounds like it’s on the verge of giving out
@@cyrena5926 thats weird. i just rewatched the video to see if there was any vaccuum lines or electrical plugs that could have came loose but i didnt see any. Im assuming you dont have a engine light on since you never sayed that, correct?
@@0hnognome ok so youll have to make sure ghe belt is not on the lip of each pully. so with your hand pull towards the last pully and just look at all the other ones and make sure the belt is fully on the rest of the pulleys. and once you do that, you should be able to get it over the last. It happens to me plenty of times too
@@hyr0llr I have the V6 so the set up was a tiny bit different but not by to much close enough for me to figure it out. The tensioner screw is right up front on mine yours was between the belts I believe you pointed out that an 1 other thing but very helpful.
@@garvinbobojr.887 Makes perfect sense. That's why I put 4 cyl, cuz of course cars come with different motor options. But I'm glad you got yours done. Thanks for your feedback. Take care
@@djs_projects_repairs Were you using small hand tools or did you have a long breaker bar?. Should be able to do it with like a 16 inch or bigger breaker bar or serpentine ratchet
really? thats unfortunate. looks like youll have to cut the belt and replace the tensioner at the same time of the alternator. here is a link to a video for the tensioner replacement. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gfSJvN-CE2E.html
@@hyr0llr I’ve checked all pulleys, checked the diagram 500 times. The tensioner won’t go down anymore. So far I’ve connected the belt to the alternator and hammered the alternator in, now the top bolt won’t go back in
im assuming your talking about the start of the video for the belt? If it doesnt have a hex stud, look for a pulley to grab/ or a 3/8 female slot to stick a ratchet/breaker bar to untenstion. Just to be clear, same car and motor?
Also. If you are maxing out the breaker bar or whatever your using towards the front of the car. Turn the socket one turn left or right on the head. Itll give you a different start position.
