I've owned over 15 vehicles and this van is hands down the most pain in the a$$ vehicle I have ever owned! Almost every step of the way something fought me. I started at 4, it's now 11 and I just got the alternator out. Had to tell my 7 year old to leave the garage because Dad was about to use some cuss words he had never heard. Wish me luck tomorrow and thanks for the help, I needed all I could get.
Lol my wife has a 2008 odyssey and I’ll be changing the alternator in it today. Never done it before and I have a short temper so after watching this video of how to do it, I’m 100% sure their will be some words said from me!! 😂
I received this tip from someone in another video. I used the serpentine belt removal tool to push the tensioner pulley out the way. The a/c line is stiff and it will barely move because it's hooked right there to the compressor. Moving the pulley out the way with the tool gave me enough clearance to get the alternator out.
This video was extremely helpful and convinced me that I could do the job myself. the only comment that I would add is that I had to remove the tensioner pulley in order to get the alternator out. Also, the lowest price I could find to install the alternator that I purchased was $220. Can you say cha-ching! Thanks!
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this video. Really helped me today with my 2007. Would have been easier if my tensioner tool didn't break as well as finding a crack in my 10mm deep socket. Thanks Again , Mike Fifer
Awesome video! I was able to fix my wife's 2006 Honda Odyssey. Which really made her happy! The only thing was that I had to use the top of my head on the breaker bar to move the tensioner pulley forward to be able to get the alternator out! Yeah what a pain in my ass or should I say head! Keep up the great videos and I will always check in when I need another part replaced!
Barry, just wanted to say THANK YOU for the quick advice you laid out in this video. I *got* to replace the alternator in our 2006 Odyssey this week, largely outside in the dark, and I can definitely say it would have taken twice as long had I not remembered some of the tips you gave. Thank you again!
Good guy. Thanks for the help. Do not try loosening the tensioner from the bottom. Do it from the top where you have leverage and push toward the back off the car if you are trying to put the belt on. Tight space. Put the belt on, have a friend take a breaker bar with a 19mm socket and push toward the back of the car and pull the belt in over the smooth surfaced pulley. Doing this under the car is dangerous and you have no leverage. As far as the video, he breaks the piece that snaps on, undo the alternator first, easier access. Take a flathead pop the clip, don't break it and push it off. This job is a pain in the ass. You have no reall space to work. Do everything from the top, unless the belt comes off completely and you will have to take the tire off to have complete access to the belt route.
Overall this is a good tutorial video that explains how the alternator has to come out of the top of the van. The one suggestion I would make, that is not in the video, is when you do disconnect the windshield wiper fluid reservoir, remove it completely. Just make sure you have a bucket underneath and you pull that seal plug at the bottom out so it's not hanging there from the hoses where it could potentially damage the hoses to the tank if the tank is full and hang by those hose lines. Other than that everything was right on point getting out and getting it in, socket sizes and all.👌
Everybody do yourself a favor and replace the VTEC Solenoid gasket $15.00 right above the Alternator if leaking the oil will destroy the new Alternator
@DAVIDJNUNO it has nothing to do with oil being non-conductive, but has to do with the oil causing contamination to the conductive components. Son in essence, heavy oil leaking does ruin alternators.
The reason why your alternator failed is because it's covered in oil. The vtech solenoid directly above leaks on these models and that causes the alternator to fail.
Could power steering be a culprit too? My power steering is leaking somewhere and I can't figure out where. My alternator failed and is smothered in power steering fluid. Any tips or advice for finding the leak?
The little clip at the bottom is actually a wire that goes to the cooling fan that has to be in place for the air conditioner to work and I’m dealing with that right now
Good video I wish you had a go pro during removing the alternator and installing it. I’m not a grease monkey but I am a little handy and it’s not running so I think I can do it. I just have to get the right tools.
Long story why I still have ‘08 ody. At end of this vid you mention noise from rear of car which is likely an A/C actuator. Did you happen to fix that also? I’ve got that issue as soon as key is in ignition
I tried the trick with the channel locks and socket to push the bushing back out, but it's seized in there good. I bought some PB Blaster and tried putting a clamp with the socket, but there isn't enough room to get a clamp down in there. I have the PB Blaster soaking and I'm going to give it another blast and try the channel locks/socket again. Any other suggestions? I've been trying to get the new alternator in for 2 hours and I'm getting frustrated. - Jennifers' Husband
I got it. I had to set it in the bottom housing and put a rubber mallet against the top, then used a hammer to tap on the handle of the rubber mallet until it was in place. It took some maneuvering to get it in but it's in there. Thanks for the video, it was extremely helpful and saved me $500
Just starting on this job after the wife got the dreaded "check your charging system" message but continued driving to her flea market where it would not crank to restart. I took a spare battery and after putting it in at first it showed 14 volts charge on my Ultragauge but then started dropping; I managed to drive the 30 miles home on with the voltage just under 9 volts at home. I am working on the clip on the alternator that is really hard to see. Is the release tab on the top of the connector and if so does it push in at the wire end or at the bottom end toward the alternator? Also, our 2010 Touring has an additional black with red stripe single wire in the same loom that connects to something below the alternator; any idea what this is for?
After much trial and error and a liberal dose of WD-40 I finally discovered that squeezing at the very top of the blue connector at the wire end moves the little tab at the alternator end up and unlocks the connector. It is deceiving because the part you squeeze looks quite solid. Now I have to get the connector for the black-with-red wire down below off; I need much smaller arms and hands down there.
Just take a few deep breaths, walk away for a few minutes and chill. Do that about 40 times and you'll stop yourself from having a brain aneurysm trying to fix this forsaken van!!! I got it done, but my god this is the most pain in the a$$ vehicle I have ever owned. You can do it. You might even learn some cuss words you didn't know existed.
I was able to do it with out removing the power steering reservoir. just removing the bolts and bracket was enough. I did have to hold the hood up with my head when i got it to that point as the hood prop was in the way. taking the belt off and putting back on was my biggest problem
I was perfect following you step by step until... Taking the belt off by loosening the tensioner pully! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ON CHRISTMAS! HOW DAMN TIGHT CAN THAT THING BE!? I didn't have a break over bar so i just put a $40 rachet on it a 19mm socket. I completely destroyed the rachet it's totally bent to shit and the head of the rachet. I was able to move it a half inch but that's not enough to slip the belt off the alternator pulley. Guess I'm going to have to get a breakover bar.
You only have to take the screws off for the windshield wiper fluid bottle, it'll create enough space to pull the alternator. Remove powesteering reservoir and bracket. Make sure to disconnect the powersteering hose. The ac line is all in the way.
Jo Daddys Garage... Absolutely perfect how to video! I followed your steps and finished in just under 2 hours taking my time and refering to your video from time to time. There were no surprises. The only thing I did differently was the washer bottle. I only took out the upper bolt. Most other videos are taking all kinds of things off like the entire tensioner assembly or removing the radiator. None of these are needed. Never had to jack up the van or remove a wheel. Very nice job. Thank you.
Gents I discovered a trick. Once you get the piece of shit unbolted, use some string or wire attached to the bolt holes or other tie off spots to pull the alternator out. Tie two strings and use them to seesaw the thing out. You'll find it pops out better without your hand in the way.
Great video! The slip ring trick with the channel locks and over-sized socket was clutch! I spent way to long trying to figure out how to move that before hearing your advice. One thing I found was that by removing the headlight (the bumper shroud is only a couple clips to pull down and headlight is 3 bolts...), washer fluid reservoir and just moving the power steering reservoir out of the way gave me a large area to work and a channel to move the Alternator in/out thru the headlight opening. That added space also allowed me to see the tension pulley and get leverage to pull off the belt. Also, on my 2009 it seemed that the tension pulley head was a 3/4" and not a 19mm... not sure why but if anyone has issues with the breaker bar slipping when removing the belt that may be the cause. Thanks again for the great video!!!!
Removing the alternator by taking off the headlight was great! Saved tons of time and effort, thank you! And recommendation and the 3/4” socket for the tensioner was spot on.
Master ASE certified technician here. I endorse this method. The steering reservoir can be left in and moved aside but it's mounting bracket can be removed for extra room.
Thanks for the great detailed video. I'm on my way out to change my alternator , I think its the noisy problem on my 2007 Odyssey. I've watched many car DIY videos over the years being a big self repair guy. I owe it to people who take the time to help educate others who want to also learn. IMO, this is one of the videos that are explained very well with helpful tips and easy to follow video. I'll post my experience doing this repair based on your great video tips soon. Thanks again!!!
Was that the noise on the van? Neverheard of an alternator causing noise problems but you learn something new everyday, lol. Had a noise issue on mine and the wife's.. turned out it was the power steering pump.
great work made it so simple I did it myself with God's help and saved $750, only thing you pointed to the wrong tensioner, maybe mines is different, 2006 Honda Odyssey ex-l
Thank you for making this video! It saved a lot of time. I left the power steering reservoir in and shifted it up and out of the way after unbolting. Unbolting (under car & in engine bay) the washer fluid reservoir and then shifting it to the right and down was also a must for getting the alternator out and back in. I also slightly bent the A/C line out of the way for more clearance. Pressing in the alternator mounting bracket bushing, like you described, also made re-installation a lot easier. The only issue I had was re-installing the "one wire plug" near the bottom right of the alternator. After getting a good light down there, I was able to connect it up.
This was helpful, especially the tips about pushing the tensioner pulley out of the way during the removal, and pushing out the split bushing before installation. To push out the split bushing, I put together my 1/4" to 3/8" socket drive converter along with my 3/8" to 1/2" converter, which seemed to be just the right length to leave a little space for my crowbar to wedge out the bushing. My biggest struggle was disconnecting the wire to the A/C compressor, since there was very little space. I ended up removing the alternator partway until I could get a grasp on it. I did loosen up the windshield washer reservoir by coming up through the bottom and the wheel well without removing the wheel. Great video, it helped alot, and thanks again!
I'm about to do this shit 250 miles from home, F'N thing went out in the middle of a family trip and the alternator on it is not even 3 years old, brand new Denso.
Wasn't that hard. Two tips: Unbolt the alternator before you unhook the clip on the back of the alternator. Then twist the alternator around, put a small flathead screwdriver under the clip and pop it out without breaking. I did NOT need to remove the washer reservoir, btw.
When the alternator went out did all the lights on the dash board turn on then did it slowly die? I’m wondering because I have the same vehicle and my alternator just went out too, I’m just wanting to know if it’s the similar problem
Good video. I just did mine. You don't have to drop the washer reservoir, remove the top bolt and you can have somebody hold everything out of the way and the alternator will come out. one of these videos removed the idler arm. You don't have to do that, put a socket on the arm to loosen the belt. The hardest part for me was getting the long alternator mount bolt to start.
I will try to remove my old ac compressor from this way you did , i have to remove the alternator first to make a room so i can pull the compressor from there, thanks for posting this video it’s helped me a Ton
Thanks for the video. On my 2007 Odyssey, the nut to torque the belt tensioner is on the axle of the upper pulley. Also it wasn't necessary to completely remove the power steering reservoir--I just crammed it this way or that as necessary. I did have to take the wheel and splash guard off to get at the lower bolts for the washer fluid reservoir.
I would try to verify the wiring is secure. Check voltage at the battery. Should be reading around 14 or so. It's possible the alternator you bought is defective.
Very Well done !!! Conventional wisdom told me that removing the passenger's side tire might be S.O.P. for this job, however I am glad I found this video . Very detailed and took possible contingencies into account
did the Honda is also found that the big box that has all the wires the big buyers towards the alternator in a car sometimes corroded in the fuse box but good job on the alternator pic it's the cheapest the wires are very expensive
Thank you for great video on replacing alternator. The hardest part of job was pulling alternator out. Having assistant to push on belt tensioner bolt while pulling that thing out was really really helpful. Very tight and little room to pull it out. Took about 3 hours for the job to be done.
My son had an 86 accord and I had to replace the alternator and had to take the left front axle shaft out to get the alternator out and that was one car that was always fun to work on .
Great video! I can't emphasize this enough - if your alternator is oily and black you will also need to repair the oil leak on the oil control valve assembly, an expensive repair if you take it into the shop, but less than $20 DIY. I ignored the oil leak, it leaked all over my new alternator, and now I am replacing it again.
If you have the touring model it won't come out that way. I had to move the radiator and take the alternator from the front of the vehicle. Such a pain in the butt.
@@JoDaddysGarage that's crazy. We tried everything and was not able to go through that area. We were told that the alternator was a different size than the other models and it wouldn't fit.
Why do you make a video about removing and installing an alternator but actually skip that exact part? Another reason why I hate RU-vid videos but they have taken over car repair. I would much rather just have the all that information you talked about put on a webpage on somebody's side listed in step-by-step form with some pictures. Would make things a lot easier. I didn't see at any time you reach your arm down there and actually pull the alternator out or work the new one into place.
Great video!Getting that bushing backed out in order to put the long screw in was a pain in the ass! We finally got it. We couldn’t see exactly where the tensionor bolt was and we ended up loosening the bottom pulley. Don’t do that folks! I went to Emanuel and paid the 25 bucks for the repair manual but your video was a huge help! Thanks!
I am so curious to know how you got the bushing backed out. Mine doesn’t seem to move. I did realize I left out the socket part while I’ve been trying this for the pass 3 hours.. I’ll start again tomorrow
What brand of alternator did you use? I change my old denso because was getting steaming hot , i put an carquest from advance auto and now I'm getting the same charging system warning at times :(
I replaced the alternator, check charging system came back after only 2 days, I got reman alternator could that be the problem What brand alternator did you use? Reman or new?
I have a 2009 Odyssey and the biggest help to get the alternator out was to have someone pushing the tensioner pulley( the way it loosens the belt) while you pull out the alternator. We could not get the alternator passed the radiator or out passed the tensioner until we wrenched the tensioner pulley back; then the alternator slipped right on through with no problem! Thanks for the video!
Awesome video. I followed your steps exactly and got my alternator replaced in no time. For some reason, it was way harder to take the alternator out than it was it was to put it back. Oh well, made my job easier. Kudos for the video!!!
A 2007 Odyssey went dead after barely making it the last half mile it had to get to. Used a multimeter to check battery voltage. That was at .50 V, so the alternator obviously died, so I got a remanufactured alternate for 25%by pre purchasing it online and picking up in store, that's how i WAS gonna buy it, but the helpful people at the auto parts store I'm closest to were able to price match the 25%off, so i also bought some gloves and a magnetic pickup tool with the $ I saved. disconnected the battery and then unbolted the AC hose up top, cause it was easy 10mm to unbolt and you need all the space you can get to get the alternator out and back in. Then removed and moved the connectors from the alternator, which were a 12 mm and at 10 mm, and the ones holding those cords in place, and then moved the cords up and out of the way. Then I removed the radiator and engine covers move those set those aside then I moved and tied up power steering reservoir just lifted up and cut a propped it out of the way by the engine prop-up stick. Then I on bolted one of the washer reservoir 10 mm bolts on the passenger side of the day. Then a's and 19 mm socket on a breaker bar with a cheat bar to put on the bulb and front of the tension or and got that belt loosened up and set the belt out of the way as best as I could. Then unbolted the one 14 mm lower alternator bolt and then two 12 mm upper bolts on the alternator, there's a bracket and i took the bolts off at both ends of it. I took both the bracket bolts off because I couldn't get it out easily enough to actually get it out without doing that, so taking both those bracket bolts off seems to help and those are just the two upper bolts on the alternator.
Hey man I replaced the alternator, everything was good for a couple days and this morning I turn the van on and hear a chirping sound and I noticed the belt looks like it's going to fall off the pulley, I put the belt into place and turn the car on and goes back to the edge. Any suggestions?
@@JoDaddysGarage I'm going to take off the belt right now to check for play as we speak, and same belt, it looked in good shape when I replaced the alternator.
I took off the belt and I noticed the tensioner pulley is a little wobbly, I tried to wiggle the harmonic balancer and no play there, could it be just the tensioner assembly? Your response is appreciated
@@JoDaddysGarage yea I'm thinking it's the top pulley just like in your video. Do you think I can buy just the pulleys and replace that or does it come as an assembly your response is appreciated
@@JoDaddysGarage thanks for the response had it done at a shop sounds louder even inside anything you can suggest to look at thanks used your alternator video and did mine 2 months ago
There is only one plug in that goes into the back of the alternator. The wire clip he breaks goes to a connection below the alternator, but you have to pull it inorder to take off the harness inorder to create space to pull the alternator.
Awesome video! It was a huge help with my 2008 back in March, and just today, I was able to also help out a friend with her 2012. The 2012 was basically the same with just a few small differences. This video gave me the confidence to tackle this job, save a ton of money, and come out looking like a hero! I can't thank you enough!
