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Changed alternator, worried about some stuff

2K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  scotts13 
#1 ·
Well, it took me 11 hours and $120 to my friend. We had the hardest time getting it into service position. Had no idea there was a bar that ran behind alternator to one of the bumper protrusions...you know each side has 4 bolts...we couldnt figure out for the life of us why it was not coming off. Put a pure-energy alternator in, 105k miles, v6 glx. My concerns are well I ended up with more bolts then I took off. I know one was to the ATF hard pipe metal line, I got the top one in but couldnt get the bottom one, I know its not going anywhere.. As my buddy did most of the work , he drained some liquid that I do not know what it is. It was dark in color and looked like oil but I am not sure what it is. What color is the ATF fluid. It probably filled up a quarter inch of a gallon milk jug, what we used to catch it. Some kind of cooler line maybe ? When you put the car in service position, do you have access to any ATF lines that could leak ? And the amount that came out, would that be detrimental to my tranny ? That is all i am worried about. If its just oil I know its no big deal but we really couldn't identify it. I know usually atf fluid is red I thought ? I initially started to pour it back into my oil but decided against that, pouring just a little bit in there. I read ATF fluid however will not hurt the engine oil. Most of the extra pieces were torx. Had a tough time with the hood clip also.


How in the hell can I check my ATF fluid level easily and being 105k miles, should I ? Second is the canister on the passenger side by the wheel, just in front of it. We started to loosen something then pressure came out of it. I don't know what it is. Some silver cylindrical canister positioned above the passenger wheel. I think its just AC compressor which i know I can refill. Drained the radiator also but that checks out fine. After piecing everything together, battery light is off and engine does not go past half way on the temp, so I think we did ok. Alternator Workshop light is also off. How crucial is that little bit of black fluid that drained out ?? I should of taken a picture of it. VW DID NOT make it easy to get to the alternator. Even with it in service position the lines that run in front of it and behind/underneath it were a pain in the ass. I definitely scratched up the metal line in front of it. Am I in the clear ? No hard shifts or anything yet but its only been 1 day.

thanks !

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imagine that milk jug about quarter inch full on bottom of this liquid. next time i will take it to a shop. they only wanted $250 for 2 hours work.

here is the alt i bought. http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2003/volkswagen/passat/engine_electrical/alternator.html By the time I realized I could of just got a reman'd Bosch OEM for around $150 it was too late. $210 before I send back the OEM Bosch, that im sure they will reman and make more money off of then the pure-energy. Checked out partsgeek FAQ/terms and they really do not seem like a good company to buy from. If they send you the wrong part they charge you for return shipping, how thats even legal beats me.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
It does sound like transmission fluid; maybe he unhooked one of the transmission cooler lines? Putting fluid back in requires having the car completely level, getting the transmission up to temp, and then squirting fluid in through the fill hole underneath.

And that "silver canister" sounds like the A/C dessicant/dryer. The only way to properly recharge the system is to evacuate it and put in a weighed charge. I can't believe you paid him; anyone that's going to take money for car repairs should be able to instantly recognize it... it looks pretty much the same in every single car with A/C ever.

And I would, uh, not have that friend help you with any more car repairs. It sounds like that didn't go well.
 
#3 ·
And I would, uh, not have that friend help you with any more car repairs. It sounds like that didn't go well.
Boy, that's the truth. $120 to a guy who didn't know what he was disconnecting or what fluid he was draining? Rather than just unbolting things blindly, go get a service manual, such as Chilton which has photos and illustrations.

Checking ATF fluid level is not particularly easy, especially if the car is not on a lift or over an inspection pit. Read up on it before attempting though!
 
#5 ·
Yikes! If you're going to ask that question, line up the bolts near a ruler and take a a high quality, close-up photo. Then someone might recognize one or two. It would probably be better to have a competent mechanic look over your engine bay for missing bolts, and replace them. Expect to pay more than $120 for that. Pay him a little extra to check your fluid levels.
 
#7 ·
You may not see trouble right now but you will very soon if you don't get it fixed right away. I bet that guy just put some wires to hold the parts where all those screws are needed and transmission fluid low level will trash your transmission in no time. I would tow it to a shop and let the mechanic now what is going on to make sure they address it properly.
 
#9 ·
Larger three black bolts are for fastening some of the "grill/bumper components you have to undo for putting front in service position. The three smaller "screw" type black ones are to hold in place the air tube from the grill to top of the air box. The others: one could be from the bracket holding the ATF cooling lines onto the bottom of oil pan (the black short 10 mm), while the silver ones (still 10 MM) could be from the bracket holding the alternator, who knows what your friend unbolted...
 
#10 ·
@chefro good eye. 1 of them is definitely the lower ATF cooling line...didnt think it was needed though since the top 1 is in place ? Bottom is more precautionary ? What he said anyway. The green ones made me feel like it ws connected to something with fluid in them.

Wish I took a picture of the fluid we caught that leaked out. It definitely came from a cooling line(so he says). It was not much though, maybe .25-.4 of a quart. Would that be detrimental to the ATF ? Cars at 105k now and never had a problem. Fluid was black...high viscosity more than normal oil it seemed like. I just wish I knew if it was differential gear oil or ATF. I thought ATF fluid was usually colored.

@zak: old pads. Whats with VW having the stupid turn and push pad/caliper setup in the back...always liked to do my own brakes and found out the hard way you need tool for that.

Also kind of low on money for a shop ;\ IF I feel it start slipping I will just shut it off and go that route. He also damaged my alt pulley...he had wrong setting on his imp gun and would just not come off...he wanted to stick something in alt cool fans and i said hell no. We tried wrapping shirt aorund pulley and getting bolt to no avail...damaged some grooves. I filed them down with sandpaper best I could. He then flipped a switch on his gun and it came right off. I was pretty effin mad. Took 11 hours. Shop quoted me 2 hours flat @ $110 an hr plus tax. Shoulda woulda coulda. I'm also definitely suspicious cause he insisted I go grab a pack of smokes when we finally got the new alternator fit...just not bolted in yet. Maybe he broke the bracket as you say Chefro...I wasn't there for that part.

AC still blows cold thank god.

Hey guys I got a side question...my plastic fan that wraps around the clutch that cools the radiator...the belt fan...some of the blades are busted. Can this cause problems down the road ? Maybe a wobble or something screwing up bearings ? I wish I could just take that fan off and put an electric one right in front of it...there is room.
 
#12 ·
Fluids sounds like ATF. It will be quite black at 105k miles although it starts off red. Probably came from the ATF cooling lines that run through the radiator, so at least your friend had that part right :crazy:
A broken fan could certainly cause a wobble which might possibly eventually cause other problems. It will certainly provide less cooling so I'd consider finding a replacement at a junkyard before summer and having someone competent put it on for you. Finally, those bolts are green due to the coating on them. It's nothing to do with coolant, and FWIW I agree with chefro's take on where they came from.
 
#16 ·
Alright...Finally got ahold of him he said the fluid came from the lines that run below the alternator...Any idea what those are? Also we only got the top radiator ATF bolt in...The other one is just a precaution right? It would be much easier if VW included a dipstick for the ATF. I mean come on...How could you even tell before it was too late
 
#17 ·
Major problems. Let this guy work on my car. He insisted I go-to the gas station I come back car is back together. Now I got this. What the fuck? I feel like he swapped something out when I left for an hr. Could the head gasket be swapped that quick ? There was no fluid on my radiator we just poured it back into overflow. The oil looks oddly red.
 

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#20 ·
No, the head gasket cannot be replaced in one hour. Besides, he needs a Polydrive (more likely) socket bit (and new head bolts). Unless he's a VW/Audi mechanic he has no business carrying one of those around w/him. However, he obviously doesn't have much experience w/VW.
The lines in the second photo are Power steering fluid lines, not ATF lines. The oil can get contaminated w/ coolant if your oil cooler doesn't separate anymore the two fluids.
Your buddy said he disconnected the ATF lines, he confirmed that to you. Moreover, you said in the original post that you DRAINED the RADIATOR. Did you pour back in the same stuff you drained? It looks like you have (had) a head gasket problem dating prior to your buddy working on the car if that's what coolant you pored back in. That's not how your coolant should look like.
You also said yourself that you poured some of the drained "oil look like stuff" back into the engine before deciding against pouring the whole thing back in. Depending on how much you poured back in, that would give the oil a reddish tint. If you're coolant also mixes w/the oil in the oil cooler, then that would also contribute to the reddish tint your oil has (provided your coolant was the proper VW coolant).
Since you're alternator workshop light is off, it sounds like your buddy was successful in replacing your alternator. The other adjacent stuff remains to be solved by you figuring out what you poured back in, how, and also how all the fluids looked like before you started the alternator replacement work.
 
#21 ·
I just wish I knew what we drained out. It was probably .2 of a quart and blackish. Thought it was motor oil maybe poured .1 into the oil bay. How can I know if the oil cooler is working right? My coolant is red and came out pretty solid, everything looked OK anyway. The sludge on the dipstick is very minimal. Are you sure once the car was in service position it take longer then an hr to switch out the head gasket? Got a little conspiracy theory going on so just wondering. Man I wish there was a way to check ATF fluid level and differential fluid level. Pretty stupid how I have to fix this/check it. I really don't have the money for a new car right now.
 
#22 ·
I assure you, it's impossible to change the head gasket(s) on a V6 in one hour. There are methods to check the transmission fluid (and differential oil); a little more complex than a dipstick, but pretty standard for modern cars. The Chrysler products I sell (using ZF transmissions) are the same.

On a general note, "changing the head gasket" is a common activity for scammers. Expensive, and hard to tell if it's actually been done. It's pretty unlikely a Passat engine will need this unless it was severely overheated.
 
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