How to Remove an Alternator from a Chevy Impala

Applies to: CHEVROLET IMPALA (2000-2005) LUMINA (1996) VENTURE (1996-2002) MONTE CARLO (2000-2005), OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE (1996-2004) ALERO (1999-2004), PONTIAC TRANS SPORT (1996-1998) MONTANA (1999-2004) GRAND AM (1999-2005) AZTEK (2002-2005), BUICK RENDEZVOUS (2002-2005)

 

Chevy Impala (2000-2005)

Pull Tip: To remove the belt, using a 3/8 breaker bar vs. a 3/8 ratchet to pull and release the tension of the belt tensioner will allow for better leverage.

Estimated Pull Time: 30-35 minutes

Recommended Tools

  • Use a socket when finding parts at Pull-A-Part. 10mm Socket
  • Use a socket when finding parts at Pull-A-Part. 13mm Socket
  • Use a socket when finding parts at Pull-A-Part. 15mm Socket
  • Use a ratchet to make your repair with help from Pull-A-Part. 3/8 Ratchet
  • Ratchet Extensions at Pull-A-Part 3/8 Ratchet Extensions
  • Use a ratchet to make your repair with help from Pull-A-Part. 1/4 Ratchet
  • Breaker Bar 3/8 Breaker Bar

Instructions

  • 1

    Remove the belt by inserting a 3/8 inch ratchet or breaker bar into the square hole on the front of the belt tensioner, pulling against the spring tension then remove the belt.

  • 2

    Remove both 15mm bolts on the back side of the alternator. Remove the two 10mm bolts that hold down the overflow jug and remove the jug in order to remove the front 15mm bolt on the alternator. (this is for 2000-2005 Impala only)

  • 3

    Remove the 15mm bolt on the front side of the alternator.

  • 4

    Remove the main power plug by lifting the tab on the plug and pulling the plug.

  • 5

    And finally, remove the 13mm bolt to remove the large red wire.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Hey, guys. What's going on? This is Brian from the YouTube channel Classic G-Body Garage, and today I'm going to do a DIY and Drive tutorial for Pull-A-Part Used Auto Parts. In this video, I'm going to show you how to remove the alternator on the Chevy Impala. It has a 3,400 V6. And for this part pull, the tools you'll need is a 15, a 13, and 10 millimeter socket, a 3/8 and 1/4 inch ratchet, and a couple of 3/8 inch extensions.

So here's where the alternator is located. It's held on by a couple of bolts on the back side, one here on the front, and of course, the belt itself. So in order to remove the belt, the tensioner, which is holding the belt on, is located down towards the center of the engine. And you're going to remove the tension of the belt by pivoting the tensioner with your 3/8 inch ratchet. And there is a square hole, located on the front of the tensioner, right here, and that will fit a 3/8 inch ratchet. And let me go ahead and grab that, and we'll pivot this tensioner and remove the tension off the belt, so we can get that removed. All right, so in order to remove the belt, I need to remove the tension on the tensioner, and the tensioner is located here on the front. So I grab my 1/2 inch breaker bar with a 3/8 inch extension on it. Put it on the hole in the front of the tensioner, and just lift up on the tensioner, and that's going to release tension on the belt. Then, you ahead and remove the belt. There we go. The belt is off.

All right, I have the belt off, and the alternator now is held on by a couple of 15 millimeter bolts on the back side. Two of them on the back side, and there's one 15 millimeter bolt right here, on the front. We have the main power source right here, which is held on by a 13 millimeter bolt. And then once we get this front bolt out, it's going to come out and hit the overflow jug, right here. So we're going to want to remove that, and that's held on with two 10 millimeter bolts, here on top. So I've got the tools laid out here, and let me start getting these bolts off of this alternator, and see if we can get it removed. So you're probably going to need an extension to get to one or two or both of the bolts on the back there. So let me get those going. One bolt out, and a little tip. You always want to hang onto the bolts that you're removing, because you never know when you might need them. The second bolt back here. Second bolt. All right, so I'm going to go ahead and grab this third bolt here, on the front.

Let's see if we've got to remove the overflow jug. Yep, so this front bolt hits the overflow jug. So I'm going to go ahead and grab my 10 millimeter, and get that removed. So we'll move this out of the way, and so now, hopefully, we'll be able to get this bolt. There we go. So that one's out. So we have the front bolt out, the two back bolts, the alternator is loose. So let me go ahead and grab my 13 millimeter and remove the plug there on the top, the wire. And also, you want to be pretty careful when you're removing this top one, because if it's really cranked down there, it's a possibility that the alternator might get damaged. That one popped off of there pretty easily. Make sure you hang onto the nut, put that back on there. The last item that's holding this alternator on is going to be the main electrical plug, which would be found on the back side. So let me lift this guy out of here, and there's the plug on the back side. So go ahead and lift up on the tab, and pull plug out there.

The alternator is removed. All right, got the alternator removed off this Chevy Impala. So it really wasn't that difficult, just use a couple of hand tools. So investing a little bit of time pulling your own parts is going to save you a lot of money while keeping your vehicle on the road. This is Brian with Classic G-Body Garage, and thanks for watching.

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