Installing altenator>>

[Brian597]

Hey all,
I might be getting a 1993 GT which has a bad altenator.
I was just wondering how hard it was to change one?

Thanks for any info,

Brian

[JunickJr8]

didnt TJ just put one in? or probespeed?

i know someone did...

i also could be thinkin' distributor

[probespeed]

Wasn't me, but I just looked at my car and the alternator looks like it could be kinda tough but the average mechanic could probably do it themself. :shrug:

Don't let that be the reason you don't buy the car though.;)

[jay]

i had an alt put in... they had to take the motor mounts off.. and then jacked it up and took the alt from there.. i think it was a 3 to 4 hour job... not sure.. this was.. almost a year and a half ago....

[MN Probe GT]

installing one isn't easy, it's in a hard to reach spot. But like probespeed said, don't make that the reason you don't by the car. :)

[Brian597]

Thanks for the replies.
Forgive me but I'm hearing about the problems with this car second hand. I still haven't talked directly to the owner (it's my wife's co-worker).
I am under the impression the car was running fine one day and wouldn't start the next.
He says he thought it was the alt. because when it turned over (not started) the motor was turning over slow. He installed a new battery and says it turns over faster but still doesn't start.
To me, that sounds more like a coil or a distributor problem?
I've never tinkered w/ a Probe so I don't know what kind of trouble I will get myself in.
Are there noteworthy problems with the ignition or fuel delivery on these cars?

Thanks again for any info.

[MN Probe GT]

distributor is a known problem with the earlier years (93-94 I think)

[naustin]

Yeah, the disty's go out pretty commonly. Never heard of a fuel delivery problem, except if you put a 75 shot of Nitros on it and left the stock pump. ;)

[jay]

it could be the cylinder identification sensor inside the disty.. that cost around 300.00 plus labor.... i had that go out and the mechanic that only works on probes in the ford dealership said out of all the probes in town.. my car was the first to give that problem....

[tracer bullet]

If it turns over slowly but doesn't start, I don't think it's the distributor. The early years had a very common problem with a part called an ignitor coild buried inside of the distributor. When it went bad, the contacts opened up, and you couldn't get any juice to the spark plugs. If the car is turning over, it's not from that.

I'd check more into the battery thing - was a good battery put on, or something from the corner of the garage? Was it fully charged? Are the contacts clean and tight? Is it pretty new, or as old as the original? The fact that it made a difference when the battery was replaced tells you something. On the other hand, it sounds sort of fishy at the same time.

I'd get a voltmeter and go check the thing out personally. You may find that the seller is "not too smart with cars" and you've got a good one there you could get for cheap.

[tracer bullet]

Also, check out this link - Julian Bradbury is a guy in England that put this together, it's THE definitive Probe FAQ. See the areas at the bottom for common issues with the Probe.

Don't let it scare you though - while you're likely to see each of the issues on the list, this is everything you ever will see. Nothing outside of this list seems to go wrong.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy.bradbury/probemx/index.htm