W0QNX
Blacksheep Tribal Member
- Joined
- May 30, 2006
- Messages
- 3,345
- Location
- Pensacola, FL. USA
- Bike
- 06/ST1300 19/R1250RT
- 2024 Miles
- 007437
Well I finally bit the bullet and replaced my alternator. My bike is at 208,100 miles and the alternator is the only thing that has been worrying me during long road trips and upcoming Alaska summer ride. My alternator was still working but I replaced with a much lower mileage used unit.
I read several of the threads and decided to pull the throttle bodies and the radiator during the replacement. I needed to clean things up and do a once over as I haven't ever really needed to be that deep into the bike before.
First I'll just say if you are just a beginner shade tree mechanic this isn't a job for a beginner. I removed the old alt. and got the new one just mounted yesterday in about 7 hours steady work with frequent drink breaks. I quit yesterday after installing the 3 alt. bolts as I was tired of leaning over the bike way before that. I cleaned the radiator fins and cleaned up the throttle bodies and many other items today and got the bike back "drive-able". I road tested it today with all the panels off to check for issues.
I've never had any coolant leaks so I only replaced the 2 hardest clamps to access, the high idle wax thing coolant feed lines that are mounted UNDER the throttle body mount. I started the bike up at the earliest point possible when I had the throttle bodies back on (before airbox mounting). Guess what leaked? One of the only 2 clamps I replaced. Luckily I was able to rotate it around a bit and tighten it from straight up through the throttle bodies. If you replace these clamps I'd suggest you orient them with the screw up so you can reach them from above. Impossible to reach from any other direction without pulling the throttle bodies.
I had a bit of a struggle removing the throttle bodies just like everyone else. I sprayed the boots with some silicon spray and moved the bodies around to work it down and soak them a bit. I did use some prying with various levers at the back and a rope-lever on the front corners being careful not to break anything. Once I got the left back free the others came up too.
I didn't remove the oil pressure sender or the coolant castings bolted to the heads on either side. All the hoses were removed. I was able to get to the bottom alt. bolt with a just right combination of socket extension and wobble joint. I had to work the alt. out of the bottom around the oil pressure sending unit. I also had to knock the sheetmetal cover on the new alt. right where it hit the op sending unit to gain 1/8' more clearance before it would drop in place. I had the new alt. in the freezer to shrink it some but not sure if that made any difference. It did slide right in the splines with just a little wiggling.
I'll come back and edit this post a bit but I have to leave for a while and things will come back to me that need added.
I'm happy IT'S BACK RUNNING, that one day of down time was just more than I could handle!
I read several of the threads and decided to pull the throttle bodies and the radiator during the replacement. I needed to clean things up and do a once over as I haven't ever really needed to be that deep into the bike before.
First I'll just say if you are just a beginner shade tree mechanic this isn't a job for a beginner. I removed the old alt. and got the new one just mounted yesterday in about 7 hours steady work with frequent drink breaks. I quit yesterday after installing the 3 alt. bolts as I was tired of leaning over the bike way before that. I cleaned the radiator fins and cleaned up the throttle bodies and many other items today and got the bike back "drive-able". I road tested it today with all the panels off to check for issues.
I've never had any coolant leaks so I only replaced the 2 hardest clamps to access, the high idle wax thing coolant feed lines that are mounted UNDER the throttle body mount. I started the bike up at the earliest point possible when I had the throttle bodies back on (before airbox mounting). Guess what leaked? One of the only 2 clamps I replaced. Luckily I was able to rotate it around a bit and tighten it from straight up through the throttle bodies. If you replace these clamps I'd suggest you orient them with the screw up so you can reach them from above. Impossible to reach from any other direction without pulling the throttle bodies.
I had a bit of a struggle removing the throttle bodies just like everyone else. I sprayed the boots with some silicon spray and moved the bodies around to work it down and soak them a bit. I did use some prying with various levers at the back and a rope-lever on the front corners being careful not to break anything. Once I got the left back free the others came up too.
I didn't remove the oil pressure sender or the coolant castings bolted to the heads on either side. All the hoses were removed. I was able to get to the bottom alt. bolt with a just right combination of socket extension and wobble joint. I had to work the alt. out of the bottom around the oil pressure sending unit. I also had to knock the sheetmetal cover on the new alt. right where it hit the op sending unit to gain 1/8' more clearance before it would drop in place. I had the new alt. in the freezer to shrink it some but not sure if that made any difference. It did slide right in the splines with just a little wiggling.
I'll come back and edit this post a bit but I have to leave for a while and things will come back to me that need added.
I'm happy IT'S BACK RUNNING, that one day of down time was just more than I could handle!
