alternator removal

[Sean F]

You can wind the bushing back by putting the long bolt through a couple of large sockets, to act as spacers, and then into the back of the bushing. Tighten the bolt and it will pull the bushing back.

Obviously, this can only be done with the alternator out of the car so it doesn't help with getting the old one out.

Good luck.

[Starter986]

You may find that reinstalling the alternator will require some finagling.

Exercise patience. Patience. Patience. Patience.

[brp987]

Well, this job has a happy ending. I took a fine file to the front mounting ear - took off maybe 0.01 to 0.02 thou, in order to get a net fit so the rblt alternator would slide into position. Put in a new battery for good measure. Dash lights all turned off, so all good - or so I thought. See new thread re: clunk in steering...

[maz8062]

Originally Posted by Starter986

You may find that reinstalling the alternator will require some finagling.

Exercise patience. Patience. Patience. Patience.

This is the part of the job that very few YT videos or comments online address. Yes, it is hard to remove but installation is anything but “reverse of removal”. Intuitive it is not.

Having owned my Boxster for 4 months and tackled several jobs, I’m convinced this car was designed explicitly to discourage home mechanics from working on them, with the techniques hidden away in dealer only manuals, PIWIS etc. The internet and kind folk had other ideas and were grateful for forums like this.