83 280ZX removing alternator
 

One of the steps in the Haynes manual for removing the alternator says "Remove the alternator from the car." Waste of ink...

I have the wires and bolts disconnected, now I need to either take it out from the top or the bottom. What do you guys suggest?

Going up will require me to disconnect some AC hoses and some other hoses which I'm not sure are for.

Going down will require me to disconnect a radiator hose but I will end up losing some radiator fluid which sucks...

I really don't feel like dumping all my radiator fluid out...

Catch the coolant fluid in a pan after unscrew the white plug,remove the shield(if you have it),undo the lower hose,remove the ALT.
No big deal!!

A/C? You mean power steering???

-Remove alternator belt & power steering belt
-Unbolt power steering pump & move out of the way
-Remove alternator.

No tricks... no PITA work... just remove alternator. :D

I don't even do that. I remove belt and alternator bolts then remove its mount and it comes out the bottom.

Well I don't even do that. I just get my Mega Squirt to enable the transporter and it just takes the new one from the bench and swaps it for me - even cleans the dirt off the old one... ;P

For some reason on mine there's not enough clearance between the electric fan guard and the stabilizer bar.

Anyways, I got it out the bottom by draining the radiator fluid and disconnecting the top of the radiator hose and bending it out of the way. I hope I didn't damage the radiator hose by bending it. I just had trouble disconnecting the lower end of the hose, it felt like it was on there super tight... hmm, maybe I should just buy a new one.

Anyways, took it and the battery to Autozone, failed the test, got one on order, should have the new one this afternoon. Also, while removing the radiator drain plug it broke on me, so I had to screw it on by jabbing a sharp flat head screwdriver into it to screw it out slowly. Got that on order too. I'm just surprised that Autozone didn't have the drain plug or the alternator. I would have thought those two items wouldn't have been that specialized...

You're right Nismo, I just couldn't remember what it was while sitting at my computer with my car outside. Maybe one of these days my computer room can be in the same room as my car collection.

Next time, take off the alt mount. It takes some time and finesse but it makes pulling the alt out 100 times easier.

Is it okay for the battery to get wet from the rain? I couldn't help but notice the air vent above the battery while the battery sits in a 1 inch deep pool of water. I'm trying to figure out if I'm supposed to have some kind of cover for the battery.

If its sitting in a pool of water that means its not draining, the plastic tray that the battery rests on has a little hole and a clear hose that connects to it to drain the water out, most of the time the connector to the hose is snapped off, but the water should still drain, free up whatever is causing the clog.

Not sure why I didn't notice that. Yea, the hose was disconnected and the little tube that comes out the tray was kind of closed up so I pushed a screwdriver through it and opened it up some.

Well, got my alternator installed, just waiting on a radiator drain plug that's on order since the old one broke on me.