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Unhooked battery .I took out the coolant hose and air connection line. It was difficult to get hands in there. Mine is the 850 T so I don't know if that makes a difference but there is not a lot of room to move. You need good light, eyesight and patience. Was able to get power cable off (12mm I think) and line going to VR which is a slide-on clip and 3 screws in the back of the alternator which are philips head screws... old and rusty ones. (just when you really want a torx) Had to battle with these with a stubby driver and ultimately had to cut one off as head of screw stripped. There are 3 clips on the plastic backing to the alternator so you have to depress and pry (gently) one at a time until back comes off. There was very little room to even set this backing out of the way. Two more philips screws hold in the Voltage regulator and out it comes. WHAT !!! It looked nothing like the one I had purchased for replacement.
Apparently there were 2 different VR's that Bosch used for this series of car... or it may be a part mix up from my supplier... i.e. maybe it fits the 2.4 or something... anyway.. do check VIN and part # to get proper VR for your alternator. Of course the one I was looking for was only available in US or was priced in the $200 plus range... just about croaked. Purchased a used alternator for part locally but brushes looked almost as bad. Thought about rebuilding but found a contact through a friend who was able to get one locally ... amazing.. for about $60.00 new. Those parts company can really screw you over. Anyway... after a week of searching got the right part and got it in. I used the hardware from the alternator I had parted out as it was in much better shape. Re-attached power lines and clip. Put hose and air back together. Topped up coolant. Started her up and got 14.3 V steady across the battery at idle. Thanks for help guys... and make sure you get the right part.
Some of you might say well just go the extra mile and put a whole new alternator in... well besides another couple hours under the hood minimum I would have been putting in a reman. unit and there is no guarantee that you get a new or even reconditioned VR with that alternator. And I had just done my timing belt and all related parts last summer... really didn't want to get into the belts again. So ... although this was a bit of a pain... it worked out well and if I had had the right part it was around a 2 hour job. Maybe less.
Thanks for your input guys.
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