We had a new hire at work (been there 3-4 weeks now) that heard from the grapevine that I work on cars. He asked if I'd change his alternator for him, said it's making all sorts of noise; some mechanic he took it to diagnosed it as the alternator. He's a cool guy, I got along with him well from the start, so I told him to bring it over and I'd replace it. 2002 Accord w/160K, 3.0L V6, I'm familiar with the J-series engines having owned a 3.5L Odyssey before.
Much tighter squeeze getting the alternator out in an Accord chassis than it was in my Odyssey, especially getting a wrench in the tight space to relieve belt tension, and also had to remove a couple brackets to physically get the alternator out of that tight space. Nothing insurmountable, probably a 30-45 minute job if we weren't jabbering the whole time. New alternator cured the noise.
Somewhere in the process he mentions he's 4K over his oil change-- he's been duped by Valvoline quick-lube into thinking he needs it every 3K. I have leftover filters from my Odyssey, so I offered to change the oil as it's nearing 7K since his last change and I have quite the oil stash. Drain plug took a 12" 3/8" drive breaker bar to break lose-- took way too much effort and I was almost to the point of declining the offer because of how tight it was.
Oil filter was worse. Valvoline quick-lube used the tiny 6607-size thimble filter, not sure if that's what's called for on this vehicle, but I typically see a PH7313 or PH3593A size used on the J-series of that era. My strap wrench actually twisted the metal can of the filter like a corkscrew trying to break it loose. Ended up having to remove the passenger wheel and luckily there's enough clearance around the oil filter where I could get a large set of channel lock pliers at the top of the filter and remove it that way. WAY too tight.
Took longer than I thought, but the guy was great company. 5 quarts of 5w-30 Chevron Supreme and a Mobil1 filter I had no use for and a couple hours of my time. I had 5w-20 on hand, but he preferred the 5w-30. He just bought the car, so I made sure to mention timing belt since it has no service history.. Given the condition of the car and where he bought it (buy here pay here), I suspect it's never been changed.
Much tighter squeeze getting the alternator out in an Accord chassis than it was in my Odyssey, especially getting a wrench in the tight space to relieve belt tension, and also had to remove a couple brackets to physically get the alternator out of that tight space. Nothing insurmountable, probably a 30-45 minute job if we weren't jabbering the whole time. New alternator cured the noise.
Somewhere in the process he mentions he's 4K over his oil change-- he's been duped by Valvoline quick-lube into thinking he needs it every 3K. I have leftover filters from my Odyssey, so I offered to change the oil as it's nearing 7K since his last change and I have quite the oil stash. Drain plug took a 12" 3/8" drive breaker bar to break lose-- took way too much effort and I was almost to the point of declining the offer because of how tight it was.
Oil filter was worse. Valvoline quick-lube used the tiny 6607-size thimble filter, not sure if that's what's called for on this vehicle, but I typically see a PH7313 or PH3593A size used on the J-series of that era. My strap wrench actually twisted the metal can of the filter like a corkscrew trying to break it loose. Ended up having to remove the passenger wheel and luckily there's enough clearance around the oil filter where I could get a large set of channel lock pliers at the top of the filter and remove it that way. WAY too tight.
Took longer than I thought, but the guy was great company. 5 quarts of 5w-30 Chevron Supreme and a Mobil1 filter I had no use for and a couple hours of my time. I had 5w-20 on hand, but he preferred the 5w-30. He just bought the car, so I made sure to mention timing belt since it has no service history.. Given the condition of the car and where he bought it (buy here pay here), I suspect it's never been changed.
