Buick Verano alternator swap help

[Xlite]

Hey all,

I'm looking to upgrade my alt in my 2012 Buick Verano for my next build. After popping the hood, I realized it would be no easy task like it is in some vehicles. I'm wanting to do it myself rather than pay someone some crazy amount of money to install it. Attached are pictures of said alt currently buried under my hood.

Any body done this swap, or similar before?

Only asking here because I could not find any information/videos/tutorials on my car.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated, first time taking on a project like this,

Thanks.

[s5300]

This might not be at all relevant to your bay, but a possibility.

In my Lincoln Zephyr, AC lines have to be disconnected to get the alt out, so unless you have something to drain and recharge those lying around... you might just have to go to a shop. Shit sucks.

[WalledSonic]

I have a chevy sonic and just replaced mine. Do you have the 1.4T, 1.6, or 1.8 liter engine?

[Xlite]

I have a chevy sonic and just replaced mine. Do you have the 1.4T, 1.6, or 1.8 liter engine?

Hey, sorry for the late reply, my Verano is 2.4L engine.

[WalledSonic]

I knew the Sonic, Cruze, and Verano shared alot of parts, but not the same platform. The alternator is easy on most of these platforms. Loosen the belt tensioner and remove the belt. Some folks like to unbolt the motor mount; others, like myself, would rather remove some body panels from under the fender well to reach the mounting bolts for the alternator. Its really not complicated. I couldnt see your pics you posted, but take a look at gmpartsdirect.com.

http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/auto-parts/2012/buick/verano/base-trim/2-4l-l4-flex-engine/electrical-cat/alternator-scat

[WalledSonic]

Try to post a pic of your alternator location

[Xlite]

Try to post a pic of your alternator location

It's fairly buried. The bolting in and out part isn't the problem, it's how I get it in and out. It's really blocked in by those tubes.

[WalledSonic]

Remove from underneath, thats what I did. You'll probably need to remove the underbody panels and the inner fender well panels. Removing the panels isn't hard, but it was the hardest part of the whole swap. If you are comfortable with a wrench in hand, you'll be ok.

Find a day when you have the whole day (or weekend) to tinker with it. Disconnect the battery, jack the car up, remove some body panels, and I'll bet you can get in there enough to remove the alternator, but don't remove it yet. Do all this before you buy an alt so that you can verify the part number on the housing and also unplug the harness to see the connection type. Take a pic of both the part number and looking at the face of the connector. Any alternator vendor will need those pics to make sure you know what you're doing and that they have the right data to build you an alt. Put your car back together and then start getting quotes. Post those pictures here in this thread if you get that far. Im interested to see how similar the design is between the Verano and the Sonic. I may also be able to help further at that point.

I would talk to Singer or US Alternators, those are the only two vendors that would even talk to me about my little internally regulated alternator. I got a bunch of no-quotes from the other popular ones. I must say, though, both of the above vendors were EXTREMELY helpful.

Once your alt arrives, take everything apart again but this time remove the alt completely. You'll need to pull the tensioner against its sprung direction to loosen the belt. But don't remove or loosen the tensioner. Just pull it in the belt-loosening direction. Verify the pulley on the new unit is spaced from the housing the same amount as the original alt (I had to shim my alt mounts when I was reinstalling). Buy a couple belts, one about 1/2" shorter and another about 1" shorter. You can calculate how much shorter you actually need with some arc length calcs, if you want, or install both belts and see which one gets the tensioner in the right position. There are usually marks on the tensioner housing. Make sure to add the shim where needed. Reinstall, connect everything, and turn it on before you put all those panels back on. You'll want to watch and listen to the belt for a few minutes to make sure everything is trued up.

[Xlite]

Remove from underneath, thats what I did. You'll probably need to remove the underbody panels and the inner fender well panels. Removing the panels isn't hard, but it was the hardest part of the whole swap. If you are comfortable with a wrench in hand, you'll be ok.

Find a day when you have the whole day (or weekend) to tinker with it. Disconnect the battery, jack the car up, remove some body panels, and I'll bet you can get in there enough to remove the alternator, but don't remove it yet. Do all this before you buy an alt so that you can verify the part number on the housing and also unplug the harness to see the connection type. Take a pic of both the part number and looking at the face of the connector. Any alternator vendor will need those pics to make sure you know what you're doing and that they have the right data to build you an alt. Put your car back together and then start getting quotes. Post those pictures here in this thread if you get that far. Im interested to see how similar the design is between the Verano and the Sonic. I may also be able to help further at that point.

I would talk to Singer or US Alternators, those are the only two vendors that would even talk to me about my little internally regulated alternator. I got a bunch of no-quotes from the other popular ones. I must say, though, both of the above vendors were EXTREMELY helpful.

Once your alt arrives, take everything apart again but this time remove the alt completely. You'll need to pull the tensioner against its sprung direction to loosen the belt. But don't remove or loosen the tensioner. Just pull it in the belt-loosening direction. Verify the pulley on the new unit is spaced from the housing the same amount as the original alt (I had to shim my alt mounts when I was reinstalling). Buy a couple belts, one about 1/2" shorter and another about 1" shorter. You can calculate how much shorter you actually need with some arc length calcs, if you want, or install both belts and see which one gets the tensioner in the right position. There are usually marks on the tensioner housing. Make sure to add the shim where needed. Reinstall, connect everything, and turn it on before you put all those panels back on. You'll want to watch and listen to the belt for a few minutes to make sure everything is trued up.

Thank you so much for all the advice, I'll let you know how things go, the help is greatly appreciated.