Changing an alternator below zero

rusty6

Well-known Member
I got lucky in that the alternator quit working just as I arrived home one night recently. The temp dropped way below zero by the time I got a new one so it was a
cool job in the unheated steel quonset. The space heater kept me from freezing up though. We couldn't survive in this country without burning fossil fuels.
Blazer Alternator
 

I've done jobs like that when I didn't have a garage of any kind. Can't work with gloves on, so I'd just slip back into the house every so often to thaw out my fingers.
 
(quoted from post at 07:47:03 02/18/20)
I've done jobs like that when I didn't have a garage of any kind. Can't work with gloves on, so I'd just slip back into the house every so often to thaw out my fingers.
My hands don't stand cold well. Gloves are useless to me as each finger will freeze separately. At least in a heavy insulated mitt they are all together sharing what little heat I produce. Surprising how much work can be done wearing those big clumsy mitts. Better than frozen hands . Even better with the space heater as I can heat up the wrenches I need to use.
 
I hear ya. Years ago my dad helped a neighbor overhaul a car in the driveway of a crib when it was about zero out. My job back then was to wash the parts in gasoline.That was over 60 years ago and I still don't like to wash parts.
 
Laying under my van in a snowmobile suit with a howling North wind and near zero temperatures changing the u joints. That convinced my then that I needed a heated shop.

OTJ
 
Been there, done that....and I now do my best to avoid it anymore!

However wrenching outside in extreme cold has just gotta be done. I use several tripod and clamp-on 300 watt halogen floodlights and position them as close a possible to the workspace.

Not like working in a heated shop. But it still takes the edge off when working barehanded in the cold!
 
I had to change the fuel pump on a SBChevvy when it was cold. I changed it with no problem of the push rod falling down in the way as it was stiff from the cold & stayed up out of the way.
 
I need to do a few minor things to my John Deere 60 probably won't happen until April. I can't take the cold as good as I once did.
 
(quoted from post at 09:43:02 02/18/20) I got lucky in that the alternator quit working just as I arrived home one night recently. The temp dropped way below zero by the time I got a new one so it was a
cool job in the unheated steel quonset. The space heater kept me from freezing up though. We couldn't survive in this country without burning fossil fuels.

Replacing an S10 Blazer alternator inside with a space heater is "a spring walk in the park".

Replace the starter at ten below in an open parking lot, in the wind, and report back.

BT, DT.
 
My pole barns aren't heated and usually about 10 degrees warmer than outside and no wind chill.
When it's zero I work inside a heated 2 car attached garage. I can easily turn the heat on and warm it to 70 no problem.

Zero Burrrr. Makes me cold just thinking about it.
George
 
(quoted from post at 12:41:25 02/18/20)

Replacing an S10 Blazer alternator inside with a space heater is "a spring walk in the park".

Replace the starter at ten below in an open parking lot, in the wind, and report back.

BT, DT.
No thanks I won't be doing that. Maybe 20 years ago but not anymore. I did r+r a starter on the IH Loadstar some 25 years ago on dirt floor same time of year. Lots of room and clearance to work but the same finger freezing cold. No heater that time.
 
Had to replace the starter on my chevy K3500 two winters back at -15F outside in the snowbank. Only good thing was I could go in the house to warm up after a few minutes, as you don't get long in those temperatures before exposed skin starts freezing and holding anything metal gets mighty uncomfortable mighty quickly! Biggest hurdle was the main starter cable's ring terminal had come off and cleaning and stripping wire, especially heavy-gauge wire like a starter cable, in that kind of cold is no fun. Got it done with no major catastrophes but it sure did remind me how much I hate Snowbank Maintenance!
 
(quoted from post at 19:48:47 02/18/20)
(quoted from post at 12:41:25 02/18/20)

Replacing an S10 Blazer alternator inside with a space heater is "a spring walk in the park".

Replace the starter at ten below in an open parking lot, in the wind, and report back.

BT, DT.
No thanks I won't be doing that. Maybe 20 years ago but not anymore. I did r+r a starter on the IH Loadstar some 25 years ago on dirt floor same time of year. Lots of room and clearance to work but the same finger freezing cold. No heater that time.

I brought that up 'cause changing the starter on an S-10 is WAY nastier than it needs to be. And, yes, I've done it, in the cccold, and otherwise.

NO need for a common failure part to be that hard to get to!

Of course, then there's the starter on a Caddy "Northstar".
 
On my 1992 Sonoma same as S10 I ran a long wire from the starter to the top of the motor so the solenoid wire can be hooked up before installation and also used the grinder on the starter housing making it much easier to get to the starter hole.
 

My shop building is 40'x50'x17'. It is insulated but has no permanent heat. I built an inner room 16'x22'x10' in one corner. I keep it at 50 degrees until I go in to work when I nudge it up to 60. It takes $450/year in propane.
 
pulled a transmission out of a 4400 combine that broke in the field while the owner was trying to mud out corn. had to dig a tunnel to get it out from under the combine. The ground was froze just a little so had to carry tools in and drag the tranny out of the field because the service truck would not go thru the mud.
 
(quoted from post at 07:01:27 02/19/20) pulled a transmission out of a 4400 combine that broke in the field while the owner was trying to mud out corn. had to dig a tunnel to get it out from under the combine. The ground was froze just a little so had to carry tools in and drag the tranny out of the field because the service truck would not go thru the mud.
Now that sounds like a terrible job. I would not want to trade.
 
Did that once on my F350, in a snowstorm. No coveralls and bad selection of wrenches. Thumbs down for the 3rd bolt that is impossible to get to.
 

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