3.4 Alt, cradle or driveaxle

[joey b]

My alt is dying and I am going to fix it on Saturday. Should I drop the cradle or pull the axle? I just changed the tranny fluid and don't wanna lose all that FWIW. Do either one require an alignment?

[DOHCRagtopguy]

I did the wife's 92 3.4 thru the drive axle. It wasn't too bad. To me, it seemed easier than dropping the cradle. Once you get that axle out of there it is accessible.

 

Actually either way is a pain in the ass.

 

Have fun.

[99RegalGS]

My tip after pulling the alt out 3 times last weekend is to wait to pull the axle out untill the last minute to avoid losing too much fluid. Another tip is to pull off the top alternator bolt off first since it's a pita.

 

But set a full day aside if it's your first time.

 

Good luck.

[joey b]

Well, I got it done this weekend. It only took an hour to get out. I decided to pull the whole strut assembly out and I had plenty of room. I really can't remember the mounting locations of the earlier 3.4 alternator bolts, but the lower one on the 97 didn't want to pull out all the way (later I found that there was a slot that it slid in) and I ground away a little bit of the body. Made it incredibly easier to drive it back in afterwards though. Took me only an hour to get it out, but one and a half to get it in, mainly due to trying to line the alternator back up.