I have a 1987 Dodge Colt Vista and I am trying to change the Alternator. I have the bolts out and the breather off of the engine but the work area is very tight and I can not figure out how to get the bushing out so that the alternator will lift out or just separate from the bracket. I have been waiting patiently for the car to be fixed and I would love to drive it because it is the car of my dreams.
There is probably another bolt holding the alternator bracket to the block which you can’t see because of the tight space.
I am very sure that there are no more bolts! But thank you. It is a bushing that my dad thinks was pulled into the bracket when the old bolt was tightened.it is just like a metal sleeve but I was told that it is not a slip fit it is a split bushing that fits tightly into the ear. There is no way to a hold of it to extract it.
Cut a hole in the body tin, the inner fender or wherever, so you have some room to work. An '87 Colt?/ The car of your dreams? C’mon, you can dream better than that!
The factory installed the alternator on the engine BEFORE they installed the engine in the car. They DON’T CARE if it’s impossible to remove…
So, you simply disconnect the body from the frame and lift it off, voila! there’s your alternator.
Do you have a manual for this thing? I’m looking at the procedure for changing it on a FWD Colt, and it includes removing the power steering pump and bracket and the A/C condenser fan. Maybe the thing is installed in such a way that you need that PS pump bracket off to get the last bolt off?
If you really truly are sure that you have all of the bolts off, and this is a V-belt type alternator you should be able to wiggle around to adjust the belt tension, you should be able to get in there with some sort of prybar and wiggle it from side to side until it works loose. If it’s a serpentine belt, you can try the same thing, but you have to be a lot more careful that you don’t pry in a direction that will damage anything. A few gentle raps with a rubber mallet might help free the thing too.
Many cars are like this. The slide bushing takes up the slack between the bracket and the alternator housing. With 21 years on it, it is probably galled into place. This slide bushing is really tight on the bracket to begin with. You have to rock the alternator from side to side to get it loose. Swinging it around the bushing does no good.
BTW, an '87 Colt Vista is the car of your dreams? C’mon, your dreams are worth more that that.
What frame? Drill or cut a hole opposite the bushing and drive it out of the bracket…
Now what is wrong with it being the car of my dreams? I travel with 5 large dogs and two kids it is perfect! LOL. I do have a manual for it but it is a Haynes manual for a 1978-1987 Dodge Colt and Plymouth champ. It has no options for 4 wheel drive vehicles and I can not get one for My Dodge Colt Vista or any mitsubishi vehicles that were the same. I am not sure what type of belt configuration there is because it was all loose by the time I started helping with it. I am sure that the bolts are all out. I have looked at the new alternator and everything on it is off the old one now. It will move freely in the directions that are needed to adjust the belt but it just isn’t coming loose. I am going to go rock it back and forth the other way to see if it will come loose but I will need to wait for dad to come back tonight with tools to take everything else off the car. I will have him read the suggestions! Thank you for all of the help. Please let me know if you find anything else that can help me!
This is the car of your dreams? I’d rather drive a minivan. I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder!
This is the car of my dreams That car is not a Vista! Mine is clean and well taken care of. I am a second owner and it is only 4 years younger than me! I really love it no matter how much people make fun of me!!! But thanks for the laugh I need it with my luck with this car! Does any one know of any forums that are for people who collect these or something?
Wow, Cherisa…that’s even worse looking. 
Sorry, had to. And no, I don’t know of any special forums for these cars.
When I had my 85 Cutlass, some people laughed at it, too. But if you like what you drive, that’s all that matters.
All the best.
Ah, don’t listen to them… Colt Vistas are perfectly respectable older cars, they just don’t get the nostalgic appeal of them yet. I think the same thing about first-generation Dodge Caravans.
My one clue, and maybe you already know this, is that this car is really a Mitsubishi, so that’d be where to check for enthusiast forums. However, there isn’t really even that much of an enthusiast base for Misubishis unless they happen to be Eclipse/Talons.
Or Lancers.
I know that it is a mitsubishi! We just got the alternator in on Friday after a two week wait on it from another country! I would like to tell you that it was worth the wait! I am now driving it!!! I think that it is similar to the Dodge Caravans that have the Mitsi engine in them. They are very similar on the inside and out! I now need to figure out why the brake lights keep sticking on. We have replaced the switch that goes under the pedal and we have looked the wiring over and are not finding the cause. If you have any Ideas let me know. Thank you Greasy Jack! I am glad that some one is ok with my love of the car! It is only 4 years younger than me but I will tell you that it is in fairly good condition for its age!
I think that the clutch went out. I was shifting from 4th to 3rd and then a God awful noise and it quit moving. I managed to get it into reverse and had to baby the clutch to get it to back up out of the road and it didn’t want to disengage. I finally got it out and it was put on roll back and brought back to my house! Who has any Ideas???
Sounds like a problem with the hydraulic clutch mechanism. I’ll bet you’ll find a puddle of brake fluid under your car and/or no fluid in the clutch resevior. First I’d give the system an eye-balling to check for any obvious leaks, especially on the rubber hose(s). After that, try refilling it and bleeding it at the slave cylinder and then have an assistant pump the clutch in while you look at the components to try and find the leak. It shouldn’t be a big deal-- the rubber hose and the slave cylinder are the most likely culprits and they’ll shouldn’t cost much more than 30 bucks or so.
Did you ever get the alternator out?
We got that stupid alternator out and if this one goes bad I am going to blow the car up ! LOL The transmission fluid was full but my dad said that he was going to bleed the slave cylinder. He was asking about a pressure plate? Do you think that might have anything to do with it? We can not seem to find a book that actually covers this car the only one we have been able to find to date is one that does not cover 5 speeds or 4 wheel drive. I think he wants to avoid dropping the transmission out of it also.I will be the one pumping the clutch though! I am lucky enough to have my dad work on every thing for me with me being his only girl but even he is at a loss over this car!
I just thought that with a;; of the good help I was getting maybe I should bump this up while it is still warm outside!