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Replacing alternator decoupler pulley on 2005 T&C 3.8L

43K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  cmk033 
#1 ·
Greetings,
I searched this forum and found that the noise I hear from my 2005 T&C (whenever I turned on the AC or put the car in gear) was coming from a bad OAD pulley on the alternator. I bought a new Litens OAD pulley off eBay for $69 and need to install it. I know Miller makes a special install tool for about $65. However, I'd like to know if anyone has had success in removing the old pulley and installing the new one without the special tool.
Thanks for your help.
DennisV

2005 T&C, 3.8L, 105,000 miles
1997 T&C, 3.8L, 227,000 miles
 
#3 · (Edited)
You can hear a faint noise from the engine compartment when the van is stopped and in PARK. If you turn on the air conditioning the noise gets louder. Also if you put the van in REVERSE or DRIVE then the noise gets louder. Also if you turn on the lights the sound gets a bit louder. All of these conditions are when you put a load on the serpentine belt. Watching the belt with the hood up I had my son alternately turn the AC on and off, put the van in and out of gear, and turn the headlights on and off. Every time he did this I could see the serpentine belt kind of jump around a bit and the noise got louder. Based on all the related topics on this forum this points to the alternator pulley which is one of the LITEN "OAD" (overrunning alternator decoupler) types used on the 2005 T&C 3.8L engine.
I talked to the local dealership and they will not replace just the pulley. They claim they will only replace the alternator/pulley as a unit (read this as BIG BUCKS $$$ as their shop labor rate is $127.50 per hour!!! ). The local garage who I've used to replace the water pump at 85,000 miles is reasonable for repairs but they won't do it because they don't have the special tool needed to remove the pulley. I hate to spend $65-$75 for a special toll that i"ll use only once if there is an alternative way to do it.
DennisV
 
#4 ·
Ask to borrow or rent the tool from your Dodge dealer. They have probably never used it. Or take your alt and new clutch in and let them change it for you. THey might do it free just for the experience. Worth a try.
 
#5 ·
Or take your alt and new clutch in and let them change it for you. THey might do it free just for the experience. .
Unfortunately, When they refused to install just the pulley and insisted on installing an alternator/pulley unit I figured they either didn't have the pulley tool or just wanted to maximize their profit at my expense.
DennisV
 
#8 ·
I was faced with the same thing, and got a rebuilt unit from Advance that had a new decoupler on it, got it on sale on line and saved 25%, ended up costing about 170. I did it myself, and if you take the EGR valve off, it is a fairly easy, one hour job. If you follow the Haynes manual and try to remove the dipstick, which is what I tried at first, it wasted two hours. If you do this, be sure to rent the serpentine belt tool or you wont get it off. Pull the wheel, pull the splash guard and you can get it off easy. If you are looking at the labor in a shop, you can get a whole new unit with decoupler for about what the labor would be to install it at some shops.
 
#9 ·
#10 · (Edited)
Home made OAD tool :)

I had to change the OAD on my 2001 T&C and improvised a tool to R&R the pulley. Cost to make it was about 4 soda's and sacrificied my short 10mm 1/4 drive socket. I used 2 11/16 sae nuts to make the pulley holder. See photo's:





I bought the pully here for $39.00 bucks + shipping
http://www.iat-usa.com/parts.html



Worked great ! Hope this helps some folks out.
:ThumbsUp::biggrin:
 
#11 ·
So the two nuts were welded together and the 10mm socket was simply ground down to fit down through the pulley? And this is all just normally set (not welded) to a 1/4" extension? Very ingenious. I might have to try that...
 
#12 ·
On Car Service?

You can get the special tool to remove the pulley on the alternator from your local O'Reily part store. It is a loaner but you first have to purchase it for $29.99 and after the use, you return it for a refund.

I have not started to work on replacing the pulley but this forum was a best resource to get things started. Thank you everyone.

One question for those who has already replaced the pulley. Looking at the pulley, it may be possible to replace the pulley without removing the alternator from the car if you remove the air filter module(?) that is sitting above it. Has anyone done it without removing the alternator? Or is it possible to? I would appreciate any input on this. -- Mike (cmk033@yahoo.com).
 
#13 ·
Loaner Tool from O'Riley

I will have to take back the statement I made earlier. O'Reilly part stores does not loan the tool to remove ADP. The clerk that I spoke to prior to the posting, did not know what he was talking about. The tool is not one of the loaner tool that is on their list. Sorry about that.

I guess I would have to purchase one or make a tool. I do not have a welder to make the tool. I do not know what I can do. I think the tool cost too much ($90) that I am only going to use it for once. It may be a better choice just to replace the whole alternator. I do not know when is the good time to replace the alternator either. My minivan has about 125K miles on it and is 2001 Town & Country LXi. I don't know..... -- Mike
 
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