We helped my nephew buy this vehicle and now it's having problems. When it died the first time (while running), we jumped it fine and it made it home. The second time, it was much more difficult to jump and didn't want to charge. Took two jumps to make it home (which was only 1 mile away at the moment). So we ended up buying a new battery and taking to a mechanic. We asked him to test the alternator and old battery. He said the battery seems ok, but since it was over 6 years old, he recommended putting in the new one and did. When he went to check the alternator, he noticed that the connection was bad. So he replaced the eyelet and tested it. He said it seems fine, but if it dies again to bring it back. Well, the second day that we had the jeep back, it died again and would not jump. Luckily once again, they were only 1 mile from home and just pushed it the rest of the way. With all this information I am assuming the alternator is bad. We called the mechanic and they want between $250-$300 to replace it. So I called an auto shop and they quoted me $98 for a new alternator (provided that I give them the old one). So my husband said he will attempt to install it. He's no dummy, but has never done it before. Is it hard to do? Can it be changed from above? Or do we need to go buy jacks to lift it up? Does anyone have a video of it being done that I can see?

Thanks,
Sheila

Just a added note, the motor (which I am guessing was replaced and not original) is a in-line V6

 

Is it a 6cylnder or 8cylnder Grand Cherokee? if it's the 4.0L 6cyl it's easier to be done from the bottom. Here's a video of an alternator change on the 4.0L

 

I'm sorry. Did I post in the wrong section?