Alternator replacement on a 1998 XJ. (1998 only)
 

It seems like each year has a different method.
Has anyone personally replaced the alternator on a 1998 ?

Remove battery try and remove from top?
Remove L-bracket and remove from bottom?

Anyone know the right way for a 1998 ?

Also, what brand would you suggest I buy ?
I read that remans can be junk.

On my 98 I removed it from the top. I used a Bosch ( ). It was a pain to install but has worked without problems. I don't recall that you need to remove the battery tray but it's not a bad idea to make sure the bolts aren't frozen and you check under the tray to make sure noting is amiss.

Is there a reason you did not remove it from the bottom ?

It's easier to remove from the top with the battery tray removed. That's what I have done a quite few times on my jeeps. Plus the bonus benefit is that u won't have to lay down on the ground at all. That's why I did it.

I bought a NAPA alternator.
I may try to do this over the weekend, if I find a verified method for '98.
For now, there is one vote to remove from top

More comments

I'll have to try that if I should need to replace my alternator again in the future. I did it from the bottom, which wasn't all that difficult, but any time something can be repaired without having to lay on the ground it's a definite plus.

I am pretty sure removing the alternator would be the same for any XJ. Especially '97 and up that is the newer body style
There were some changes in the alternator themselves. Pretty sure '99 to '01 is different then '97 or '98.
But still removed the same way.
I am with XJwonders on this. Remove the battery and the tray. Do it from the top.
I tried to take one out through the bottom in the boneyard. I could not get it.
Guys have said they have done it though.
The extra 10 minutes it take to remove the battery and the battery tray is time well spent.

My 98 xj, pull the battery out, but had to get underneath once or twice to get at the bolt. Alt will go in and out from the top tho., for sure. Not an easy job by any means having done it 3 times trying to rebuild it myself. Oh I succeeded, after I got another from the junkyard and put the parts in it. If the bearing is shot you should replace because it might actually be the stator windings have expanded too much.

Not an easy job by any means

This scares me. Most people on this forum trivialize any repair, saying they can do an engine rebuild in 13 minutes, and easy peasy, and the hardest step is opening the beer.
You gotta keep in mind that people here say they can replace the heater core in 4 minutes and that their 6 year old kid can do it in 7 minutes with nothing but a fork and chopsticks as tools.

So, when someone says something is difficult, that REALLY makes me stop and think twice about ever trying this myself.
Why do you say this was not an easy job?

Let me rephrase. It's easy, in that it's straight forward. It's also not that strenuous. You can take a break at any time. Just set aside a couple hours to take it out if it's never been out before. A can of blaster is mandatory. Just take your time, don't break any bolts, and if you do just replace them. As I recall the strenuous part was loosening the bolts from underneath, many wrench/ ratchet turns. But once you have it out it goes in alot easier. By all means, do it, if you think you need an alternator.
This question has come up before; how hard is it to change, and as you say some will say a 5 minute job, so I saw where someone looked it up in the book and the book called for something like 2.5 hours.
Why are you changing it?

I never do a repair without 2 entire days set aside. 20 hours, if need be.

My battery is only reading 12.25V while running. 170k miles original alternators is probably the obvious culprit.
If I remove it, I just replace it since time costs more than money.
I got a replacement from NAPA for $110

If book is 2.5 hours, that is actually a bit of a red flag.
I would have thought it's a 1 or 1.5 hour repair (belt, battery, alternator bolts, R&R)
It always takes me 3-4x the book time. Maybe 5x for a first time job.
That means it will take me at least 8 hours, and is not simple repair.

I'm going to give this a shot.
I don't mind many ratchet turns, or laying on the ground. That's easy.
It's not knowing what to do (or getting stuck) is the hard part.
I will remove from the top, but maybe loosen from the bottom.

Where's your old school spirit? "in the rumble seat, Porge, want a snort?" Oh wait. sorry. Yeah so that sounds like a dead alternator and a good plan, alright.