SELL THE FREAKING THING AND BUY A CAR WITH A BONNET !!!!
What would have taken 15 minutes to do in a car took about 3 hours, with most of the oil and grunge off the motor now on me. I had to take the oil filter off just to get the thing out of the engine bay !! then i forgot I had taken it off and started the motor to see if the alternator was working..Oil f@#kin everywhere.
on the bright side, a nice breeze has come up soooooo, hello water.
What sort of van is it?
Did the alternator light finally come on when the engine is stopped? And is your battery charging properly now?
Ha I love my van but do hate working on the thing 
My advice would be get someone else to do it.
I'm a mechanic and even i would get someone else to do it, I would rather be having a beer, or find a workshop near the beach and pick it up after your done.
when you take it to the workshop, watch the mechanics all of a sudden get busy on something else,
vans suck.
but there very practical
i think i know what the problem is now.
it's a mitsubishi.....
as a kid hanging out in the old mans workshop my weekend job was reconditioning alternators and starter motors.
it's a fairly simple job, but from memory the mitsubishi alternators were painfull. they were so compact getting the regulator back in with the brushes in place took a knack.
i used a piece of fencing wire with a hook on the end to hold the brush leads so you can slide the regulator back in. (from memory)
you also need to make sure you solder the brushes in at the right length. as firie said in the other post. you will also need to machine the slip ring or at least give it a sand on a lathe.
i'm liking the get someone else to do it idea. 
Nah. If its that hard I wont do it. The alternator from the wreckers is working fine.
(I've about had it with cars for now)
Just split the alternator, undo the nuts on the back, slip out the stator with the diodes and brush box as one unit, remove old brushes and solder newies in. To do this place the brushes into da box and twist the brush leads together then solder, then cut the leads with side cutters at the solder joint so the leads are now separate. You will notice a small hole going through the brush box, push the brushes all the way in and slip a thin wire / pin all the way through the hole in the brush box so it holds the brushes in. After changing the bearings wack it all together, the pin should now be poking out the back of the alternator, pull it out and you should hear a couple of clicks as the brushes seat onto the slip rings. The pin idea is so you don't break the brushes with the rear bearing when putting it all together.
Piece of P
Cheers,
Uncle Bob.
Not that its a car related forum, but how do you replace the bearings on an alternator? I thought most of them were a press fit and thus needed a press to remove them? Is there another way?
alternator?? meh ... thats nothing
try doing the timing belt on a imported diesel hiace, had to remove both front seats all 4 of the accessory drive belts had to undo the AC compressor , then 4 hrs later , 9 at night when it came time to remove the engine pulley ( big one down the bottom that everything else is attatched to ) i didnt have the correct puller and managed to crack it in two.
$300 mistake , finally 5hrs later after getting the timing belt off at was off time to put it all back in , oh whats this oil? damn the front engine seal is leaking... SH1t...
i gotta do it all again when i can be bothered to change that damn seal, and the rear one too.
PS im a mechanic aswell. i hate vans to work on. but i wouldnt have any other mere car!
Re Formulanova,
yes alternator bearings are pressd in , if you are very carefull then you cn use a similar sized socked and beat it out very gently! because the housings are cast alloy and crack easily. your best bet is to take it to your local auto electrician and ask them to fix it. it shoudlnt cost much 
TSK TSK!!
TSK TSK!!
TSK TSK!!
TSK TSK!! 
Haha i saw yours in a thread ages ago and decided thats what i wanted,
seems the super gls only came in that colour green , i have seen one other in the flesh apart from mine and it was green too.
theyre very nice arent they.
not too sure how similar they are to a hilux probably only thing the same under there is the rear diff and the transfer case.
is yours an auto?
i have been looking into getting a turbo for it , i reckons theres sufficient room under there for one , and if you get one from a toyota surf with a 3L diesel engine then it should be fine.
how is urs on fuel? Ks per tank.
Here's a shot of about to leave on a trip last year, got 80L board, 90L board, RRD Longrider, mini-mal, sit on kayak, heaps of fishing gear, few slabs and boxes of red wine, plus room for wife and 2 kids! In a smaller van they would've had to stay at home The constant AWD is a huge comfort, especially down here where it can go from steamy hot weather to pi$$ing rain instantly, and the roads are as slippery as a butchers dic* (where the hell did that saying come from?). Also launching areas, no more spinning wheels and going no-where on the wet grass, beaches, etc etc. Great units. Not greatly good on the fuel, on long trips I'll get 10km/L, or a bit better, but around town a bit less. Yeah I agree a turbo (mines a 2.8L) would be the duck's nuts, mines a tad sluggish going uphill if you don't get a decent run-up, but apart from that I'm happy to cruise around enjoying the scenery, having all my toys in the back, feeling secure on all terrain, and getting perved at by all the people that come up to me at servos and ask me where can they get one from.
Very nice , i get heaps of ppl pervin on me van too
Yes AWD is good but it does contribute to the poor economy. i will let you know if i get a turbo for it.
Overtaking in them is a skill learnt in time haha can be a bit scary at times.
yours would have the 3L diesel engine in it if its 2.8 lt mine has a 5L which is 3 lt.
I bought mine from a commercial yard and i suspect i got ripped off a bit, its only licensed to carry 2ppl and didnt come with a back seat , altho i asked them for one and they gave it to me.
Re Butchers Dik saying , i thought exactly the same thing when i first heard it , i was like Wtf ?
TSK TSK!! 
and the toyota hiaces in my price range don't like LPG..
ok stribo , you win.
parts are the killer. i killed my front diff mount on a rock on the beach ( yes yes i know its not sposed to go on the beach but i just wanted to see if it could AND IT DID VERY WELL!)
couldnt get one in australia so drove around without it till it made bad noises then i ended up just remaking the old one with parts i had to get made up by the machinist. cost me around $200 for the bits and a few hours under the car.
If someone could be botheres i reckon they could make a pretty penny or two specializing in getting in parts for imports and getting manuals translated etc.
mines not that bad re electrics , all that dosnt work ne more is the 100v outlets and im sure its just a fuse. why it has 100v outlets in it is beyond me.
if the door autoshutter when you dont close it hard enough thing dies then i will just have to shut it manually just like anyother van.
go the imports, screw the ADR's
