strange alternator removal problem

[madLyrical]

so it appears that a shop i had taken my car too some time ago to do my timing belt broke the little clip on the wiring harness that attaches to the alternator.. and now im trying to take the alternator off, coz the charge light is on so im pretty sure its that.. but i cannot seem to figure out a way to get it off without breaking the harness..does anybody have any tricks

[Sleeper6]

very small screwdrivers, and worst case remove the 2bolts holding the harness to the head and give yourself some extra working room.

[PATDIESEL]

yeah remove the two bolts on the valve cover so you have some room to move the wires around. When they broke the clip, was it the little push down part or was it worse? Those little push down parts are really old now and are very prone to breaking. I was luck and got a really nice engine harness years ago that I steal connectors from. Worse case scenario get a new connector and soldier it in place of the broken one. Also, when you put in the new alt make sure you clean the contacts of the harness and use a bit of diaelectric grease on the contacts so they stay good and clean.

[madLyrical]

yea i managed to get it off, i found a small flat head screwdriver..yeah there was almost none of the clip left, small enough that i had to hold it down with my finger tip while prying with the other.. only took like 2 hours.. so im gonna take it to get rebuilt in the morning, then do all the brakes and rotors, and get a friend to help me rebuild the disty.. been so busy wit school it feels good to finally get back to work on the car, i havent been here in so long..

i almost forgot i also need to replace my cooling fan, do u guys kno of any fan assemblys that will be cheaper than what im certain the dealer is charging