The problem this time was the battery light came on a few days previous, can i check it out.
So with said shed now on the drive way its not long before the the diagnostic is complete and as suspected the alternator has died and signed a "do not revive" request.
A quick test with a multimeter shows 12.3 volts at the battery with engine off and 12.3 volts at the Alternator, With the engine running both readings stay the same, albeit dropping all the time. So..No output at the alternator.
Matey wants to go the cheap route so ordered the transplant part from dodgy dave down at the breakers. Its not fun laying under a van with everything just out of reach trying to break the world record for the longest crunch ever, however you will get a nice 6 pack in no time. Driving the van up onto railway sleepers gives me a nice height to be able to sit nicely next to the fuel tank and easily reach all the bolts to remove the alternator.
Tools you will need are:- 10mm socket, 13mm socket,15mm Socket, ratchet, hammer, cutters for belt. Jack and axe stands, Donor or New Alternator, New Stretch belt- 6Pk 831. Stretch belt install tool (Not really needed but for those wanting all the rights tools)
Extra tools you will find useful:- Railway sleepers x2 (Approx 4ft long), WD40, Angle grinder with wire wheel(for cleaning), L shaped shelf bracket (You know the small kind the borrowers use to put their shelves up)
See image on this page. Anything like that will work instead of the belt installation tool.
http://www.milbyco.com/water-treatment/cartridge-filters-housings/9985
So heres the steps.
1) Disconnect negative battery terminal
2) Raise the van (or not if you want a 6 pack in no time)
3) locate Alternator and remove the plastic wire plug and the 10mm nut holding the battery wire in place.
4) Using 13mm socket or spanner crack the bolts loose, You can remove the bottom two at the point (be sure to catch the spacer that falls out from behind). Leave the top bolt in but loose at this point. (If you take all 3 out you will find your alternator may not come out of the engine bay, You'll be scratching your head for ages).
5) On the steering rack undo the lower pinch bolt using a 13mm socket or spanner.(May need a bit of WD40 to help clean the area) No need to try and hold the flat end, Its shaped to hold itself. Remove the nut and use a drift/nail to knock it out. With that free you can now knock the joint apart with a hammer, use soft blows on this, were not planning on breaking that beyond repair. When it separates you can now move the steering shaft about.
6) now undo and remove the top Alternator bold and remove to from the engine. Move the steering shaft towards the passenger seat and the alternator over the steering joint. simply pass the alternator towards the passenger seat and the steering rack back towards the drivers side. Your Alternator now passes over the exhaust and out by the fuel tank.
7) Replace with a working Alternator remembering the dance sequence you just learnt on removal. You should now have the alternator near its mounting bolts. I only worried about inserting 2 bolts at this point just to hold it in position.
Insert the top and bottom right mounting bolts. The top one you can do up a few turns to be sure its holding. Now before putting the bottom left bolt back in be sure to put the spacer back between the alternator and engine block. One you have this side almost tight you can remove the right side bolt again and swing the spacer up into place and re-insert the bolt. You can now tighten these. 9) Replace the main battery wire and the plastic wire connection to the Alternator.
10) now you can set about reinstalling the steering linkage. Pretty easy as long as your kids haven't been pissing about with the steering wheel while you had it apart. Try not to break the spring on the mounting cup. I used soft blows with the hammer just to get it fully home. Insert and make sure that nuts tight. You should replace this nut and bolt with a new one, Iv always reused with no issues.
11) Time to get the new belt handy. Put it on the alternator first. Over the top of the crank pulley as far as you can get it. Then using your L shaped tool (jammed between belt and pulley) you can turn the engine by hand. The bracket will guide your new belt on nicely. Tip: Have a mate handy with another 15mm socket or spanner. If you just picked any nut of the three on the crank pulley you may find you run out of turning space and when you try to rewind your ratchet the engine just wants to turn back against you. Look at the pulley and put your socket on the nut at 11 0 clock. You'll get almost one complete turn of the pulley before running out of turning room. Thats plenty!
You should have just completed your alternator change. Battery light should now be out and your good to go..right? But what about the angle grinder with wire wheel i hear you ask.
That tool is optional, If you have time and to rule this out later down the line. if you change your alternator and the battery light stays on you'll be looking at wiring and crap connections. While matey went to dodgy dave and got the alternator from the breakers i removed both negative and positive terminals from the battery. Put the battery on charge, and set about removing the linkable fuse next to the engine main fuse box. Why?
Corrosion on a transit is like a tosser in an audi.. they go well together. Using the angle grinder and wire wheel - I cleaned every connection within the circuit that needed it. Even removing the fuseable link and cleaning that. Make all the connections nice and shiny, I removed the earth cable from the starter motor and cleaned up both the cable and connection surface and bolt from the starter. Follow that cable from the starter and you'll be back to body ground under the fuseable link. Unbolt and clean that connection too. You can then use a multimeter and conduct a continuity test to be sure both ends of the cable are showing as connected. With a complete circuit cleaned and in working order you can test from battery negative cable (no battery attached) to any ground point on the vehicle and get a nice little buzz confirming both points are indeed connected and all is good. Go from positive cable, again with no battery. Touch anything that will be positive like the alternator battery wire, the starter battery wire, the fuseable link or even the fuse box buzz bar (right side of all fuses) and you should get a nice buzz sound indicating all is fine and connected.
When i first started testing, the ground side was hit a miss. Even the jump lead earth point on the engine wouldn't confirm it was indeed connected to ground until i used the angle grinder with wire wheel to clean it.
Hope this helps someone in the future.
Dazza
but can't get the new belt on - don't have the Ford tool so any pointers ?
found various tools - 50 to 100€ shipped to here in France 
- will order a gen Ford one next week (with tool) just incase
