My alternator's going south again :( First one seemed to hold a bit more than 100kkm, the current one didn't last even that, only almost. It's still working, but it yet makes noise ('rrrrr'), so I took the belt off and turned the pulley by hand.

It's running rough as the previous one did, so the bearings will be worn out pretty soon as was with the old one.

I'm thinking of replacing it with a 200 or 250 amps alternator --- I can get it off ebay.com, and including shipping, it would cost less than buying a stock 100 amps one here in Germany (see here) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&tc=photo&item=7978918309&category=33573). But the Delco ones appear to be crap, and I'd like to get one that lasts longer than only about 100kkm. Once I get a replacement, I might be able to have the broken one rebuilt, even to more output.

Is there any manufacturers that do a better job and make bolt-in replacements (Load Boss perhaps?)? Something that is known to last longer? I'll have to order quickly ...

Thanks in advance!

I had the same problems of going through alternators on the 95 Lee, i think the downward pull from the tensioner was the culprit fro me, never found an alternator that lasted long (bearings), maybe a beefier bearing pack would help?

There is a higher amp output alternator that people use with on board welders, winches...It is "Green Monster" or something along those lines. I think I saw it at www.premierpowerwelder.com (http://www.premierpowerwelder.com) Good luck!

Thanks for the input!

My impression is that the alternator and the AC compressor are supposed to be points of failure on the line of the accessory belt. They are sitting at the outer edges of the line of the belt, opposite stress-point being the crankshaft pulley. The crankshaft is protected at least by the balancer, and the alternator and AC compressor can be replaced without too much hassle, letting aside the price of a compressor/alternator. Thus, if you have an alternator with stronger bearings, you'll put more stress on the compressor and/or other bearings.

It's just a theory, what do you think of it? If it's true, it won't be a good idea to use an alternator with stronger bearings.

On the other hand, I'm somewhat thinking that the bearings on the alternator fail because they are getting loads of dust rather than from the stress of the belt or the tensioner. The alternator sucks air into the housing for cooling, and the front and the side of the housing is open, thus small pieces of dirt are likely to get into the bearings and to destroy them over time. When the first one failed on me, I was driving through a very dusty and windy area for a couple of hours, and I think that was what it let it finally break down.

That was in Italy, on the way to Rome, and shortly after I got there, it failed when I was close to Vatican City, on a sunday evening. Coincidence? ;) --- Unfortunately, I forgot to take the broken one with me to have one to be rebuilt. It's probably resting now on the enourmous piles of broken alternators they had in the shop --- piles, as if hundreds of people, after driving through that dusty area into Rome, inevitably end up in that shop with deteriorated alternator bearings. If I ever happen to get there again, I might be able to retreive it ...

Therefore, I be looking for a different design, and I've found this one (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=5758208792&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT) from Iraggi. On the pics, you can see that the cooling fan is outside the houseing, and the housing is much more closed than the housings of the Delcos are. Maybe that helps?

And I'll check out that 'Green Monster' thing, if I can find it ... :)

i've replaced 4 of them on the 5th one now. Here's what i did to fix it. Went to Auto Zone-:t which i don't like for my own reason's. Bought the Life Time Free Replacement Alt for around $140, bearing burning up in about 2 years or so, remove Alt go to Auto Zone get a new one:ro) , install, and do it agian in about 2 yr. seems to work well for me, may be something to think about. And it's not like it's hard to remove and install.

Here's an article in 4WOR about the "iceberg" kits JC Whitney, Summit and others sell. I installed one (bought a complete unit, not kit) in my '95 at least 4 years ago and its been fine ever since. Have the old one sitting in the basement, keep meaning to buy just the kit for my old core to keep as a spare. You will need to modify the mounting bracket for the cooling fins to clear, some add back some support to the bracket, I did not and have been okay.

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techarticles/20158/

Went to Auto Zone-:t which i don't like for my own reason's. Bought the Life Time Free Replacement Alt for around $140, bearing burning up in about 2 years or so, remove Alt go to Auto Zone get a new one:ro) , install, and do it agian in about 2 yr.

Ja, I've been thinking of something like that :) But the only source for these alternators in Germany/Europe is Delco, at least the only manufacturer known from which I could get one soon enough.

Price for stock 100 amps alternator is EUR 300 in Italy, probably EUR 350--400 here in Germany --- that is about $450 (!!) for a stock (!) alternator. There's no source that would provide a lifetime warranty.

If I buy a 200 amps Delco off ebay.com, I'll get it for about EUR 200 including shipping, and let it be maybe another EUR 40 for taxes I might have to pay. That would be twice the power for less money.

To get a lifetime warranty, I'd have to buy off ebay.com an Iraggi and pay $99 for the warranty to get one free claim and others for a $99 fee. Each time, I would have to ship the alternator back and forth. Shipping from the US to Germany seems to be about $70, and shipping the other way round can easily cost three times that much. Given that, there would be no use in buying a warranty.


Fortunately, it turned out that I can get the failing one repaired with new bearings and, if need be, new brushes, for about EUR 80. I'll have to take a day off work on Monday for that, and it must only stand the 15 miles or so to get to the shop then. But if it locks up or gets otherwise damaged on the way to the shop, I'll eventually need a new accessory belt (which costs about EUR 100 here), and I'll be immobilized for about three weeks until I get a replacement.

Here's an article in 4WOR about the "iceberg" kits JC Whitney, Summit and others sell. I installed one (bought a complete unit, not kit) in my '95 at least 4 years ago and its been fine ever since.

Hmm, what in the kit makes the alternator so much different from stock that it can last that long? Does the better cooling make all the difference?

Maybe the bearings just get too hot and then fail. Both of mine failed when it was a bit warmer outside.


PS: I'll ask the guy who'll do the repair what he thinks about it and let you know. He might be able to tell if just the bearings are a crap from the beginning or if heat can be a problem.

With the lame angle on the tensioner, it is imperative that the indicator stay in the optimal range which are the two hash markes about 1/8in. away from each other towards the passenger side. Not only is the angle hard on all the bearings of your accessories and drive pulley, but the higher your RPM's go the tighter the belt gets which robs you of power and fuel economy.

$450 bucks, times they are a changin'. The first time I replaced an alternator was in '89 for my '79 El Camino. Rebuilt from pep boys $19.95. Do you really think they've improved the that much, or is it just inflation causing a 2000% increase in price.WTF!

I suspect GREED!!!

With the lame angle on the tensioner, it is imperative that the indicator stay in the optimal range which are the two hash markes about 1/8in. away from each other towards the passenger side. Not only is the angle hard on all the bearings of your accessories and drive pulley, but the higher your RPM's go the tighter the belt gets which robs you of power and fuel economy.

I've been through two belts that didn't exactly fit. The second one started squeeking after 3 hours of driving and continued to squeek for 7000 kms. Then, it was too long to be of any more use. The original belt from Goodyear lasted about 180kkm --- it's worn, but could still be used. The second one is an identical replacement also from Goodyear that fits and is on since since 195kkm or so.

Never buy a belt from Dayco, and never use one that doesn't fit exactly. If a belt doesn't fit, it's getting hard on all the bearings, and at some point, the engine runs 'edgy' because of belt-slipping. This has probably reduced the alternator live about 20kkm or so.

How comes that the belt can tighten at higher RPMs? It has to carry more power, but it's not getting shorter then.


Inflation, well, since we've changed currency from DM to EUR, prices started to double, and some have even more than doubled since then. Taxes and such continually rise, fuel prices are at crazy levels, living costs are utterly high, and unemployment becomes more and more ubiquitous. Wages certainly do in no way keep up with that. This country is going down.

And there's an issue about road taxes due to a change in law. It can mean that they will want me to pay about EUR 2500 per year for road tax and that they might claim that much for the past two years I own my truck. EUR 7500 now and 2500 for the years to come would be a bit much. I might have to sell my truck, and then, I won't be able to take the unforseeable financial risk of buying any car again. Without a car, I cannot get to work, thus I'll loose my job. They want it that way, and they can have that.

New bearings are now in and it runs fine again :) These units are not meant to be repaired, but the guy who did it managed it anyway, and it was quite interesting to watch him. If one doesn't know exactly what he's doing, he's to destroy the alternator completely instead of doing any good.

He agreed that the closed design is better because it doesn't suck that much dirt in, and it is much easier to repair.

If anyone's interested, let me know, and I'll try to give a description how it is done.

I have an alt with squeeky bearing, explaine away.

OK, I'll try my best on it ... I've learned that there are different designs, apparently the more closed one with a fan outside the housing and the one on our trucks which is open at the front and at the side, with two fans inside the housing. One of the fans is on the front and thus visible from outside the housing; the other one is at the back and can't be seen from outside.

The alternator should still be in working condition, i. e. it should still generate current. If it doesn't, it's probably impossible to repair, as internal parts can have rubbed against each other and got destroyed.

Before you do anything on the alternator, it might be a good idea to get hold of a similar one from some junkyard, no matter if it still works or not. You can use it for practicing so that you will better know what to watch out for before you start with the real thing.

On the back of the alternator, there's a plastic cover. Under the cover, there's a small electrical component with a heat sink on it, and a couple of diodes, all embedded into a plastic bracket that is hold to the housing with two screws. Carefully remove the plastic cover, but do not remove the bracket holding the electronic component and the diodes. Things are soldered together there, but you must not un-solder them because the heat will destroy the diodes.

At the center of the rear housing, sticking out from within and through the plastic bracket, there's a round metal stick (I'm lacking the terms for these things ...). The metal stick is going through all the alternator, like an axle, and the pulley on the front side is installed on the axle. The axle is hold by the bearings, one bearing at the front, one at the back, inside the housing.

Now, look at the axle from the rear side of the housing where it sticks through the plastic bracket. There are two lengthy pieces of coal, being hold by the bracket so that their ends touch contacts, made of copper, at the metal stick. You can only see the outer ones of the coals, for they are above another. You must always be very careful not to break these coals! --- The coals will wear over time and thereby become shorter, and they can eventually be replaced, but that's not easy and wasn't needed on mine. Do not break them!

The alternator housing itself is made of two pieces, front and rear. The pieces are hold together with three screws. Scratch a mark into the metal of the housing, going across the two halves of it. You will later need the scratch to align the halves when reassembling the alternator. The scratch needs not to be very accurate, for the holes of the screws that hold the housing together will suffice for accuracy.

Use a bench vise to secure the alternator housing. You can use some place on the housing where the bolts holding the alternator to the alternator/vacuum pump bracket on the engine go, or something suitable like that, to apply the vise jaws. Be very careful with the housing, it can easily be broken! It's really not very sturdy, much less than it appears until you take it apart.

I assume that you put the alternator into the bench vise with the front side (pulley) pointing away from you and that you stand behind it so that the back side of the alternator points to you.

Screw out the screws that hold together the two halves of the housing. The tread can be a bit damaged, so be careful with them. Once the screws are removed, you could take apart the housing, but if you did so, you would break the coals. You need to hold both the coals down, away from the copper contacts on the axle, while you take the housing apart. You can do that with a piece of wire or a small screw driver to push the coals down. It would be best to use the wire to hold the coals off the contacts before you loosen the screws of the housing because it could come apart suddenly, though that's very unlikely.

Be sure that the vise jaws do not hold the halves of the housing together, and make sure to hold the coals off the contacts. Now, carefully take the housing apart. You may have to stick a small rod of wood through the openings of the front half of the housing to push the nested wiring you can see inside the housing back wards, to the rear half. Do not use a screw driver or the like for that because you may damage the insulation of the nested wiring --- the insulation is only some kind of thin paint. Do not bend the wiring, and do not push hard.

Carefully use a hammer (with a rubber head) to hammer the rear half of the housing toward you, if you cannot pull the halves apart a bit by hand. Once the halves come a bit apart (Take care of the coals!), you'll see that inside the housing, between the parts, there is a pile of metal plates. The metal plates sit tightly together --- what you get is like a tube sticking within another tube, the inside tube being the metal plates, the outside tube being the alternator housing.

Carefully use a screw driver and a hammer to get the housing further apart by applying the screw driver to the metal plates (inside tube), but not to the housing, and by hammering lightly onto the other end of the screw driver. Go around the metal plates when doing so; the housing must be brought apart in a straight line. The axle is still going through the housing, and tolerances inside are very tight, so keep things straight.

Always take care of the coals, hold them off the copper contacts on the axle! The rear part of the housing will slowly move toward you while the gap between the halves widens, but the axle will not come back wards. Together with the rear housing, the coals will move backward and slip across the copper contacts on the axle, until they no longer touch them. --- The pile of metal plates (inner tube) will come backward with the rear half of the housing; I think it's somehow fastened to the rear half, so do not try to take it off the rear half.

Finally, you'll have taken the housing apart, hopefully without breaking anything. Once done so, you can put aside the rear half of the housing. Take the front half; the axle will stick inside of it, in the front bearing. From front to rear on the front half, there's a screw cap, a ring, the pulley, the bearing (sticking in the front half of the housing), a spacer (inside housing), a kind of metal tooth mounted on the axle, the rear bearing, and the copper contacts on the axle. Secure the metal tooth within the vise jaws to screw off the screw cap. The screw cap holds the pulley on the axle, and it's sitting very tight. Once you screw the screw cap off, you take off the ring and the pulley, and then, you can pull the axle out of the front bearing. But take care of the spacer, you must remember which side of it goes to the bearing, as its sides are different (one side is flat, the other one is not).

Now you should have just the front half of the housing, with the bearing sticking inside of it. You can press the bearing out of the half of the housing, pressing from the outside (front) onto the bearing so that it moves to what would be the inside of the housing. It is sitting very tight, and you must support the inner 'ring' of the housing that holds the bearing, otherwise you might break the housing.


OK, I'll carry on tomorrow, I've got to go to sleep now ...

Wow, that does seem complicated, thanks for the write up.

I hope Lee uses english as his first language. Otherwise, I am amazed at how well he writes in a second language and we all have to go back to school!! :cool2:

It was almost flawless, 'cept for hold instead of held, but I got the meaning loud and clear, Thanks again, lee!

perfectly clear to me

Thank you all for the compliments :) Maybe about 90 per cent of what I'm reading and writing is in English, but you should hear me speaking --- trying to speak, that is. Even the people in Sweden always knew from my first sentence that I'm German ...

Actually, my idea was to do an edit to improve on the last two paragraphs or so --- I tried to proceed quickly because it was 2am and I wanted to complete the first part to the point where it comes do re-assemble things. Some things need to be pointed out more clearly.

Then, the second part is still missing. The bearing on the rear has to be replaced, too, and though re-assembling goes basically the other way round, there are still some hints to give.

I swapped out 2 AC Delco alternators on my truck before I switched to Duralast Gold from Autozone. What a difference! The Duralast units are pricey at $180, but they hold their voltage output at idle much better than the OEM units and also perform better while using lights and AC.

Changed a unit on my wife's Ford Explorer and found the same story - nice improvement in output. They are drop in replacements.

Way back when I had my '97 gas Tahoe the alt. went out under warranty. Dealer had it towed in changed it out, I picked it up and didn't get two miles away when my truck died. The brand new one they installed was DOA.

Hey People,

I have had no luck with acdelco alts, Would burn them up in 4 - 5 months. Gave http://www.alternatorparts.com a shot and got the 250 amp one, I have had no problems with it for the last 2 years (6.5)

Does anyone know exactly which alternator is used on '96 and up? There's no numbers on mine, but I better should know when trying to find one that makes more power.

I think its the cs-144 Lee.

Tnx!

Does anyone know exactly which alternator is used on '96 and up? There's no numbers on mine, but I better should know when trying to find one that makes more power.
There are 2 different ones, the smaller one is the CS-130D and the larer is the CS-144. If you do a search you'll find a picture of my CS-144. According to your sig though you most likely have the CS-130D @105amps.

Yes, from the pics I've seen on other sites, it seems to be a CD-130D. There also seem to be Delco part numbers, but I don't know which one I have.

Any really good source for a replacement that makes 200 or 250 amps?


BTW, how is the current going to the batteries regulated? There are 200 amps alternators that are supposed to make 175 amps at idle. Let the truck use 50 amps, then I would load the batteries with the rest of it, i. e. 125--150 amps.

That would be a bit much even for 2x135 amps batteries.

Lee The alt does not produce 200amps all the time, When it is rated at 200Amps (or whatever) it means that the alt is capable of outputting 200amps, depending on the electrical load. When there is no load on the electrical system the Alt just outputs enough to maintain the electrical load. Thus it will not overload your batteries.Hope that helps. As mentioned previous, I've found the same thing for bearing failure...It is because of the belt tensioner. I'm not too convinced the bearings could fail due to dust, because the bearing is sealed.... but if the seal was compromised because of the heat caused by excessive bearing pre-load then yes the dust/dirt would indeed trash the bearings rather quicklyMy .02$

Any really good source for a replacement that makes 200 or 250 amps?
You have to upgrade to the CS-144 if you want that kind of amperage. There are several companies that offer the CS-144 in 200 amps with 140 at idle. It is a very simple conversion if you get the plug from powermaster.

Lee The alt does not produce 200amps all the time,


Yeah, but it would load the batteries with maybe 150 amps at some times. That appears to be a bit much.


As mentioned previous, I've found the same thing for bearing failure...It is because of the belt tensioner. I'm not too convinced the bearings could fail due to dust, because the bearing is sealed.... but if the seal was compromised because of the heat caused by excessive bearing pre-load then yes the dust/dirt would indeed trash the bearings rather quicklyMy .02$

The bearing is not really sealed. I've been told by the guy who repaired mine that there are better bearings available, but they are very expensive.

There's load on the bearings of the alternator and of the compressor from the belt, of course. I think they made it intentionally like that so that the alternator and compressor are sacrificed to the good of the other bearings. That is why I won't go for long with a shorter belt without some pulley in place of the compressor, even if it would work.

You have to upgrade to the CS-144 if you want that kind of amperage. There are several companies that offer the CS-144 in 200 amps with 140 at idle. It is a very simple conversion if you get the plug from powermaster.

There's another thread about that here where it was said you have to modify the alternator bracket for that. I would prefer a bolt-on replacement and better quality than what comes from Delco, and something that is easier to repair. The Delco units are not meant to be repaired at all. It should have the fan on the outside instead of in the housing --- that's the kind easier to repair, and they probably don't get as much dust into them as those with the in-house fans do.

quote"Yeah, but it would load the batteries with maybe 150 amps at some times. That appears to be a bit much."

Lee
The alt does not load your batterys with 150amps, it means that there is a 150amp load(or withdraw) on your electrical system or in other words your batterys are missing 150amps and the alt is trying to keep up with the drain on the batterys. as soon as the load comes off the electrical system the alternator output or "amps" are reduced proportionally

There's another thread about that here where it was said you have to modify the alternator bracket for that. I would prefer a bolt-on replacement and better quality than what comes from Delco, and something that is easier to repair. The Delco units are not meant to be repaired at all. It should have the fan on the outside instead of in the housing --- that's the kind easier to repair, and they probably don't get as much dust into them as those with the in-house fans do.

You don't have to modify the brackets on a 96 and up, just remove the rear bracket and bolt it on go one size bigger on the belt and get the adapter harness. And the CS-144 is the one with the external fan, the CS-130D's had the internal fan. The CS-144 is the closest thing to what you're looking for, easily bolts in and has much higher amperage.

Picture of my CS-144=http://dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7845&d=1124814782

The alt does not load your batterys with 150amps, it means that there is a 150amp load(or withdraw) on your electrical system or in other words your batterys are missing 150amps and the alt is trying to keep up with the drain on the batterys. as soon as the load comes off the electrical system the alternator output or "amps" are reduced proportionally

When the batteries are discharged, like from running the parking heater and the fridge box over night for 13 hours or more, the alternator would try to recharge them. If there's no limitation on the charging current, it would charge them with 150 amps until they are full again.

It's said that batteries like that are supposed to be charged or discharged at no more than 10 per cent of their capacity to get the longest livetime out of them and to charge them fully. Discharging might be different since these are starter batteries built to supply high discharging currents for short times rather than supply batteries which are built to provide lower currents for a long time.

But I would be charging them with a current which is more than 1/2 their capacity.

You don't have to modify the brackets on a 96 and up, just remove the rear bracket and bolt it on go one size bigger on the belt and get the adapter harness. And the CS-144 is the one with the external fan, the CS-130D's had the internal fan. The CS-144 is the closest thing to what you're looking for, easily bolts in and has much higher amperage.

Picture of my CS-144=http://dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7845&d=1124814782

Hmmm. Ok, it's something worthwhile to look into further.

But do you know how hard it is to get an accessory belt here? 6PK2570 are not available throughout Europe, and the same is likely to be true for 6PK2575. If the GM dealer can't get them, I have no source for them. And the regular price for a 6PK2570 is about EUR 100. I would have to know the exact specification in advance so that he might be able to get one.


PS: Mine is on the passenger side, yours on the drivers side. Do you think it would fit on passenger side? The stock size fits in there very tight, and though I'll have to check that out, I'm pretty sure that there's no rear mounting bracket that could be removed. There is a rear mounting afair, but I don't think it's removable. Afair there are three bolts holding it in place.

What do you think about these:

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5758208484&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=8019588102&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT


The seller of the Iraggi one is still unresponsive to my requests. No response, no buy ...

The other one is a Delco unit I could go for, but not something I would choose if there are others.