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alternators

rick88blaze

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has anybody here heard of putting an alternator from a '90's cadillac in a truck? i talked to an alternator shop today about upgrading my alternator, and he said my best bet would be to get one from a '90's caddy. any input would be great. /forums/images/graemlins/1zhelp.gif

rick
 
Yep, my altenator shop told me the same thing. Certain year Cadillacs and Olds (IIRC), he had all the specifics if I wanted to search the 'yards. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
thanks for the link. now i know what i'm going to do for the swap. order the adapter from GM, and go buy a lifetime alternator for a caddy, from a parts store.
 
chevy dealers carry those. when i get ready to upgrade my alternator i'm going to order the adapter first and see if it will work or not. i'm not going to do this for over a year from now, but i'll keep this thread handy so when i do, i can post up if it works or not.

rick
 
I can't tell on that gray end, which appears to be what the stock white plug would fit into. Not sure when GM went away from that white two terminal connector.

That gray connector does have a weird "angle" on the two shoulders of it, but if nothing else, looks like it may be as easy as a cut and splice of the old alternator wires to that harness.
 
when i checked the computer at Autozone, the 140 amp. alternators started in '92 if i remember right. just look up a mid '90's. they are all 140 amp then. the link in dyeager's post lists a '94 pontiac transport. i looked it up too, it's also a 140 amp. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Now that I look at it again, that adapter may actually work for our application. You're right...it's funny shaped, but it does have two prongs like ours.
 
I have a 160 amp from a GMC c60-c70 series truck. It's the same depth as the standard alternater, but the case is 1/2 inch taller. The wire harness uses the SAME connectors. The only things I did to fit it was elongate the bolt hole for the upper bracket that mounts to the water pump and use a stud topped intake bolt and a small spacer for the part that bolts to intake manifold. The stock lower bracket and pivot bolt fit fine. The best part was it was only 100.00 reman and is compatable with the onboard welders. The newer type alternaters that are considered "CS" types are not compatable. and generally cost alot more.
 
where did you pick up that 160 amp alternator at? i'll have to check into that. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
I got it from a local alternater/starter rebuild shop. I also got my High torque Mini starter from him. I'll see if I have the cross over part # for it. But check with your local rebuilder. I wouldn't go to a generic parts store, most of them are clueless! This alternater spec'd out at 163 amps at 5,500 alternater rpm. which is about 2,000 engine RPM.
 
I'm not worried about parts people not being able to cross ref. part #'s. i can do that myself. i used to work part time at autozone. that and i've already looked up the caddy and pontiac part #'s. there is a local shop here that can build me a high amp alternator, but they only have a 1 year warranty, and i'm leaving here next year. if i get the caddy alternator from autozone, i get the lifetime warranty good at all the stores.
 
I went to the junkyard and rummaged through a buttload of cars before they went to the crusher and found these 140amp alternators in tons of different kind of cars from Cutlass Cieras to Bonnevilles. I picked up two decent looking ones and one has 1 wire running to the alternator and the other has 2 wires running to the alternator. Other than that, the alternators look nearly identical. What's going on?

I'm going to have my Dad pick me up a couple of those converters and ship them to me since I can get two of them for the price I can here and then I'll try them out. I tend to smoke alternators regularly because I like to play in the water and being able to run my electric fans and blower without losing a couple volts would be nice.
 
How much do you pay for them, and what do rebuild costs run, if you know?

Just curious what kind of investment it will take to run one of these things. Have no problem running a "used" alternator, as long as I'm the one that rebuilds it. If the rebuild cost is as cheap as the older ones ($20) then I'm all ears.
 
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