kingkilburn
06-26-2015, 12:56 AM
I've been having that brake light buzzing thing for a little while now, my battery isn't getting charged properly while driving, and every hit of my sub causes all the lights to dim. Time for a new alternator.
Why not upgrade while I'm at it?
I've seen a few write ups and some speculation but not very much documentation. Hopefully this will clear some things up and inspire more to do this swap.
Link to imgur pictures. (http://imgur.com/a/9UoMk)
Here's the two alternators side by side. Kind of surprising that the OE part lasted all those hundreds of thousands of miles.
http://i.imgur.com/vINjlSr.jpg
Here you can see the difference in the pulleys themslves.
http://i.imgur.com/hzSWY7a.jpg
These two pictures show the slight difference in mounting ear height and thickness. Luckily the pivot side has the same spacing.
http://i.imgur.com/5Bl0onn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wD9nsJh.jpg
In order to use the original bolt on the pivot side you'll have to drill out the holes. I used a 3/8 bit but could have gone slightly bigger for an easier time. On this particular alternator I had to drill both the front and back holes.
http://i.imgur.com/EkX6GPt.jpg
Here it is all OCD masked off for drilling and planned grinding down of the tensioner pad.
http://i.imgur.com/CLP2ksL.jpg
And here it is nicely drilled with the innards free of metal shavings.
http://i.imgur.com/R75RPqF.jpg
And this is the part where I drop the ball a little. The plan was to use air tools to take off a few MMs from the front of tensioner pad. My compressor was not up to the task and I couldn't find an appropriate burr for my grinder. Being the stubborn asshole that I am I forged on ahead anyway.
After a few hours of wrestling with it I managed to push the fucker in place and get everything all lines up. So I guess you don't have to remove that material but doing so makes this swap a simple drop in affair that takes an hour or two tops.
In all that wrestling I lost track of time and wasn't able to make it to Vatozone in time to get a new belt. I'll be updating the thread tomorrow with my results after the belt is in.
Why not upgrade while I'm at it?
I've seen a few write ups and some speculation but not very much documentation. Hopefully this will clear some things up and inspire more to do this swap.
Link to imgur pictures. (http://imgur.com/a/9UoMk)
Here's the two alternators side by side. Kind of surprising that the OE part lasted all those hundreds of thousands of miles.
http://i.imgur.com/vINjlSr.jpg
Here you can see the difference in the pulleys themslves.
http://i.imgur.com/hzSWY7a.jpg
These two pictures show the slight difference in mounting ear height and thickness. Luckily the pivot side has the same spacing.
http://i.imgur.com/5Bl0onn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wD9nsJh.jpg
In order to use the original bolt on the pivot side you'll have to drill out the holes. I used a 3/8 bit but could have gone slightly bigger for an easier time. On this particular alternator I had to drill both the front and back holes.
http://i.imgur.com/EkX6GPt.jpg
Here it is all OCD masked off for drilling and planned grinding down of the tensioner pad.
http://i.imgur.com/CLP2ksL.jpg
And here it is nicely drilled with the innards free of metal shavings.
http://i.imgur.com/R75RPqF.jpg
And this is the part where I drop the ball a little. The plan was to use air tools to take off a few MMs from the front of tensioner pad. My compressor was not up to the task and I couldn't find an appropriate burr for my grinder. Being the stubborn asshole that I am I forged on ahead anyway.
After a few hours of wrestling with it I managed to push the fucker in place and get everything all lines up. So I guess you don't have to remove that material but doing so makes this swap a simple drop in affair that takes an hour or two tops.
In all that wrestling I lost track of time and wasn't able to make it to Vatozone in time to get a new belt. I'll be updating the thread tomorrow with my results after the belt is in.