Alternater swap NO EXCUSES Sticky

[510er]

not to out do Jeffs 90 amp alt thread but his looked un-finished... maybe we can sticky them next to each other

This thread is for alternater swaps, I tried to quote as many peoples info as i could but dont kill me with copyright issues :lol:

 

 

So, your alternator sucks well yea WE KNOW! here are a few alternatives that have been found.

I discovered that a ka24e alternator is 60amps but if you get a new on from Shucks it is a 90amp-105amp (or so they say, steve the engineer would now how to check :) ) for 180 bucks remanufactured in the US and it has a life time warranty (Job security for a few people :) ) Well after I brought it home I compared it to my spare SR alternator. They where the same except the pulley. The KA24e from the truck has a v belt style pulley all of the s13's have the wide belts, mini serpentine's I guess..... I also compared the bolt spacing, yep the same as the L and the SR. I'm not to surprised.

 

 

Starting from the left: 35amp 521 alt. 60amp z alt and a 90amp KA24e alt. Notice all the spacings are the same.

 

Recently i put a saturn Alt in my 77 620, there are many different ways of doing this so i will try to include a multitude of pictures. I used an Alt out of a 94 saturn SL

napa PN: 213-4591

The price was about 50 bucks after I dishonestly gave them my Hitachi as a core :lol::lol:

The belt you will need is a V belt just like what you have on your car or truck right now. You may need a longer belt or a shorter belt then what you currently run. Me personally i used a belt that is listed as a stock belt for an L20b in the 77 620.

You will need to swap the pulley on the saturn alternator from the one that comes with it to a V-belt pulley, At your local parts main store they probably have a box of misc alternator parts. I asked them if they had any extra pulleys laying around and they sure did, i grabbed one that was about the same diameter as the saturn alt and put it on.

original pulley seen on the right

Okay to get the alternator to bolt into your truck you will need to modify the lower mounting bracket.

So start with draining your radiator and getting the lower hose out of the way! next unhook your battery and remove the old alternator and lower mounting bracket (thing alternator is bolted to)

THANK YOU MIKE PHILIPS FOR THE GREAT PICS

Lets start here.

 

 

SECOND- cut shim! so that it doesnt over hang

Re-Insert shim

 

Next you will need to grind the lower mount, like so.

Basicly you are wanting to be able to attach the new alt and rotate the bracket around it in the largest range of motion available.

with out grinding the bracket would hit the Alt here.

personally i didnt have a problem with the stock bolt fitting through the eye of the new alternator but mike did so he had to drill out the eye to get the bolt through... no big deal!

 

 

So the point you should be at right now is... Your old alternator is out of the truck, your about 4 beers deep and thinking you dont know what your doing... okay lets show our selves some progress. put the freshly modified/fabricated alternator mount back in the truck and bolt it in. wheew okay we are on our way!

next bolt in the new alternator keeping the bolts loose so that you can move it around. check your clearances to see how much upwards and downward movement you have.

the next part is where there is alot of controversy, some people do it different ways... Oh well get over it there is several ways to skin a cat. Mike and myself did this the same why its cheap and easy.

Go to lowes and get one of these

the one i got was 3 bucks.

I ended up unscrewing one eye completely and cutting it down about a 1/4 inch to give maximum adjustment.

So i didnt take any pictures of this so ill do my best to describe it.

The original upper alternator bracket looks kind of like a bannana. lay it on a bench and stare at it for a second... okay keep reading, one end has a hole it it, and the other end has a slot for adjustment. there is a small wrinkle in it for where it bolts to the block. At the end of the adjustment slot left enough metal to keep the strength and i drilled a hole for where im going to mount the turnbuckle then cut the rest off. Mike did the same thing here are his pictures.

on the left is the slot going to the top eye of the new alt, and on the right is the hole that you are going to drill.

basically all you are doing is making an anchor point for the turn buckle.

so now you bolt in your turn buckle, i screwed in the turn buckle and bolted it up with the alt as close to the block as i could go so that all of my adjustment was away from the engine hence tightening the belt. after it was all said and done I had about 3/8 of an inch between the top of the Alt and the radiator hose and about 1/2 inch before i would hit the idler arm. I did not have to modify anything else mechanicly.

here is mine installed

 

okay now that the alternator is installed and your out of beer go ahead and sleep it off and finish the wiring in the morning...

okay good moring kids!

so you need to go to a junkyard and get a plug for the back of your alternator, i got mine off of a 96 and it works just fine. the plug looks like this

Slodat hooked me up with pretty much all of my wiring info... take the t connector that was hooked to the stock alternator and hook it up as follows

the L on the saturn plug goes to the black and white wire off the T connector, and the F on the saturn plug goes to the yellow wire. now plug it in that part is done.

you should have a larger gauge White and red wire that should be your positive wire, if you noticed on the back of the saturn alt there is a post, it says positive next to it. Hook the large white and red wire to that. There is also a threaded hole back there some where. I found a matching bolt and hooked the black ground there.

Okay now get another beer and your almost through! find the voltage regulator, i took the regulator off the fender well and i cut the 4 wires that i was spliceing as close to the back of the regulator that i could. I spliced them and then tucked them back up there. It all looks stock from the outside.

So you are going to be splicing the yellow to the white wire and the White and black wire with White and red wire. just jumper them together.

okay thats it kids, double check all your connections hook your rad back up and your battery. now when you turn your key on your CHG light should come fire it up and check it with a volt meter.

for those of you that like wiring diagrams... here you go

thank you everyone for all the help with my install and I hope this thread did a decent job condensing the information about this swap

[thisismatt]

I see Fram, Napa labels still on the hoses under the hose clamp, and a fence gate turnbuckle....where are the cans of Natty Light?! :D

 

Good info nonetheless :)

[Farmer Joe]

so im assuming you did this swap on a 510?

 

i find this might be what i will do with my 620 and just want to conferm that the wiring colors and connection will be the same as posted.

 

thanks!

[banzai510(hainz)]

Just to update

Go by the color in the Datsun wire harness.

I notice on my 521 I got a Napa volt reg it had the right colors but the were in the wront pin loacation of the volt reg side of the connector.

 

Great right up If I ever go thru my 3 brand new 50amp Nissan factory rebuilt alternators in the house

Edited January 17, 2009 by banzai510(hainz)

[510er]

I did this on a 620. I will do this to my 510. The Fram Pics are from Mike Phillips, and I was drinking Coors light... haha

 

A good way to confirm wiring colors is with an OHM meter. Follow the wiring diagram above. check the continuity from the plug on the alt to the plug at the voltage regulator. to confirm you have the right wire.

THIS SWAP IS REALLY EASY ONCE YOU HAVE ALL THE PIECES. you will all be like, wow this was way easier than i thought it was going to be

[ggzilla]

To simplify it and avoid the shim cutting, put a few washers on the back side and pound back in. Would that work? Hacksaw work is sooo tiring... :-)

[510er]

To simplify it and avoid the shim cutting, put a few washers on the back side and pound back in. Would that work? Hacksaw work is sooo tiring... :-)

 

um yea i think i see what your seeing, the shim is pretty soft so it should only take about 30 seconds to cut through it. But in the end its your truck :blink:

[]2eDeYe]

To simplify it and avoid the shim cutting, put a few washers on the back side and pound back in. Would that work? Hacksaw work is sooo tiring... :-)

 

I just got a longer bolt. Didn't cut anything. I also didn't have to mod my lower bracket in any way. Not sure if the L20 bracket is different than the one in the pic or not.

[510er]

2eDeYe;121044'']I just got a longer bolt. Didn't cut anything. I also didn't have to mod my lower bracket in any way. Not sure if the L20 bracket is different than the one in the pic or not.

 

the shim hits the lower bracket so you either take it out or shorten it. The reason that you are using the shim is to keep the bolt tight in the hole, if you like it sloppy thats up to you:lol::lol::lol: but the lower bracket is off of an L20, The saturn alternator is larger in diameter i guess you could not grind it down but you would have very very little adjustment.

 

If you used an alternator like Icehouse did you wouldnt have to mod the bracket.

[slodat]

I've never had to modify an alternator mount with the Saturn alt swap. I always slice the rear mounting ear bushing with a cut off wheel.

[510er]

I've never had to modify an alternator mount with the Saturn alt swap. I always slice the rear mounting ear bushing with a cut off wheel.

 

I cut the spacer/bushing as well. but you didnt have to grind the lower mount? when its bolted up how much rotation can you get?

There might be some small amount of variation between brands of alternators or something because the one that got would bolt up to the lower bracket BUT thats where it was going to sit, I had little or no adjustment due to the alternator touching the bracket.

Im curious about this because that takes a good portion of time with a bench grinder none the less a hand grinder or even a file for some guys

[]2eDeYe]

I left the bushing uncut, just pressed it flush. Doesn't really matter how long it is.

[510er]

2eDeYe;121117'']I left the bushing uncut, just pressed it flush. Doesn't really matter how long it is.

 

Yea thats true i guess. :P

[Jester]

NICE WRITE UP!!!!!!

 

To the point with no interuptions.

[510er]

Thanks! i did forget to include one thing, (prob more but whatever) If you go with a turnbuckle it has been brought up that it will probably try to loosen up and you should find a way to secure it. i marked mine and have driven about 300 miles with no movement, i checked it today after hitting a large bump several times and it did wiggle a bit, so ill take pics of the securing method im going to use

[slodat]

510er - you have a welder. Go buy a RH & LH 5/16" rod end and some 1/2" tubing. Weld nuts on the ends. Voila - adjuster that locks! I made a batch of them up for friends a year or two ago. I run one on my car. Works excellent.

[510er]

yea i actually have all of that out back somewhere im sure ill do it next time im working on the fab table

[Jester]

Just put a jamb nut on one side and you'll be fine.

[510er]

there isn't enough room for a jam nut for now i just wired it in place with steel tie wire not really worth taking a picture of haha