ktm Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 .....as in $1.51 cheap. I needed to extend my upper alternator bracket after I did the CS144 alternator swap. My belt was just a bit too long and constantly slipping, even after I wallowed out the stock bracket. I hit Home Depot looking for a turn buckle and found exactly what I wanted. It is a 3/8"x9-5/8" eye/eye plated turn buckle. Grab a 3/8"-16 nut for a jam nut and you are set. Installation took 3 minutes and now I can adjust my alternator with ease. I plan on painting the piece to match the engine bay, but so far it is working like a charm and looks good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrumpetRhapsody Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 Nice! And no more torquing the crap out of the bracket bolt so it won't slip. Set it and forget it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 Very nice! I would get a reverse threaded jam nut for the other end(Ace Hdwr and most Lowes). The threads will have some slop in them that the jam nut tightens up. That's just me though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktm Posted August 6, 2008 Author Share Posted August 6, 2008 bjhines, I was looking for a reverse threaded jam nut for the other side, but could not find one at Home Depot. I wanted to use it for exactly what you mentioned, taking out the slop. Still, it is a nice tight fit but a second jam nut would be recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonZ Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 WOW, I just did this last week with mine. I was looking home depot for some parts when the idea hit. It works great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 Yeah home depot doesnt sell any reverse threaded bolts, studs, nuts, etc. Except for turnbuckles, youll have to order them online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essdeezee Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 @ktm- I'm planning on doing the cs144 alt upgrade this next week, and figured this thread would be a more likely place to find a response. Do you know of any longevity issues with using the cs144 on an L6 due to the higher number of revolutions it sees, as compared to the caddy motor? Autozone wants ~$160 for one including the core (which I don't have yet). I plan on snagging one from the JY and running it till it dies, at which point I'll find a lifetime warranteed one somewhere. Am I going to have to make use of that warrantee at regular (read-shorter than usual) intervals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 .....as in $1.51 cheap. I needed to extend my upper alternator bracket after I did the CS144 alternator swap. My belt was just a bit too long and constantly slipping, even after I wallowed out the stock bracket. I hit Home Depot looking for a turn buckle and found exactly what I wanted. It is a 3/8"x9-5/8" eye/eye plated turn buckle. Grab a 3/8"-16 nut for a jam nut and you are set. Installation took 3 minutes and now I can adjust my alternator with ease. I plan on painting the piece to match the engine bay, but so far it is working like a charm and looks good too. Question... This is a great, cost effective solution, but are you sure the two mounting points are on the same plane? When I put a straight edge from the timing cover, it looked like the upper alternator mounting tab on my 12si was ~1/4" forward. It could be that the CS144 alternator is different, but did you check this first? I'd want to make sure before tightening everything down, otherwise you could end up with broken mounts at some point in the future, or rapid belt wear. If it is out of alignment, it's easy enough to fix with a spacer (for example, a few washers). Nigel '73 240ZT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktm Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 Nigel, the bracket is slightly angled at this time and a few washers/spacers would be good to keep it in alignment. Rememember, though, that the bottom of the alternator is securely fastened to the lower alternator mount which has been modified for the CS/Si series alternators. It is the lower alternator mount that dictates the alignment, not the upper. The upper mount is for belt tensioning more than anything. essdeezee, not that I am aware of. I ran the 12si for a while without issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 Nigel, the bracket is slightly angled at this time and a few washers/spacers would be good to keep it in alignment. Rememember, though, that the bottom of the alternator is securely fastened to the lower alternator mount which has been modified for the CS/Si series alternators. It is the lower alternator mount that dictates the alignment, not the upper. The upper mount is for belt tensioning more than anything. True enough... I just don't like the idea of forcing something to bend to accommodate a misalignment, like the upper bracket is being made to do in this situation. Still a great idea though, and as we agree, a few washers will solve any alignment issues... Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essdeezee Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 thanks ktm- I'll be taking the plunge here soon, thanks to your and hizandherz' research. Of course, seeing the Z parked is good enough reason to try and hurry along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SidWell Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 KTM... If you still need a reverse nut, try McFadden-Dale Hardware. They are in Anaheim near the 91 & 57 juction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktm Posted August 8, 2008 Author Share Posted August 8, 2008 Sidwell, I work right down the street from McFadden-Dale on Glassell. They are my Mecca when it comes to hardware. 90% of the replacement hardware on my car came from them. Thanks for the tip though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 bjhines, I was looking for a reverse threaded jam nut for the other side, but could not find one at Home Depot. I wanted to use it for exactly what you mentioned, taking out the slop. Still, it is a nice tight fit but a second jam nut would be recommended. McFadden-Dale, Bo...you know that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 @ktm- I'm planning on doing the cs144 alt upgrade this next week, and figured this thread would be a more likely place to find a response. Do you know of any longevity issues with using the cs144 on an L6 due to the higher number of revolutions it sees, as compared to the caddy motor? Autozone wants ~$160 for one including the core (which I don't have yet). I plan on snagging one from the JY and running it till it dies, at which point I'll find a lifetime warranteed one somewhere. Am I going to have to make use of that warrantee at regular (read-shorter than usual) intervals? Actually the GM alternator will see less RPM, using the original alternator pulley on the L-series. The GM crank pulleys, are larger than the L-series crank pulleys, this puts the alternator at a hogher RPM on the original GM application. In most cases where a GM alternator is swapped onto an L-series the alternator pulley needs to be reduced in diameter to get the stator RPM high enough to charge at idle. Mine, a 12si IIRC has a small diameter pulley (could even be a bit smaller) and still needs to be just off idle to charge. I hope that with the EFI swap I'll be able to tune a steady idle of about 850 to 900 crank RPM to keep the charge rate high enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 The modern CS series alternator is entirely different than the old-school SI alternators. They are capable of putting out 60% of their rated power at very low RPM. This is one of the main reasons for choosing the CS design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 The modern CS series alternator is entirely different than the old-school SI alternators. They are capable of putting out 60% of their rated power at very low RPM. This is one of the main reasons for choosing the CS design. I think I got it backwards, I think mine is a CS then, the case is one that would have been used on a 2.0L OHC Sunbird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I think I got it backwards, I think mine is a CS then, the case is one that would have been used on a 2.0L OHC Sunbird. That looks like a CS130, which was a replacement for the 12si. It was used in the early '90s, and then was upgraded to the CS130D. Not as powerful as the CS144, but definitely a step up from the 12SI... Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 That looks like a CS130, which was a replacement for the 12si. It was used in the early '90s, and then was upgraded to the CS130D. Not as powerful as the CS144, but definitely a step up from the 12SI... Nigel Yeah and it works well, just need to up the idle a little, since I have the smallest pulley available on it. Well there might be one that I could adapt, but I think th ebelt wrap might get to be too little at that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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