Chevy & GMC Vans

Well, it seems (I won't mention any names but Bill comes to mind) that my 98 Astro has decided it wants a new/rebuilt/upgraded alternator. Apparently when Bill started the SPB, the alternator didn't want to turn over anymore. I figure if I am going to rebuild it, I might as well beef it up a little bit. I have a spare alternator that is also seized that I can use to rebuild and then install on the SPB. I am looking to do this for as cheap as possible as well! I know cheap and beefy don't really belong together but lets get the ball rolling.

Here are some choices:
rebuild parts

Mean Green

more parts

Premier Power Welder

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:Well, it seems (I won't mention any names but Bill comes to mind) that my 98 Astro has decided it wants a new/rebuilt/upgraded alternator. Apparently when Bill started the SPB, the alternator didn't want to turn over anymore. I figure if I am going to rebuild it, I might as well beef it up a little bit. I have a spare alternator that is also seized that I can use to rebuild and then install on the SPB. I am looking to do this for as cheap as possible as well! I know cheap and beefy don't really belong together but lets get the ball rolling.

Here are some choices:
rebuild parts

Mean Green

more parts

Premier Power Welder

Well, if ya want it cheap, I guess you should just tell Bill your going to go work on your van, he'll get tired all of a sudden and crash out on your sofa
( sound familiar Bill ? )then you just go out and pull the o'l switcharoo with his alt, course then you have him stuck at your place for awhile but hey you can't have cheap without the BEEFY, LOL

The Premier's Power Welder sure would be cool, but man they don't come cheap, mean greens are a little better but still, looks like the parts are the cheapest in this case, hey what about the alt in the 8_? any chance that would work, or is that the one thats seized ?

The alternator I have is on the 97 engine from Peter's van. I also have one I got from Bill that was on a bracket I needed for the 95.

Here is one that is 160 Amp high output on Ebay

Here is another: Ebay #2

Another Welder/alternator company: Zena

I'm not sure about the first alternator, never dealt with them before. However...

I would recommend motorcityreman for a good, pretty cheap, and reliable alternator. I've been running the 160amp in the Beretta for 3 years now, without any problems.

A little more expensive would be to check out Excessive Amperage, Iraggi, H.O. Alternators, and Ohio Generators. Out of those I prefer Excessive Amperage. If I remember right, Nate told me he can rebuild a stock CS-130D alterantor to 250-300amp, but I can't remember for sure. (I also don't know what alternator a '97 has).

There is another thing you may consider, but it also may be more expensive. If you have the CS-130 alternator, look into swapping it to a CS-144. The CS-144 is a larger case, cools better, and can be built to a higher amperage.

I do not know what it'd take to swap the two out though, beside a bracket fabrication.

I will look into the vendors you recommended. I also placed a call in to the local rebuild shop to see what the cost to rebuild and beef up would be. I was thinking of just using the spare alternator that is on the 97 4.3 I have but when I removed it, I found the case is cracked. CRAP! It must have frozen last winter when it sat outside.

As for upgrading to the CS-144...I think it will take up too much room for what I want to do. I am looking to add another alternator, modified for a welder, as well as a hydraulic pump, so I need to keep the size to a minimun and the CS-130 I currently have will work fine at 140 or 160 amp. The only heavy electrical load I will be adding is an electric cooling fan and possible some rock lights later on.

astrozam wrote:

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:Well, it seems (I won't mention any names but Bill comes to mind) that my 98 Astro has decided it wants a new/rebuilt/upgraded alternator. Apparently when Bill started the SPB, the alternator didn't want to turn over anymore. I figure if I am going to rebuild it, I might as well beef it up a little bit. I have a spare alternator that is also seized that I can use to rebuild and then install on the SPB. I am looking to do this for as cheap as possible as well! I know cheap and beefy don't really belong together but lets get the ball rolling.

Here are some choices:
rebuild parts

Mean Green

more parts

Premier Power Welder

Well, if ya want it cheap, I guess you should just tell Bill your going to go work on your van, he'll get tired all of a sudden and crash out on your sofa
( sound familiar Bill ? )then you just go out and pull the o'l switcharoo with his alt, course then you have him stuck at your place for awhile but hey you can't have cheap without the BEEFY, LOL

The Premier's Power Welder sure would be cool, but man they don't come cheap, mean greens are a little better but still, looks like the parts are the cheapest in this case, hey what about the alt in the 8_? any chance that would work, or is that the one thats seized ?

Good idea Keith but remember we left the SPB at Bill's house, so we would have to go there to work on it. Of course then we would have a choice of 2 alternators to take. One would be really easy to get at since he is doing the work on the 4 x 4. LOL

I say fix my Jeep before the SPB LOL

The alternators on my vans and the one that was on the bracket I gave to Dean are different than the 98 alt.

Well, I ordered one! Ebay - dbelectrical

It is a 200 amp model, 95 amps at idle! and a 1 year warranty. This ought to run the elctric fans as well as pretty much anything else!

To save you a lot of headaches, and you may know this already. Do the Big 3 upgrade when you install that alternator. It helps more than you could imagine.

Big 3?

I know I need to run some serious battery and ground cables but what else?

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:Big 3?

I know I need to run some serious battery and ground cables but what else?

check this out, there is also a good link in this thread to 12v.com about the BIG 3

http://astrosafari.animegrafx.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=36

Nice one astrozam.

Big 3 is a simple modification. It consists of running a large wire from alternator + to battery +, a large wire from alternator case to chassis, and a large wire from battery - to chassis.

Think of it like a water hose. The factory wiring would be a water hose turned on full blast, but your thumb over the end of it. See how much water is coming out? Lots of restriction.
The big 3 upgrade would be the same water hose turned on full blast, but without your thumb over the end. See the differance? Less restriction.

The less restriction you get from the alternator to the battery, and back, the better the electrical system in the vehicle will be.

And the big 3 is MUCH better than even considering using a cap. (just thought I'd throw that in for good measure).

Cool guys...thanks for the info!

when we installed my big alternator that i bought to make sure all electrical systems worked, it took very little modification to the bracket for it to work. In fact, all it too was to enlarge the hoe a little bit and then use a large grade bolt and washer on it.

works like a charm

here it is



shawn