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Thread: Upgrading the alternator

  1. #1
    Van Fan Harbilly's Avatar
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    Upgrading the alternator

    Will the spare alt I have for my 2wd fit my 4wd?86 2wd/89wdFor that matter, I guess I want to know if the 4wd alt is different from the 2wd one of the same years before I go to the parts store I don't trust much and try to buy one for my 894WD!!Thanks a million,
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  2. #2
    Administrator llamavan's Avatar
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    Yes, they are the same for ALL Vanwagons, 2WD, 4WD, 3Y, 4Y.

    Gwen
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  3. #3
    Van Fan Harbilly's Avatar
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    Thanks Gwen!!!!I saw the Christmas tree lights twice yesterday and can 'hear' the alternator as well. My 4wd alt keeps unbolting itself and I keep tightening it back in. Might explain why I can hear the bearing!In any case with 350,000 km seeing the Christmas dash is only to be expected!Cheers,Bill
    Arghhh. Har Har Har. It's a pirate's life for me!

    86 2wd cargo
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    96 (3rd Gen) 4Runner Limited

  4. #4
    Van Fan Harbilly's Avatar
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    Gwen:You called it perfectly in your PM. Bad battery stressing alt and after hours of driving the alt started flaking. The bearing in the alt also is noisy so that's gotta be yanked too but battery is the real problem. It explains why the Christmas lights don't come back during daily driving. The alt bearing is likely due to the bolts having come loose before and the thing bouncing and flopping during use. In my experience bearings don't like that sort of thing!!Let's hope the repaired harness (years ago) is okay and everything stays fixed!My mechanic is doing all this for me so I'm being lazy, sadly I am in a real hurry here. I can do this kind of work easily but I'm sure glad I have a fellow who will take on this stuff when needed. While he is there I asked him to do a tune up (also the work I can do) and the ball joints and torsion bar bushings (work I won't do myself) And to service the hubs (work I sometimes do myself) so I expect to be poor for 4 months but have a reliable van. I even told him to take an hour and poke around looking fir problems. I have some suspicions about the U-joints and some other stuff. The van isn't called 'Rusty the troubled 4wd' for nothing'. In any case, I need to drive 1400km every weekend so fixed the van must be and fixed by Thursday!!!I bet his bill is 2-4 times the resale value of the van. I guess I truly must drive Rusty forever!!Bill
    Arghhh. Har Har Har. It's a pirate's life for me!

    86 2wd cargo
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  5. #5
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    when you pick up your (rebuilt) alternator at the shop take the upper bolt along and make sure the threads in the hole aren't stripped.

    With my alternator disaster in St. Mary MT (Glacier Park) in August the one I got from a CarQuest shop - two days later in a town 80 miles to the East (Cut Bank) - was stripped out. I just cranked the bottom one as hard as possible and it held 'till I got home. I then just got a longer bolt, lockwasher and nut and took care of it that way.

    Guess I learned to carry a spare the hard way

  6. #6
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    I'm really not hip on what's a 3y engine and what's a 4y engine. I think I read somewhere that I have a 3y engine? Any ways what does a 84 Toyota Van have? I need to start collecting a few parts that may fail me somewhere down the line.

  7. #7
    Administrator llamavan's Avatar
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    In the US and Canada:

    1984-85 = 3Y engine (AKA "1st generation" vans)

    1986-1989 = 4Y engine (AKA "2nd generation" vans)

    Gwen
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  8. #8
    Administrator timsrv's Avatar
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    84-85 vans had the 3y 2.0 Liter engine. 86-89 got the 4y 2.2 liter. They are pretty much the same engine, just different displacements. The 4y is a bit more peppy. Tim

  9. #9
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    OK it looks like my engine has gotten updated. Thank you with that! Much appreciated.

    I'm over here looking around and I really want to stay away from Chinese stuff. Anyone have a preference on alternators? Looks there's also a 70 amp alternator available? Any idea on who the manufacturer is for the dealer supplied alternators?

  10. #10
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    I think the Denso rebuilds are the best (Denso also rebuilds alternators). I was going through at least 1 per year with the "lifetime" rebuilds you find at the discount auto stores. Since I switched to the Denso #210-0272 I haven't had any problems at all. That was about 3 years ago. Tim

  11. #11
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    I guess the Densos is what the dealer is carrying? Not a big deal on some alternators that have an advertised 60 amps and others advertising 70 amps? Both can be cheap Chinese junk?

  12. #12
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    60A is more than enough. Heat is an important factor to consider with these (more heat = shorter life). Heat is directly proportional to amp output, so a higher output alternator has the potential to burn out quicker under some extreme situations. However, in this case it's only a difference of 10A so wouldn't make much difference. There's a guy on eBay that sells these Denso alternators that have been "souped up" to crank out 130A or so. If you actually ran one at max output it would likely burn itself out in under 10 minutes.

    I got one of those for testing and it actually did put out the advertised amps. It was only held there for about a minute before it started smoking. That prompted us to end the test. When we took it off the machine it was so hot it couldn't be handled with bare hands .

  13. #13
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    here are links to upgrade alternators. our are supplied with 70 amp stock. I know going up to 120 is no issue, direct fit, but the alternator guy i asked was not sure about the 170 amp. High Output Amperage Heavy Duty Nippodenso Alternators for Toyota Trucks, ALTERNATORS
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    Administrator timsrv's Avatar
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    I put a Delco-Remy CS-144 250A alternator in my van. I use it to power my 2000w inverter and my welder. It's pretty amazing what this thing can power up. I was running my 120v air compressor off it the other day and it totally kicks ass! My inverter draws 140A (about 1800w) when my air compressor kicks in. Here are some pictures of the unit and the mount bracket I fabricated. BTW, the stock belt was too small so I moved up to a Gates #K050330. So far I'm very happy with the set-up. Tim












    Attached Images Attached Images

  15. #15
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    250 amp, nice....wow. lotta power!

    i will say that the option i posted is direct fit, no mods.
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    Quote Originally Posted by RawbSpear View Post
    250 amp, nice....wow. lotta power!

    i will say that the option i posted is direct fit, no mods.
    If you go higher than 80A you will at the very least need to upgrade the wire size from the alternator to the battery & the ground wire from the battery to the chassis & engine block. I went with 2/0 wire. Here's a picture of the ground cable I fabricated (sitting next to the original)






  17. #17
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    That alternator is a beautiful thing!-why didn't Mr.Toyota think of a 250amp alternator?! Is there two electric plug-ins on it in case you need to swap wires for some reason? You didn't put any shield over it to protect from the (inevitable) power steering drip? Don't mind (me) the peanut gallery.

  18. #18
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    Quote Originally Posted by djshimon View Post
    You didn't put any shield over it to protect from the (inevitable) power steering drip?
    Ah, but that's the beauty of this alternator........No vents around the periphery . It vents from front to rear so there's no place for PS fluid to enter. You could say it's got it's own built in shield. Anyhow, I'd rather just keep on top of leaks, then no shield is required. Tim

  19. #19
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    Re: Does a 2wd alt = a 4wd alternator?

    ...ok, yes you will have to upgrade the wire. no custom mounting brackets though.
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    Upgrading the Alternator


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