Alternator Advice / Recommendation

[sara]

I have a 1999 Nissan Pathfinder SE

I didn’t expect this to be so difficult but I am looking for an alternator. Not factory 90 amps but a little more, maybe 130. I’ve looked on ebay & amazon which nobody specifies the amps, the few that do are all 90. I don’t need a crazy amount like 250-300 which cost $400-600. I can’t find anything. There are ones out there around that amperage but not for my car. Does anybody know of any source or can give me any help.

Reason for high output is because I’ve just installed a new kenwood stereo, polk db652s, dxi6501s, cerwin vega underseat subwoofer/amp and another amp for the speakers. I forget the name, its a crutchfield brand. Car seems to be struggling starting ever since. Plus probably needs to be replaced anyhow.

Topic

[Richard Kirshy]

I can’t find an exact write up for the swap / modification from the quest to my year 1999 pathfinder online. When searching for the bracket, I see alot of people removing the bracket for the tensioner and I don’t understand why they are doing that because I didn’t have to touch mine. Maybe their setup is different. I hope I’m doing this right.
My thought is that maybe with a certain size belt you could get the proper tension, but being that your alternator is in a fixed position there would be no way to adjust the tension.
I have a bolt half way screwed in for the top that is too tight but long enough. That’s where I left off yesterday before I got burned out. It’s so tight ihe alternator isn’t going anywhere so I’m thinking I can get to home depot like that to get the right size. Going out in a bit, maybe I can figure it out. the hose from the engine to the radiator wasn’t bolted when i started all this and when attempting to get it bolted, it must have been unbolted for a long time because the hose is stretched way to far to even reach where it should be bolted. So i cut it down alot and when removing the fan, I saw the fan had been hitting that hose for quite some time and the fan has multiple cracks from the blades turning and hitting and the blades are all chipped on every end from hitting it. Didn’t have shroud on because previous owner gave it to me separate from car because it was broke also.

Ordered a new fan and shroud. waiting on that. This alternator change just led me to a trail of things to fix. the belts the fan the shroud, the radiator hose……omg.
[color=#00bbff]It is a scary trip down the rabbit hole.
But better to find and fix the problems in the driveway than out on the road.[/color]
Oh, the metal piece with the nut that folds is called the nut stopper part 11713M and goes on the bottom bolt in the back. I think. I’m looking at the nissan part store online at the alternator fitting for a 2000 pathfinder and it doesn’t really show that bracket that sits on top back so when I’m out today I’ll snap some pics
That bracket is most likely considered part of the harness assembly, much the same as the wiring clips that secure the harness.

[quote=”samavi” post=182352]new quest alt. can you see the small ground wire? that was attached to one of the bottom bolts on that bracket. you see there is only one hole to attach the bracket on the new alt. since i broke that black clip i can’t attach it anyhow now. Is that just for support?. the small wire comes out of the positive cable, can i just attach it directly to the hole and forget about the bracket or do i need to have it there?

just fyi here is that nut i was talking about earlier

[/quote]

That bracket is used to secure the wire harness.
It should be fine with a single bolt and you can use a ty wrap to anchor the harness instead of the harness clip to the bracket and bolt the ground wire with the same mounting bolt.
Your right, that fan does not look too good.
The previous owner must have gotten lazy and broke the shroud trying to remove it with out removing the fan and upper radiator hose first.
Seen that happen a few times.

[sara]

Cool. gonna go TRY to finish now. This car is so old whenever i remove any kind of support or tie, the object that it’s there to support just stays right there stiff, been sitting in that spot for 20 years almost.

I appreciate all your help

[Richard Kirshy]

Best of luck !!
Keep us posted.

[sara]

the top pully idler bolt is stripped and i can’t get the nut on. it’s the one to the fan belt i think.

can i just grind it down?

see why i said TRY to finish

[Richard Kirshy]

Don’t know.
Is it long enough?
I would replace it myself.

[sara]

something is squeeling and i don’t know what it is. it starts out kind of low and as you keep the car on it seems like it gets louder. i looked at everything and i don’t see anything. the first time i started it, i saw a little bit of smoke and burnt rubber smell. checked the belts and don’t see anything. i don’t know how much more i can take of this before i explode. i’m getting irritated. the belt does look a little big for the quest pulley. can i take the one off the pathfinder alt or do they not come off ?

[Richard Kirshy]

If the belt look too large.. that is most likely the cause of the squeal.
Yes, you can swap pulleys, But just so you know ..it is much easier removing the nut with a impact.

[sara]

i just bought this drill / impact set and i’ve never used an impact. tried to use and i can get the bolt or nut off easier. Is it just a piece of crap one or is there some trick i need to know about?

it’s a craftsman 19.2 volt 1/4 in impact driver.
up to 1600 in-lbs torque
0-3500 ipm
0-2500 rpm (no load)

[sara]

do i have to take the alternator off the car to swap pulleys?

[sara]

and i’m a bit confused. all over internet they talk about a spring in the tensioner.Isn’t the tensioner just the bolt the you screw into the other bolt to make the pulley tighter or looser? i saw no spring anywhere.

[Richard Kirshy]

[quote=”samavi” post=182445]i just bought this drill / impact set and i’ve never used an impact. tried to use and i can get the bolt or nut off easier. Is it just a piece of crap one or is there some trick i need to know about?

it’s a craftsman 19.2 volt 1/4 in impact driver.
up to 1600 in-lbs torque
0-3500 ipm
0-2500 rpm (no load)[/quote]
!/4 drive is a bit small..
Don’t know if it will handle the full load 1600 in-lbs = 133.33 ft-lbs
May be enough.

[Richard Kirshy]

[quote=”samavi” post=182446]do i have to take the alternator off the car to swap pulleys?[/quote]
It would make life easier.

[Richard Kirshy]

[quote=”samavi” post=182448]and i’m a bit confused. all over internet they talk about a spring in the tensioner.Isn’t the tensioner just the bolt the you screw into the other bolt to make the pulley tighter or looser? i saw no spring anywhere.[/quote]
There are 2 basic types of tensioner.
A spring loaded type and a bolt type.
The latter is the type on your vehicle.
Basic rule of thumb..
You want about 1/2 ” deflection in the middle of the longest length of the belt between the pulleys

[sara]

easier? omg it seems like more work taking it off and then putting it back on. i’m thinking it an alighment issue. i probably didn’t assemble the 2 pulleys i took off correctly. i mixed the parts up. i took some pics of it yesterday let me see if i can find them

[sara]

cool. that clears that ? in my head.

please explain the space thing again. i’m not grasping it. i’m kind of a visual learner and sometimes things are hard for me to comprehend when reading.

[Author]

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