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I had my alt tested the other day, its has seemed tp be weak lately. When I punch my car, the battery light comes on. Its like the alt is not putting out enough power. I would think it would be because of my stereo, (2 amps, 3 subs, all speakers amped, mp3 player, power cap and an eq), but I have tried punching it with the stereo all but off and it does the same thing. Any one know whether or not I am looking at the right part? and if so, what's the easiest way to replace that bad boy, it doesn't look easy, and of course, who has experience with HO alternators?
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-=Danny=- -
I have this experience you speak of. What you say could be your alternator, it could also be a short in the system. However if your alternator hasn't ever been changed it's probably ready to go.
Lyle -
if it's anything like the z-34 to replace like i'm sure it is then you better do it yourself. because i had a dealership replace mine an it cost me $900. so do it yourself!! no matter how long it takes do it yourself.Comment
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Here you go, it's long, but consise and should tell you everything you need to know.
Alright, yes, as said above there is no point getting this done at a shop, they will couge you a new one. Not to mention, that in your case if you do go high output, it would endup costing you well over $1000.00USD. Plus, like I always say, "If you do it your self it WILL be done right!"
OK, Repalcing the alternator in the 95' GTP has to be the exact same as the 94' GTP. So, you are in luck. because what I've heard, and from my own personal experiences is that these cars are the easiest to change of all other LQ1's. Next thing, High output. Yes you will definatily want a high output alternator for your car. I don't know your specific current requirements but it sounds like your nominal power draw is some where in the 50 amp range peaking somewhere around 100 amps. Highoutput alternators are readily available for these cars and can also be custom built. 160-170 amp output seems to be the going rate.
Here's an ebay one with a great warranty and price. However I wouldn't believe the idle output claims. I would also go larger on the recommended wire size.
Ok, here is the issue. Your alternator probably puts out probably 120 amps max and about 60-70 amps at idle. I have a 94' grand prix gtp and I did the high output alternator thing. I had one custom built here in Edmonton for about $350 CDN it puts out 170 amps which is really good. But here's the deal, do to the cramped mounting conditions you can't physically put a larger case alternator in there, (which would be ideal) like something out of a semi or some other industrial equipment. So you have to gut your small case and put in new parts, New windings, stators, rectifiers, etc. Which is all good except do to the new heavy windings "which is the key part" the output at idle (600-700 rpm) is severly affected. By this I mean the voltage is lowered to 11.5-12.5 and the amperage drops to about 35 amps (at best). However at 1200-1500rpm all is good, you get all the amperage you need and 14.5+ volts. But your nice power accesories like the high voltage at idle, power windows and heater fan are badly affected. Same thing for the audio system, if you are crusin' your favorite strip checkin' the hunnies blazin' the tunez, you are not always up there in revs so your high output alternator is worse than your stock one, now it's a toss up. But if you are interested, check out some auto electric places they do this type of work or I've seen them new on ebay as well, for good prices. One thing you will need is a smaller alternator pulley, otherwise you a highoutput unit will not charge enough at idle and your car will try to die. I think a quarter inch smaller will be OK. If you can't find one, let me know and I can get you one and express it to you. Sorry man, but it's just this LQ1, any other car you could drop a nice big beast in there. Like my buddy, we found a pro shop crazy enough install a 160amp AC Delco 21SI semi alternator in his 4 cylinder mazda MX-3. It worked awesome, except we had a 2000 watt system in there and if you were at a stop light and you hit a nasty bass note, the load of the alternator would stall his car. LOL!
OK, here is the basic removal/install shit. You will also require a heavy guage alternator to battery cable. I recommend 2 guage wire, Loomed all the way. Get about 15 feet of cable, you won't need that much, but at least you won't be short. You can use welding cable (cheapest) but car audio grade is best.
TOOLS REQUIRED
3/8" Drive metric 6-point socket set 10mm-18mm, Pickle Fork, hammer, Pry bar, various metric combination wrenches 10mm-18mm, side cutters, pliers, utility knife, heavy guage wire crimper (or equivilant), assorted screwdrivers, Metric stubby gear wrenches (optional), Magnetic bowl (optional).
REMOVAL/INSTALLATION PROCEEDURE
1. Unhook negative battery cable.
2. Remove coolant tank.
3. Remove serpentine belt.
4. Unbolt lower heater hose, pull up above frame rail and secure.
5. Jack-up car to reasonable height and secure with jack stands.
6. Remove front passenger tire.
7. Remove tie rod from spindle move spindle to far right.
8. Turn steering wheel all the way to the right to retract tie rod.
9. Remove shitty rubber cover from the wheel well.
10. Remove drive axel heat sheild (3 bolts)
11. Loosen rear subframe bolt about 3/4-1" and shim down.
12. Reach behind alternator and unhook air duct from alternator.
13. Undo alternator bolts (2 front, 1 rear)
14. Gentally remove alternator from hole and unhook electrical.
15. Remove alternator from car (WILL BE TIGHT, DON"T GET ANGRY!)
16. Run new loomed 2 guage cabel with new 5/16" ring terminal (properly crimped and insulated).
17. Reinstall alternator reverse as you removed it.
PERSONAL RECOMMEDATIONS: Get some metric stubby gear wrenches and a magnetic bowl. (they will make your life so much easier). When running new cable I found that running it from the battery straight back around the master cylinder to the firewall (wire tie it along the way). Then wire tie it to the heater hose follow it all the way down to the alternator. This will keep it as far from excess heat as possible. When connecting to battery, connect directly to battery, not the auxilary post. Next thing is since you are pushing you electrical, you should get a better battery (yours probably needs to be replaced anyway). Anyway, an Optima Yellow Top is your best choice. Best preformance for the dollar, plus great warranty and industry name.
Hope this covers it. Good luck.
LyleComment
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If you decide to have a shop do it for you, however, go to a GM dealership. You might pay extra than a regular shop but they do warranty parts AND labor for the lifetime of the vehicle. At least that is what they said they will do a while ago. I am not sure if they still do that or not.
Comment
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Ummm, since GM won't have a high output alternator for you, there goes the lifetime warranty on the parts (never heard of on GM alternators). Plus, most shops will warranty there work for life. If you want to have a shop do it for you, get it installed by the same place that built the alternator. But make sure they will remove/replace it for free if it fails. This will require a really good, honest shop, cause every shop hates LQ1's especially the alternator jobs.
LyleComment
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alrighty thanks boys
sounds like I have some thinking to do. Anyone have a good alternator place in manitoba?-=Danny=-Comment
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You'll also need a 32mm axle nut socket, because you need to remove the drive axle too, at least I did on my '92. I found an orange right-angled prybar at Advance Auto that worked perfectly for popping the axle which had about a 3" bent end on it. I don't think you can pop the axle with anything less than a 90 degree angle. The lower ball joint also has to come off to get the axle out, so you'll need replacement cotter pins for the ball joint and outer tie rod end when you trash the ones you have.
I got to do this job twice on mine due to a bad unit out of the box. My recommendation is to hook it up, put the belt back on and start the engine to test it before you put it all back together. You'll save yourself a lot of pain if you get a bad one, and they're pretty common. Mine lasted all of about 2 minutes and I'd already reassembled everything. I didn't make that mistake on round #2.
It's a minimum 6-beer job the first time you do it, but the second time around I had it out in under an hour and back in in under an hour. Having all the right tools and knowing exactly how to use them makes it go a lot faster.
DaveComment
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No, you don't need to remove the drive axel. Maybe on earlier models. But on my 94' GTP I didn't even have to think about such things. I have it down to an hour or less on my GTP.
LyleComment
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hey got the alt in finally. I opted to not drop the sub frame and took off the drive axle instead, it seamed easier. Thanks everyone-=Danny=-Comment
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Depends on where you go and if you got friends in the business.
It cost me 285 dollars or so to do the alt, of course I had them put a new axle in it as well for 119.I am back
Mechanical/Service TechnicanComment
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all I had to do was buy 3 packs of cigarettes and pay for the $285 alt, seemed better than the alternative-=Danny=-Comment
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Huh? That' I think is the craziest thing I've heard in a long, long time. By dropping the sub frame all you had to do was loosen the rear passenger bolt like 3/4" then shim it down. I takes like 2 minutes with a 18mm socket and ratchet. I think that's easier than pulling an axel shaft. But each to his own I guess.Originally posted by bluegtp
So, how long did it take exactly?
LyleComment
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final repalcement from start to finsih took just over 2 1/2 hours. It wasn't as bad as what I thought, but then again there were 2 of us working on it that had never done an alt on one of these cars, if it goes again, I don't think I'll be too scared to tackle it again-=Danny=-Comment
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I also found that removing the axle gave me alot more room to work as opposed to the first time when I tried just shimming the sub frame down and eventually gave up and put it back together. But I guess to each his own-=Danny=-Comment
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