Upgrading the alternator??

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Allllrighty... The good stuff - The Tundra V8 130 amp alternator has perfect alignment for use on the 1FZ 4.5. Again, the 1FZ pulley bolts up. The main mount is a perfect bolt up. The 3rd ear dosn't appear to interfere with anything, and in fact, could have a small bracket connecting it to the timing cover. More mounts = stronger, better belt alignment, and less vibration which may give longer component life. Belt length will work, but a little longer might be easier for R&Ring things.

The less good - The lower critical adjustable mount has the wrong arc. This can be seen just below the alternator in the picture below. A new mount with the proper arc could be easily fabricated from .25 steel plate. I may be willing to fab up a few extra if other folks want to go this route. I still have not figured out the 4 wire vs. stock 3.

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If idle output is the issue, be sure you're going to actually improve that over stock. Some aftermarket makers advertise a big output, but you only get it at higher RPMs and it may be that at idle there's no difference from stock. In other words, output of an alternator is not necessarily linear. I've seen online numbers posted somewhere that were no significant improvement for all the cash outlay.

DougM
 
Have you calculated the amperage draw of your rig? If not, start there. More AMPS than you need are USELESS. You may get what you need from a rebuild and mild uograde by re-winding. This will cost about $90 to $120 depending on who does the work.

Just a thot.

M
 
Nice work on the Tundra fitment. What was the diameter of the Tundra's pulley vs the 80 pulleys you have on there? Obviously, I'm asking because hopefully they're the same or the 80's is smaller which will ensure idle output on an 80 at or greater than the Tundra application.

DougM
 
IdahoDoug said:
If idle output is the issue, be sure you're going to actually improve that over stock. Some aftermarket makers advertise a big output, but you only get it at higher RPMs and it may be that at idle there's no difference from stock.
DougM

Good point.. all the more reason to utilize an OEM designed HD unit.

As for pulley size, the 1FZ unit is a little larger. The crank pulley diameter really needs to be known though, so thank you for reminding me to go crawl under a Tundra down at the local dealer. :D Right now I am assuming the Tundra unit has equal or better low RPM charging. IME the V8 runs at a lower RPM while driving around than the does the 1FZ. So Toyota either runs the alternator faster or it is designed to charge better at a lower RPM. These are assumptions... and we all know where those get us.
 
bjowett said:
Belt length will work, but a little longer might be easier for R&Ring things.

If the Tundra pully ends up being slightly smaller, it could be used instead of a longer belt to address this concern. This would also spin it faster for more amps at idle.
 
Brian- please post some idle current numbers when you can. Thanks!
 
Bruneti said:
If the Tundra pully ends up being slightly smaller, it could be used instead of a longer belt to address this concern. This would also spin it faster for more amps at idle.

The Tundra uses a serpentine belt, so that pulley can not be used on the 1FZ with V-belts. :( There may be other dual pulleys of different diameter, or the stock pulley could be turned down.... but we should find out if a diameter change is even required before we go down that road.
 
bjowett said:
The Tundra uses a serpentine belt

Whoops. I don't own a Tundra, so I didn't realize that. Never mind then.
 
Yes, I do, grass hopper. However, in 2001 the HD alternator was only 100 amps. One could assume that Toyota used the same size pulleys all around on the V8 for both size alternators. As mentioned above, we all know where assumptions get us. :flipoff2: :shotts:
 
http://www.powermastermotorsports.com/toyota.html

not sure if this could work or if they have a exact replacement. but i had one of these on my Mustang few years back. it was a race car and had problems keeping the battery charged since i didnt drive it much other than racing. they dyno each unit. like 1500 alternator rpm which is like engine idle, it put like 107 amps out, and at 5500 alternator rpm it put 187 amps out. it was a kick a$$ alternator. fwiw
 
Brian have you ot your up and running yet? if so impressions?
 
bjowett said:
If I had more time, I'd produce some brackets for others so they may use the Tundra HO alternator....


Did you figure out the wiring yet ? (what the extra wire was for?) is this the Alt. you are using on your new engine? any pics of the brackets? Thank BJowett, you are a real trooper to do all of this first!! any estimate on when your engine is going in and going to be running?
 
Nope, I got the thing in and haven't worked on it since... at this point I won't give an estimate. :D

My brother in law is coming over to figure out the alternator wiring one of these upcoming days.... it's right up his alley, so he'll make quick work of it.
 

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