Ford Alternator

[nonstop]

Okay, so here’s the backstory in a nutshell. My mileage sucks. I realize my truck has a 454 and 4.56 gears and mileage will never be good, but I found that my severe duty clutch fan on my 454 is not disengaging. I figure this is a good time to experiment with electric fans (been kicking around the idea anyway). I’ve used Crown Victoria fans before on other cars with good results and they are 2 speed.

So that leads me to this. I have upgraded a few Ford cars to 3g alternators (130 amp and readily available in the junkyards). They seem to have similar dimensions to the 12si which is currently on my truck, so has anyone put one of these on their trucks? If so, how did it work? I have searched, but couldn’t find anything on it.

Thanks,

Nick

[blindbug]

Don't know about Ford alternators, but see this post over at another forum regarding upgrading to 130a+ Alternators. They mention a few different vehicles that the alternator was pulled out of:

http://www.gm square body.com/threads/cs-130-alt-upgrade.10760/

[DieselSJ]

If your HD fan clutch is not disengaging then that means you are running hot. An electric fan won't cool that 454 enough. Fix the cooling issue so that the clutch disengages.

[Dead Parrot]

In my experience, some of the HD clutches never really freewheel like they should when cool. Went through that on my truck when the OEM one finally gave up. First replacement was a HD clutch that kept the fan spinning so fast it sounded like a low flying plane. Found a standard duty clutch and things are much quieter now and no temp problems.

GM also has a more modern family of alternators(CS?) that can make 130A. You might have to switch pulleys and alt fans as I think most are from serpentine setups and spin the wrong way. Or you could look at switching to a serpentine setup if you can find one in a salvage yard.

[nonstop]

Thanks. The truck runs normal temps, as confirmed by an IR gun. I am thinking it has to do with the fact the clutch is severe duty. It barely free wheels when the engine is shut down. I might try a regular clutch fan first.

As for the alternator, I have run a cs130 another car, and while it seemed okay, I remember there were some fitment issues which needed addressing. The 3g just seemed like a good alternative since there are some plenty of them and they only put out 95 or 130 amps, which really seemed to help narrow down which one to get from a yard.

I don’t have a whole load of draw on my system, but just was looking to upgrade if I decided to try e fans.

[manimal]

If you can get the 3g to line up, they are AWESOME alternators. I put them on ALL my older Fords. I was working on a GM 350 install a few years ago, but never finished.

[hatzie]

The 3/6/9-12 mounting ear 12SI alternators can be had in stock dress in the 94 Amp range. The 7294-3 3:00 94A 12SI is the least expensive and most reliable easy upgrade... as long as you don't need more than 94A.

1986-1995 CS130 & CS144 with 3/6/9-12 ears are easy upgrades. Unfortunately, they are also throwaway alternators. The pre-1996, CS series alternators only have one fan and the diodes heatsink to the rear housing close to the bearing, where there's not much external airflow, so the heat eventually cooks the grease if the regulator and diodes make it that long.

The 1996 and later CS130D and up to 2005 AD series alternators have two fans and a more open housing allowing better cooling but they don't mount the same as the older Vee-belt drive DN & SI series and the pre-1996 serpentine CS130. Not a big deal if you're upgrading to the 1996 & later Vortec smallblock serpentine accessory system but it's a deal breaker for the pre-1996 Serpentine CS and Vee-belt SI.

[nonstop]

Thanks guys. I’m currently running a 94 amp 12si. It’s likely enough for my needs. The cs alternators I have worked with are the older disposable ones. I was thinking of the 3g because it would be working less since it’s higher rated as my 12si would be working closer to its limits, possibly reducing longevity. Almost every early Ford I worked with, I upgraded to the 3g and was very pleased with it.