JWX Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 ok I've been think about this for awhile now so I'm goign to ask the guys who have done this. Is it really worth it? I'm running a rebuilt one from advance auto (and I think its not doing its job anymore) its about a month old. I did it the same time I did my battery (which is an Optima) my volt gauge when I first start it up is 12, after I warm the car up it goes up slowly to 16-18 if I turn on the blower motor to full blast, the wipers on full, and the headlights; I can't really use the rear defrost cause in drags the volts down too much. (it might be normal but I don't like it) so should I step up to the XT6 alt? would it be worth the money for me to?(sorry for the long winded post but this has been wighing on me for awhile and I don't want the car to leave me somewhere (which I don't think its going to do just a nagging consern) edit this is my hatch BTW:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 You have one of the classic cases of a voltage regulator gone toast. The over voltage is going to take it's toll on the charging diodes and you will be left chargeless. I ate 6 normal alts before converting (too many lights and too thick a skull). Works great now. The hot set up these daze seems to be the GM alt conversion. You will find it through a simple search. The XT6 conversion is covered in the repair manual xt6 alt conversion Hope this helps and beside burning out lamps from over voltage your electronics may not like it either. (assuming here you have a fancy radio and do not have an ECU) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 the conversion is the easy part, thanks to an excellent write up on the topic, but finding an XT-6 alternator, now thats the hard part. so if anyone has one, be sure to let me know;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostWater Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 Converting to a GM alt, and upgrading the alt to 120 ampers via the jctwitney kit, will be easier than trying to source and XT6 alt, then breaking out the grinder and grinding the alt case. See this thread below for my writeup and pics and graphic on my own conversion: Gm Alt writeup MD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWX Posted February 3, 2004 Author Share Posted February 3, 2004 ok, I have some more questions for you Skip. how hard was the coversion(like wiring) from what I read you have to change the wiring around a little bit and would the same write up work for the EA-81? and what about the Datsun alt that was brought up on the old board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 The GM conversion is a good alternative. But, you don't have to grind the case to fit. All that needs to be done is reverse the sleeve that fits in the rear ear of the XT6 alt. You'll also need to add a slightly larger connector for the battery power line. The pulleys are explained in the write up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWX Posted February 4, 2004 Author Share Posted February 4, 2004 anybody know what other cars alt fit on ours? I saw an auction on ebay for an early EA-81(81) alt and it said that it fit teh 240z,260z and some other ones, I've seen high amp alt for teh 240z before anybody know if they had the same connections on them as ours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 The othe alts listed would be the same ampere out put. The XT6 affords a 90 A and without Marks 120 A conversion atleast equals the GM. We need to find cars that have the same alt as the XT6. Qman is correct on the XT6 (in the conversion article I wrote, I shaved a small amount off of the front ear just to make my belt line up better.) No other steel plate is needed. The wiring is a plug and play, and as for the main lead connection the stud on the XT 6 alt is larger in diameter. I solved that with a pair of wire cutters on the connector eye as seen below. A "proper" pulley can be had from a Mazda if you do not want to make a spacer. I do not know what model -sorry. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWX Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 I think I've decided what to do. just swap to an XT6 alt. no comes the part hunting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike W Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 There are other cars out there that use the same alt as the XT6 you just need to make sure that it's the 90 amp and not a 75amp imposter. Talking to Ed Rach's alternator guru a few years back, I asked him what other cars had that alt. He checked the books and found six or eight other cars such as certain years of Ford Probes, Mitsubishi, Mazda, etc. I got one such alt off a fully loaded Mazda but it was buried behind the engine and hell to remove. Has anyone else noticed that XT6 alteranators don't like mud? Their open design seems to be much more vulnerable to crud getting inside and chewing up the bushings. Next time around, I'm going with a GM alt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.