June 15, 200916 yr I see that the GM 7157 alternator fits on EA81's. and 82's. Will it also fit on the EA71? I hate this voltage regulator and 55 amp deal that I have now. I need to do the swap, but I may want to try a one wire. Are there any one wires that fit as easily as the 7157, or should I stick with a 7157, like most have done?
June 15, 200916 yr Actually the most direct swap replacement would be an alt for a mid-80's Nissan Maxima. They are essentially the same case as the stock Subaru alt but are 90 amps and internally regulated. If you want them to be a one-wire you just route the sensor wire back to the output lug with a short bit of wire and presto - one wire alt. GD
June 15, 200916 yr Author Looks like any maxima 85 and above has a serpentine belt pulley. Do you just change this pulley out? The 1984 and below maximas look like a better fit (from pics on rock auto) but those are 60 Amp alts. Which one is the right one? Attached are the pics of the 2 alternators from rockauto. I probably need the 90 amp alt, I have fried 2 stock subaru alternators already. Lots of lights. I just want to make sure it fits with little to no problem. A little fabrication is not a problem, I've got the tools.
June 16, 200916 yr Yeah - you want the 90 amp unit. They used them from like 86 to the early 90's I think. '88 is a safe bet for getting the right one. You do have to change the pully to a v-belt pulley. Not that hard though. Very much like changing the pulley on the XT6 alt's but the fit is a direct bolt-in for your original. Other than changing the pulley it should basically bolt right up. GD
June 16, 200916 yr ok its a little more mixed than you might think, i ran into this before. 84 and earlier maximas are old tech alternators, external fan poor voltage regulator and over all crappyness 60 amp is correct, at peak, you hardly get the full 60 amps put of it 84 and earlier maximas use a 2.4L straight 6 same configuration as the Z cars just a smaller bore. 85-86 maximas origonally came with a 70-80 amp alternator, some of these have vbelt pullys some have ribbed, in 1987 there was a redisign to the 2nd generation maxima that added more fancy stuff that needed more juice, all 87 to 94 SOHC maximas have a 90 amp ribbed belt pulley alternator. some remans that were used in the 85-86 maximas were acually the 90 amp ers rebulit with a vbelt pulley on them because the 70-80 amp alternators were crap and the remans of them usually lasted about 30k before going out again. there are some 1986 maximas that have ribbed belts aswell, it was kind of a transisiton thing. DOHC (only found in the 90s+) have a different but still similar 95 amp alternator, instead of the ears being straignt across its off set a little bit even newer ones than that have the offset ear, it could still work and theres some that produce 120amps but i dont know if i would go much above 90 on these cars and unless you can find one with the offset ear in a junk yard cheap to try and see if it fits then i would stick to the 87-94 SOHC maxima alternators. 300ZX alternaros do not work 85-88 have a funky bracket on them and produce 60-70 amps, 89 and up well, good luck they are a *************** to get to and are probally different still. 280zx alternators will work but you'll be getting the same as the 84 and older maxima for reference 84 and earlier 1st gen maxima, 85-88 2nd gen, 89-94 3rd gen 95-99 4th gen, 00-03 5th gen. i ran into this problem my self on another car, the 60 amp on my 280zx was newer but still crap, i also owned an 87 maxima that i pulled the alternator off of (lifetime warranty) before it was hauld off and stuck it in my 280zx after fabbing an adaptor for the wiring and alot of research. there are other alternators that will work from other japanese cars but these are the better and there are more of them arround than the others. Edited June 16, 200916 yr by Niku-Sama
June 16, 200916 yr Author Great information. So the direct fit is the 3rd gen maxima 90 amp alternator with the grooved pulley. Change the pulley out and presto, it fits perfectly. As far as changing the pulley, can I use the pulley from my 79 brat alternator (I doubt that it will fit from what I've read using search), or do I have to order one? Would I have to bore, key and machine a pulley, or is there something available off the shelf?
June 16, 200916 yr Great information. So the direct fit is the 3rd gen maxima 90 amp alternator with the grooved pulley. Change the pulley out and presto, it fits perfectly. As far as changing the pulley, can I use the pulley from my 79 brat alternator (I doubt that it will fit from what I've read using search), or do I have to order one? Would I have to bore, key and machine a pulley, or is there something available off the shelf? I've not yet heard of a specific pulley to use. Taking it to an alternator shop sounds like the best route.
June 16, 200916 yr oh yea i knew i forgot something. when i swapped the pulley for my 280zx i used a pulley from an older Delco/Remmy alternator that was in the junk yard, i cant remember if it was keyed or not, i dont think it was. it was the same diameter as the ribbed pulley and it came out just as far so i didnt have any clearence problems. what i would do is get the cheapo SOHC maxima alternator take the brat and maxima alternator some place or if you have an impact wrench do it your self and pop it off and try to swap em
June 20, 200916 yr As an update to this - I pulled an '87 maxima alt from the yard today. After taking off the pulley I tried out a few combinations from my alternator parts bin and came up with a pulley that works. I used the solid, two groove pulley from a later EA82 alternator - uses the exact same shaft diameter (I have need of two grooves for an upcomming EA81T power steering pump and crank pulley swap anyway). I then also had to use the spacer from behind the pulley but I had to take about 1/8" off the spacer to get the pulley on far enough to line up. No big deal - being the weekend and not wanting to go down to work to use the lathe I just clamped the spacer in my vice grips and took it to the band-sander. I made a mark all the way around and carefully sanded down to the mark. Then I smoothed it all out with a draw file in my bench vice. It bolts up with absolutely ZERO modifications to the mounting brackets on my EA81. Now I just have to do the wireing on it. I'll post pictures and a new post about it as soon as I'm done. GD
June 21, 200916 yr Nice job, GD! I've been planning on doing this mod, but it's not in the USRM yet. This thread was the best info that I could find, but never resolved the pulley swap: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=64404&highlight=maxima I have that same pulley on my working EA82 alt.
June 21, 200916 yr Nice job, GD! I've been planning on doing this mod, but it's not in the USRM yet. This thread was the best info that I could find, but never resolved the pulley swap: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=64404&highlight=maximaI have that same pulley on my working EA82 alt. I posted a more comprehensive post about it with pictures.
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