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Motorcraft battery cables are OEM and should fit like a glove
Well sure but, depending on the year, they want stupid money for them. The roll yer own cable vendors are just a fraction of the cost and probably heavier gauge.
Well sure but, depending on the year, they want stupid money for them. The roll yer own cable vendors are just a fraction of the cost and probably heavier gauge.
While I agree with that I will often look up the Motorcraft part number and find someone selling dusty old inventory on Ebay.for cheap.
U-haul's U-techcenter is often a goldmine of old ford parts going back to the Courier.
Those seem like very nice cables but I wonder how anyone can make a profit at that price, delivered.
Christa mentioned she is not an experienced mechanic.
Measuring, figuring out the correct terminals, having to add extra grounds from block to frame and terminal to radiator support might be confusing compared to "here is the EXACT same cable that came on this truck"
Putting it back should be self explanatory.
Yep, I never did figure that out - some people sell stuff for prices that, well, sell. Others just leave the same stuff up for years at nosebleed prices, hoping somebody will pay it I guess.
So! I went and did a little troubleshooting before taking my truck in. The battery is good, the alternator is bad, and I managed to break the end of the positive cable by overtightening! Haha. So I guess I'm buying an alternator and a full set of cables! I also met a mechanic at the O'Reilly who has the exact truck as me. He explained a bit about the 3g switch, but now I'm confused as to what is good and what is unnecessary. The prices have quite a range... the one the mechanic pointed me towards is for a 96, and my truck is a 91. The spacing seems the same, but I'm nervous to buy something that won't be right.
If anyone has advice/pros and cons of certain brands, that would be great. Below is the one he's got me looking at. Also, I'm a little wary of the refurbished stuff, but this guy said they're almost all refurbished now. I have no idea.
I got a new, not refurbished alternator from RockAuto for $103+$8 shipping. I'm betting O'Reilly's wants more.
The 3G isn't hard, but can be frustrating if you haven't done your own work in the past. It was daunting for me, but when I did the swap on 2 * '92 F 150's, with different engines, I was kicking myself for not doing it earlier.
Not being sure of yourself only complicates the swap or anything you haven't done for the 1st time.
It's as the saying goes, crawl before you walk, walk before you run.
If you find yourself just at ease with replacing the 2G with another, then be sure you change the pigtail and get new battery cables to help simplify things.
I should note this.
The guy with the '96 had the updated 3G from Ford that came factory. That's why it's not complicated for him.
I would probably go with new over a rebuild.
Too many times I've seen them bad right out of the box.
I suggested a New 3G for $85 delivered.
e 95A 3G would be fine for your purposes but you need to modify your 2G rectifier pigtail, add a fused charge cable and swap the pulley over using a thin washer behind to keep it from rubbing.
The 7.0/429 engines used in '92-'98 F 600,700,800 and '92-'98 L series heavy duty trucks are a short stroke version of the 460 with a larger crank snout
There is a 3G that fits these and comes with a V-belt pulley.
Okay, I was thinking I'm a worry wart, but I'm glad you both said that. I'd feel much better with a brand new one. Now, because I'm having someone else do the work- he did mention the fused charge cable, but I don't know if he said anything to me about the pigtail, and definitely nothing about the washer. The alternator he has in his own truck (same exact as mine) is the one in that link I pasted above, not a factory Ford one... I'm hoping/assuming he knows what he's doing.
Because of the different year, model numbers changing between brands, and varying specs, it makes it really difficult to pinpoint the right one (for me).
Any ideas on labor cost for something like this?
Thank you again for all the help. Barbecue on me if anyone's on the west west west side of LA
Christa
Okay, I was thinking I'm a worry wart, but I'm glad you both said that. I'd feel much better with a brand new one. Now, because I'm having someone else do the work- he did mention the fused charge cable, but I don't know if he said anything to me about the pigtail, and definitely nothing about the washer. The alternator he has in his own truck (same exact as mine) is the one in that link I pasted above, not a factory Ford one... I'm hoping/assuming he knows what he's doing.
Because of the different year, model numbers changing between brands, and varying specs, it makes it really difficult to pinpoint the right one (for me).
Any ideas on labor cost for something like this?
Thank you again for all the help. Barbecue on me if anyone's on the west west west side of LA
Christa
The one in your link is a rebuild.
It could be genuine Ford or anyone else's.
It is very simple to convert to the 3G.
If this guy has done it to his truck he can do it to yours in an hour. (I'm not sure what labor rates are in west west west LA)
The regulator plug is the same for 2G, 3G or 4G, so you don't *have to* buy a new one.
What needs to happen is;
The Yellow/white sense wire gets an eyelet and connects to the charge stud of the 3G.
The White/black stator wire gets a single female spade connector.
The Green exciter wire stays connected to your truck's charge indicator lamp circuit.
The 3G does away with the charge plug and fusible link of your existing 2G alternator and uses a cable with inline Megafuse to connect the stud on the back of the 3G alternator to the battery+ stud of the fender mounted starter relay.
The pulley from your 2G alternator will fit right on the new 3G but will sometimes rub against the case, which is why I suggested a thin washer as a shim.
Here's a pic from the IDI forum where Shorerider16 used a copper washer so you can actually see it in place.
It is very simple to convert to the 3G.
If this guy has done it to his truck he can do it to yours in an hour. (I'm not sure what labor rates are in west west west LA)
The regulator plug is the same for 2G, 3G or 4G, so you don't *have to* buy a new one.
What needs to happen is;
The Yellow/white sense wire gets an eyelet and connects to the charge stud of the 3G.
The White/black stator wire gets a single female spade connector.
The Green exciter wire stays connected to your truck's charge indicator lamp circuit.
The 3G does away with the charge plug and fusible link of your existing 2G alternator and uses a cable with inline Megafuse to connect the stud on the back of the 3G alternator to the battery+ stud of the fender mounted starter relay.
The pulley from your 2G alternator will fit right on the new 3G but will sometimes rub against the case, which is why I suggested a thin washer as a shim.
Here's a pic from the IDI forum where Shorerider16 used a copper washer so you can actually see it in place.
I hope this answers your questions.
You are outrageously helpful! Thank you! I'd love to do the job tomorrow but now I'm thinking that db might be a better option.
It's done! Thanks to everyone with suggestions and input, I really appreciate it. I ended up going with the O'Reilly one because it matched the one he has in his truck and all is well under that hood. I felt really nervous about ordering a lemon that only had a one year warranty. This one is lifetime at least.
We got it done in a little over an hour, nice and easy. Started up, and the battery light was still on!! Did troubleshooting for about 45 minutes where I was freaking out wondering if it was that stupid ground cable being corroded after all, or what the heck happened. He eventually found a small section of pinched wires just behind the radiator harness. Wrapped them, wedged a small piece of rubber in there, and the light is off
I feel like that time/care/troubleshooting would've sent my bill skyrocketing if I'd left it with a shop. Pretty fantastic!!
Was looking at that 130A alternator on dbelectrical's site, and wanted to confirm physical specs since my bracket accepts a 7" C-C pivot mount. I was a little surprised to get back the following from their sales folks when I asked to confirm mount hole spacing + case diameter:
Unfortunately we don't have those specs available. If you can just get me a part number off of the alternator that you're wanting to replace I can confirm which one you'll need.
You don't have the specs for your own part? Seems a bit weird. Anyone know off-hand if the mount holes for that part are 7" spacing? And what the case diameter is?
Is there a recommended source for 2ga charge cable, connectors, inline fuse, etc. since so many of the sites in previous postings seem to be kaput?
02-24-2017, 05:48 PM
