I've been getting ready to take the truck from Houston and doing some work hauling trailers in the North/Midwest with my '06 F250 so going from our 50 degree winters to the 10s and possibly the negatives has me concerned that whatever reman unit is on there from however long ago might not be up to the task. I don't remember ever changing it and I bought the truck in 2013 or 14. So on top of looking to get the cable upgrades done I'm looking for a new alternator altogether to save the batteries and FICM as well as be able to use an 1,000w inverter on occasion which would eat up all of the available current from the stock unit as well as eat into the batteries even if I turn on high idle.

I've spent 20+ hours going over TMT's videos from years past as well as reading every alternator and cable thread I could find including 20 pages of dissecting the made in America/China L-N fiasco and most of those threads had info that is 3-5+ years old. Since I'll be traveling and I can't really afford downtime I've run into two scenarios; Buy something like an L-N230 from Ed or whoever else has them and keep my stock one in the truck in case I run into problems or find an alternator that's commonly kept in stock at a national chain store which is what I ended up compiling here. In my search I used an F550 or E450 with 6.0 as the search vehicle and so it was easier to find the HD and upper dual units. I looked for 100% new, Lifetime warranty, and something that was in stock in the Houston Metro area and not a special call to order.

Of course Amazon still stocks the 140A Bosch for about $190 but getting service done on it would mean going through amazon since I doubt some random Advance Auto in Indiana would warranty it, but again I could keep my stock one in the truck.



First I looked at Advance auto since they were always brought up in the past threads but now they really only stock 2- 135amp units that are better than stock but nothing like was talked about in the past, no 140a new bosch ones, but plenty of re-mans. Then I saw this strange Black one with no real description just LN IF/IR 230 amp for $625




Next I checked out Napa and they had several new alternators in stock including the beloved Bosch 7606 for $234 and the Bosch 7657 for $275 and also not in stock anywhere, it was a call in special which wouldn't help me while on the road. The did have a NNE 140 which seems to be their house brand and it was super way more expensive at $333


Then I ran across this same NNE brand but it came in a 200amp output which is pretty massive for a chain store it seems, it comes with NAPA's standard lifetime warranty on parts and workmanship, whatever that means. But I noticed it says that it requires use of a 213-31K cable kit so I went to look it up and found it, low and behold it's a cable kit for hooking straight to the battery with an inline fuse, eerily similar to to the fuse holder that TMT has linked to many times. They include 1ga cable unlike the 4/8ga that Jack recommends but if you've watched a TMT video you know that the length of a run has a bigger effect than gauge and they're taking the long way around the engine bay. It's nice to see something a member has discussed for years is being implemented by a national auto parts chain in their house brands.



Next I went to AutoZone and searched all of their New, lifetime warranted, in-stock units and really only found one, their Duralast gold with 135amps for $210 plus core.


Then I scrolled down and found that familiar black casing labeled as a Duralast Gold 7341N which stuck out as I remember seeing 7341N at Advance Auto and sure enough when I click on the description It outright says it's a Leece-Neville AVI160T, For the low low price of $285 plus core. Whether it's really a LN230 or a knock-off who knows. But I could have it shipped to my home tomorrow and find out but I don't really think I'd want to go down that rabbit hole right now anyway.



Finally I ended up at Oreilly and they had slim but straight forward picks for new, warrantied, in-stock, 130amp+ and that came in the selection of a 135amp for $299 or a 180amp for $295 which compared to everything else seems like a damn good deal. It's a step up from the Bosch 140 for an extra $100 and also $100 less than any real L-N we've seen and it has legit nationwide coverage at any oreilly across America.





So It seems that if anyone can afford downtime or wants to keep their stock unit with them the Bosch and LN are still the front runners, but if someone is looking for hometown customer service and in-stock parts then Advance or Autozones 135amp units at around $200 and Orileys 180amp unit at $295 are the go to units to have. I'm honestly thinking I'll be a cheap guy and get the Amazon bosch and carry around my stocker since according to TMT's videos the Bosch with stock pully carries nearly all of the glow plug load and with an smaller pully will carry all of the glow plug load, then if I need to run a 1kw inverter for a few minutes the Bosch should be able to handle it in stock form or flip the switch for high idle and I should get similar performance as the small pully. Or is running a smaller pully the way to go? would that effect the life of the alternator at all making it spin faster 24/7. I'd like to get the oreillys 180 but who knows if it actually puts out 180 I don't really have a way to test it like jack does and not sure an extra 40 amps is worth $100

Anyway this is the culmination of what's on the alternator market for commonly available stuff, sure there's still DC power or Mecman, but they are certainly less talked about and warranty coverage is even more scarce for someone that might not be able to afford downtime.

 

You can get the Bosch through RockAuto, too. But beware, Bosch only does warranty if it's used on a F450/550 6.0, even if it's imaginary.

For me, it's never been a big deal on long trips to carry an alternator as a spare. The alternator, spare belt, and the few tools needed to change out fit easily into a small box.

Yeah, overclocking will wear out the alternator faster, you could calculate the total rpms over 5 years if you were so inclined. It was never enough for me to worry. But there also have been so many vehicles out there using a 140a with a stock pulley. We get kind of nuts about the first two minutes of charging and voltage supply, and I don't really think it's as important as making sure the batteries are no on their way out. It's the starter engagement voltage drop where I think the damage occurs, not right after.

 

I ordered a 240amp alternator from FICMrepair since the Leece Neville is in backorder. The 240amp alternator has 190amp idle output, the LN only 130.
We will see....

 

That's not totally correct. While the L-N literature says that, its not how it outputs.

This was two different days, one with batteries warmed with battery blankets and the next day with the batteries at ambient overnight temperaturer. Both trials with the stock pulley diameter. It put out 175 to 185 amps, only lowering when the glow plugs kicked off front he high voltage and not as much current was needed.. Any ~230a alternator should do the same.



Both recording are shown in the video for the L-N 230a. When the under hood is hot and the idle is at it's lowest, it can be lower. But if the concern is at first start, no the output is up there.

 

In December 2014, I decided to go big with my alternator. I had been thru three OEM 110 amp units in 100k miles. So I got the DC Power Systems 250 amp alternator and a year later I installed the Ed Steffan battery cable upgrade. 72k miles later it is still performing great. In the summer, the output voltage is nominally 14.0 to 14.5 VDC. In the winter, the output is 14.5 to 15.0 VDC. The only thing I did about 4years ago is I went all LED in my X except for dash lights.

Ed

 

As I tell everyone.

Buy a Mechman alternator. I have had 3 and not a single issue with one. My first one on my old 2000 f150 is going on 10 years now and it had a 2500w amp on it for the first 4. That amp would draw over 200A of current.

Ive got the 320 on my truck now. Been 4 years and it's still 14.6v every start up.

https://www.mechman.com/alternators/...sel/2003-2007/

 

Good morning Jack,
It is the information I received from FICMrepair.
Hoping the $500 alternator is worth the money.

 

I figured that, along with the price jump.

After the glow plugs turned off, I never had a high enough load to test the L-N's total output under fully warmed conditions. But the 175-185a was not at the high cold idle; the PCM had not kicked up until later. So without the glow plugs, the highest load on my pickup is ~90a with all things electric turned on. Someday I might get a carbon pile like Mark has.

I'm assuming the one you got is a hairpin design, and they are very good.

 

Gregs didn't have 8ga in stock on their website for the FICM/PCM grounds and wasn't sure about going to 6ga since I know TMT actually downsized stuff like the bonding cable because it changed the flow. I went with your other recommendation at genuinedealz.com and ordered everything on the list custom made for $65 shipped. I went to 4ga on the alternator even though I only got a 140amp since there's no harm in going higher for that and future proofing. I did have a question about an additional negative off the alternator Is there any need to get add one and if so where should I send it, I saw some people went to the frame with a 1/0 cable but that seems excessive.

 

When I've looked at the companies recently, there is a supply chain issue. And I could believe how expensive 3/0 and 4/0 ga has gotten.

Adding a negative cable to the alternator is only needed for very high outputs of extended time. Typically, if there is some high amp product attached to the frame, which would exceed the twin 1/0 cables. The 1/0 parallel cables equal a single 4/0 in wire area and resistance. So technically, we have more cable on the negative side going to the block/starter than the 2/0 positive at the starter. And so many parallel connections in the path of the alternator to the block. Even with my 230a L-N, I didn't see the need.

You could use 6ga, but I prefer to keep it at 8ga. If the main cables were upgraded, 6ga off the driver's side might be acceptable. It's just crazy that the stock cables and added link from the driver's frame to the block still are not enough to prevent the starter from pulling more through the 12ga bonding cables when it's available with 6 or 4ga negative driver's battery to body tub.

 

Really bad supply chain issues, Genuine called me while making my cables this morning and they have run out of 1/0 red so they're making the 70" one between the battery positives out of black and putting red shrink wrap on the ends and I'll just find some red wire loom to put around it. But for $65 and they've already shipped it I couldn't have found the supplies for that much let alone crimped them properly.

I'm just as bad as you when making decisions which is why I ended up compiling the list in the first place and watching all your videos multiple times through before deciding on just getting the Bosch and keeping my stock one on me when traveling. I am tempted to order that LN from autozone for $285 and seeing if it's even close to being real. Now I've got all your engine videos playing on my 3rd screen while working and it's funny about your torque wrench video cause my grandpa still has a 150ftlb beam style sitting in the barn I keep laughing at. It's from Montgomery Ward and has a nice little data plate on it that gives torque ranges for different size and class of bolts, something you addressed in your starter video with the missing under-torqued bolt.

 

I'm wary of that being a real L-N. There are times I still use those beams, mostly when I'm auditing the torque needed to remove a fastener. I have way too many torque wrenches right now; fits my handle.

 

Question. Is another way to clock that Bosch alternator to take the pulley off undo the bolts in the back like your video and slide the front case off the shaft? Cause that’s kind of what I did.

I had taken the pulley off cause I thought I needed to. Then I got the wrenches and pulled up your video and started watching from there and marked the case with a marker and everything like you did. I Took the positive lug off, took the three case bolts out, and started prying the back part of the case apart. But instead the front case slid halfway off the pulley shaft and everything started rotating next thing I know the case is in the proper orientation. The back part never came off so I wouldn’t be messing with any brushes or anything right, just bolt it back up?

 

Works too. I’m so used to pulling the back off to inspect the brushes it’s where I go.

 

Sweet, I got so scared for a minute. I guess that's the only way if someone doesn't have a way to get the nut off and on.

I'm looking at installing an inverter somewhere around the 1kw size in the truck, I've got some 4ga cable run from passenger positive to behind the rear seat by the jack. In all your research what's the best way to ground 1,000w inverter? cable straight back to negative post or something shorter to the body?