(For a 91 Camaro) Ok I did a search but got conflicting answers. This of course is the first choice. http://sethirdgen.org/cs144.htm Is there a cheap place to get the bracket yet? Do I need an adapter for the plug in back? Second someone had this pic. The one on the left looks like it's clocked right and is a direct bolt it?? Is it true that powermaster makes a direct bolt in amp for our cars thats rated at 140 amps? If thats correct is it as reliable to make that many amps in the smaller housing or is it more reliable to get the bigger cs144 housing and convert? 3rd anything new besides these two options? Search results are for a year or 2 old solutions and I know the brains on here find new and creative solutions everyday.

I have a 91 Firebird (3.1 V6) and yes Powemaster makes a 140 amp direct fit alternator. The part numbers are 37860 (chrome), 47860 (natural), and 57860 (black). A few moments ago I spent about 35 minutes talking to one of the guys at Jegs about Firebirds (he has an '86) and he confirmed that those 3 are direct bolt-ins and are 140amp (80 to 90 amps at idle). The natural is about $156, the black is $195, and the chrome is aroudn $230. They also come with a 1 year warranty.

Personally I'm a big fan of anything that bolts right in. I don't have the time nor the patience to modify anything these days and they say Powermaster is good stuff.

Here's something that I'm going to do first however, and you might give it a shot as well.....change out the wire from the back of the alternator to the battery and replace it with a 4 or 6 gauge wire. 2nd, do the same thing with the ground wire that comes off the back of the cylinder head and bolts to the chassis. 3rd, unbolt the battery's ground cable from the cylinder head (or block, wherever you have it bolted) and bolt it directly to the chassis.

I have seen claims that those 3 things alone will make the factory alternator setup flow even better and you may not even need to go to a 140 amp alternator, unless you're putting in a couple 1,000 watt amps or something. Besides, if you do these 3 things and you still have to upgrade the alternator it won't be a waste of time because with a 140 amp alternator you have to replace the wire from the alt to the battery with a 4 or 6 gauge wire anyhow. Anything smaller than that you risk melting the wire and with the factory wire you'll definitely melt it with 140 amps.

Another route to go is to have your stock CS130 alternator rewound for higher output. I had a local alternator/generator/starter shop rewind the stocker I have and increased the output from 105 amps to a little over 140 amps. The cost was comparable to what was already mentioned. I am using the higher output to charge 2 batteries through a diode isolator, one battery for starting and running the car and the other for the audio system.

That is definitely one route to go. I'm curious though Al about how long ago you had this done. Reason I ask is because the stock CS-130 unit is a notorious piece of junk and the main problem with it is the regulator and the cooling, or lack there of. I imagine just having the stock unit rewound to run at 140amp is probably going to make it run even hotter than before and shorter the lifespan of the alternator.

The Powermaster units (and other aftermarket performance alternators) most likely have an upgraded/larger bearing (common failure in the CS-130) and an upgraded case with more cooling holes in the back for the fan to pull more air through. This was basically what GM did when they made the CS-144 unit, they made it bigger and with more cooling holes in the back of the case to pull more air through plus they upgraded to needle bearings on the 2nd style CS-144 to get away from the ball bearings.

I had it done about a year ago. My guess is that it would depend on the shop. What I got back looks like a totally brand new alternator and the guy at the shop said it has all new internals as well. Also, if he was worried about its cooling capacity, he wouldn't have put a smaller pulley on it (not much smaller, but smaller non the less), and a warranty to boot. I have had to take it back once because the battery stud on the back loosened up and screwed up the regulator (luckily, I had a spare), a couple of days later, I was in business again.

A CS 144 is a heck of a lot cheaper, and its factory. Factory stuff is usually more reliable.
Is yours more of a show car under the hood? If so i'd get the chromed one. If you want to save some cash and you the looks don't really matter, just get a JY CS144. Do you have serp or V-belts? I swapped one into my V-belt setup, and it's very easy, with serp I think you need that special bracket or whatever it is. Also, just steal the plug off the donor car when you're taking its alternator.

theres always the iceburg kit that rectifys most problems with the cs-130...
the standard upgrade kit is 50bux comes with a new rear case that has cooling fins on it and new bearings and diodes stators and all that.
for 100bux you get a compleet rebuild kit with a rewound 140amp stator.
http://www.alternatorparts.com/7130_7140%20.htm

Ahhh makes more sense knowing he put a smaller pulley on it. A smaller pulley is going to make the fan spin faster and pull more air through the case. Even a slightly smaller pulley is going to make a difference.

No offense to you Sonix but you also have an '82. The '91 like Aaron has doesn't use a 180 style alternator like the older style SI units were and he would have to end up buying the bracket and grinding the CS-144 unit as shown in the link he posted above. I agree that's it's probably an easy swap for the older thirdgens but not so much for the newer ones.

If you check out the link, Aaron, that gapimpin posted above and click on the link to their complete iceberg alternators that they sell, you will see all of the upgrades they have done to their units. Improved Rectifier, modified rear housing for cooling, larger bearings, etc.

This is exactly what you're going to be getting with the Powermaster unit and judging from posts I have been reading the last few days, I haven't heard any complaints about their units yet. If you're looking to save $50 then go ahead and buy the iceberg kit from alternatorparts.com, otherwise you mights as well just spend the $150 on the on the Powermaster unit.

Hey Al where did you run the second battery. I have the 140 amp alt but went with the 0g for all the wiring. I just don't know where to put the second battery. I want to put it under the hood. Its going in a 1991 Firebird.

Thanks

My stereo battery is mounted behind the plastic trim panel in the left rear. Since the battery wouldn't fit through the door, the whole panel had to be removed first.



My isolator is mounted on a custom made bracket just in front of the alternator.

if you remove the cruise control and the charcoal canister(if there) you can mount a battery on each side of the rad support. i do like the hidden battery in the back though.

Actually, I have room up there now with the stock air cleaner removed in lieu of the TPI style over the radiator. In back, it kept it closer to my amplifier.