stretcher66 Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 i know first of all i should not have probably gone to autoblown for a alternator. but on my 71 510 goon the alternator took a dump on me. so i figured i would do the IR upgrade. the best i could figure was the 78 240sx alt since it had the same t-plug on it. i got it home and everything looked good til i started bolting it up and the bolt that holds the pulley on, hits my lower radiator outlet...Any suggestions would be awesome. thanks. 1 Quote Link to comment
Doctor510 Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 280ZX is the alt you needed. Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Has the car ever been in an accident, or "bumped" anything with the front end? Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Internal regulated alternators were introduced in all Datsuns on the '78 model year. The regulated and unregulated are physically the same size and bolt on the same. Two things come to mind. 1/ The pulley size may be slightly smaller, allowing the alternator to swing downward to the right side away from the engine more. A shorter belt, maybe from a '78 S10 (200sx) might fix this? 2/ Look at the alternator pulley. Does it line up with the water pump pulley? Hold a ruler against them and see. Possibly some miss-match causing the pulley to be more to the front? That all being said, if it's hitting, I guess it's hitting. The lower rad hose exits the rad straight back before bending to the right side around the alternator. What I have done in the past is trim 1/4 to 1/2" off the end of the rad hose and put it back on the rad outlet. This moves the bend in the hose towards the rad, away from the spinning alternator. 3 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 If you used a shorter belt, would it rotate the alternator up towards the engine and away from the radiator outlet? --carter 2 Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Saturn alternator also works. Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 If you used a shorter belt, would it rotate the alternator up towards the engine and away from the radiator outlet? --carter ^ That Quote Link to comment
stretcher66 Posted December 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Well i am not sure if it is because it is a 60 amp that i am trying to install or if it is because it is a autozone reman. but the pulleys would not line up regardless, and this one sticks out a little over a half in further than the orig.... going to take it back and look at some of the 280zx and saturn alternators. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 So 2/ then, a miss match of the pulleys. Tey that can't be fixed by trimming the hose. Belt won't survive that for long. AutoZone have that really wrong. Hope you kept the old one to compare.. Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 Take fan and pulley off. See if there is a spacer behind fan causing your difference. Pics might help here too. Someone can probably identify issue or ID the alt. Quote Link to comment
ByStickel Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 No mention of the 280zx water outlet swap? Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 No mention of the 280zx water outlet swap?Not when his problem doesn't include hitting the water outlet. No. I think he has the improper alternator. Getting one that fits should cure all. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 Correct. New alt. should fit in place of the old alt. Besides the 280z water inlet does not address the pulley not lining up with the water pump pulley. Quote Link to comment
Cheetahking Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 Assuming you didn't mess with the mount on the block. Also - is it a stock radiator? Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 You might need to modify your lower at mount. There are threads about this on here. A few of em. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 Well i am not sure if it is because it is a 60 amp that i am trying to install or if it is because it is a autozone reman. but the pulleys would not line up regardless, and this one sticks out a little over a half in further than the orig.... going to take it back and look at some of the 280zx and saturn alternators. Don't you guys keep up with the OP? Alternator swap that rubs rad hose. If the original fit, so should the replacement. New one does not line up with the water pump pulley. Occam's razer..... The simplest answer is usually the correct one. AutoZone........ say no more. 1 Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 The old was was not a 280zx IR alt. Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 The old one was still an L series alt. The bottom mount could change it fitting by an 1/8" or two...But not a half inch. Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 The old one was still an L series alt. The bottom mount could change it fitting by an 1/8" or two...But not a half inch. That's my guess. I had to modify my mount to make the magic happen. 1 Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 I did too...But only by a tiny amount. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 All L4 alternators will interchange. It's 1/2" out.... it's the cheap ass AutoZone alternator. 2 Quote Link to comment
stretcher66 Posted January 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 you are right it was that. but i ordered one for a 1980 280zx and it fits perfect, i just had to get a longer belt and it bolted up just right. thanks everyone for your input. 2 Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 Problem solved; post tits. 1 Quote Link to comment
KoHeartsGPA Posted January 2, 2017 Report Share Posted January 2, 2017 :rofl: ^ Quote Link to comment
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