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Autozone Duralast Gold Alternator

WarWagon said:
I used anti-seize on the alternator bolts one year because I changed it so often. Then I ponied up and bought one from the dealer. At least I didn't have to change that one out. Granted they are a limited life unit... But not that limited!
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I freed up my slides and antisiezed everything too :)

Now I'm starting to think its the belt. I sprayed the far corner belt with WD and it stopped squealing.... It came back shortly, but a lubed up belt it didn't squeek.

I could hear a spot on the old alternator where there was friction in the bearing though.

I may toss on my 99.5 belt and see what happens. Not today though. I hate not to use this gates though as its quality is far superior, and sits in the adjustment zone, not out of it. However 10,000 miles on the cheapy and no signs of abuse.

Put about 60 miles on it today, and the squeak was not always constant. seemed to dissapear on acceleration.
 
Matt Bachand said:
I freed up my slides and antisiezed everything too :)

Now I'm starting to think its the belt. I sprayed the far corner belt with WD and it stopped squealing.... It came back shortly, but a lubed up belt it didn't squeek.

I could hear a spot on the old alternator where there was friction in the bearing though.

I may toss on my 99.5 belt and see what happens. Not today though. I hate not to use this gates though as its quality is far superior, and sits in the adjustment zone, not out of it. However 10,000 miles on the cheapy and no signs of abuse.

Put about 60 miles on it today, and the squeak was not always constant. seemed to dissapear on acceleration.
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come on Matt you know the rule, you get what you pay for.):h I don't think I would ever trust autozone or pepboys when it comes to starters and alternators. Especailly after everything I hear about them. Some get lucky, some don't. Sure the lifetime replacement is nice, but the downtime and hassle it causes having to keep taking it out and putting it back would annoy the hell out of me. Maybe if it lasted 5 years and then crapped out I would take advantage of it.

Personally, I like the Powermaster series. For both there starters and there Alternators. They have quite exceptional quallity.

Funny story, about a month back I was having "alternator issues"(jumpy rpm gauge and lack of charging) Pepboys tried to claim that the alternator was bad. I brought just the alternator back the next day and had them bench test it. It checked out fine. 4 times in a row. Brought it home, wire brushed the hell out of all the external electrical connections, added a generour coating of my favorite anti-ox paste and hooked it back up. Haven't had a problem since.:rolleyes5:
 
Powermaster's catalog shows what looks to be a CS-144 cased higher output alternator to fit the '95 6.5's. Rather pricey as expected.

I wonder if the 6.5 equiped C&C's that were ambulances had the common CS-144 ~140 amp alternator? Or maybe they need more capacity than that & had dual alternators.

My thought is, if there were CS-144 equiped 6.5's, one might find one in the salvage yard for a cheap upgrade. Put a bearing/diode kit in it & have a little more charging capacity in an alternator that should have OEM durability.
 
I've always liked dual alts... I got a nice empty spot where the A/C Would go. would be easy. They'd probably last a long time each working at 1/2 load most of the time...

I've also eyeballed that CS-144 its a different size. Must be OEM bracketry to make it work. I THOUGHT I read that the CS-144 may need a little more RPM to output amps, meaning it would not be a good match for plowing. It may be just that, a 2nd alt only?
 
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Matt Bachand said:
I've always liked dual alts... I got a nice empty spot where the A/C Would go. would be easy. They'd probably last a long time each working at 1/2 load most of the time...

I've also eyeballed that CS-144 its a different size. Must be OEM bracketry to make it work. I THOUGHT I read that the CS-144 may need a little more RPM to output amps, meaning it would not be a good match for plowing. It may be just that, a 2nd alt only?
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On your 97 the CS-144 is a direct swap, just leave the rear support bracket off and change your alternator plug over to the older style(or get the powermaster adapter harness) and your good to go. The CS-130D that is standard on the 96+ outputs about 50-60 amps at idle VS the CS-144 putting out roughly 85-90 at the same RPM's. The CS-144 requires less RPM's to reach full potential as well as the larger diameter of the alternator creates a higher speed on the armeture.
 
SmithvilleD said:
Any experience/notes on the CS-144 fitting on the earlier 6.5's such as my '95?
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Yep, I had one on mine when it was a 6.5. I had to change the lug on the charge cable as the 144 uses a bigger stud. If you leave the rear bracket off then all you really need is a longer bolt for the top mount if you use the 96+ CS-144.
 
my 02 8.1 has been squeaking too, alternator was squeaking, squeaked when on the bench, new one no squeak for a day... next day all the squeaks are back, removed and re-greased tensioner pulley. gone for 1 trip then back. replaced with new pulley, squeak gone for 1 trip then back. kinda annoying... takin the a/c belt off this week to see if that changes it.
 
540s10 said:
my 02 8.1 has been squeaking too, alternator was squeaking, squeaked when on the bench, new one no squeak for a day... next day all the squeaks are back, removed and re-greased tensioner pulley. gone for 1 trip then back. replaced with new pulley, squeak gone for 1 trip then back. kinda annoying... takin the a/c belt off this week to see if that changes it.
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Maybe it's the GD state we live in!!:D
 
is this problem with duralast parts only related to the 6.5? I have never actually had problems with a Duralast part. I got over 30,000 miles on the Duralast brake pads in my wife's minivan, got 3 years on its Alternator, 2 years so far on the Starter, and 3 years on the Duralast Gold Battery. And that is with this car.

The Burb (350 gasser) was sporting a Duralast Starter and Alternator and a pair of Duralast gold batteries, a Duralast PS pump, and Duralast ball joints.

plus there have been others, I have never actually had problems with any Duralast parts, I have had more problems with parts plus, carquest, and Napa parts than anybody else.
 
The DURALAST parts from about 2-3 years ago were OK, but since then they have gone to hell in a handbasket.
 
With all the price competition & lowest cost over seas sources, I think the days where you could trust an auto parts store established tradename - to always represent quality - are somewhat over.

Not that there aren't some good parts under their marketing established store brandnames. But with the cost competition, you don't have a good way of knowing if the part you're buying under, say the Duralast brand, is made or rebuilt by the same manufacturer today, that it was a few years ago, or sometimes even last year.

They can provide the warranty, but I suspect they only have an educated guess as to probable durability & failure rate when they choose a new vendor. Might be some type of quality clause in their deal w/ the vendor, but I'd expect they'll tolerate some degree of returns/failure rate to sell a product that comes to them at a price point w/ better profitability.
 
Anubis said:
is this problem with duralast parts only related to the 6.5? I have never actually had problems with a Duralast part. I got over 30,000 miles on the Duralast brake pads in my wife's minivan, got 3 years on its Alternator, 2 years so far on the Starter, and 3 years on the Duralast Gold Battery. And that is with this car.

The Burb (350 gasser) was sporting a Duralast Starter and Alternator and a pair of Duralast gold batteries, a Duralast PS pump, and Duralast ball joints.

plus there have been others, I have never actually had problems with any Duralast parts, I have had more problems with parts plus, carquest, and Napa parts than anybody else.
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The 6.5 alternator is a typical standard GM alt for the era. Nothing fancy.

Belt squeel has gotten less, but still there... now its really cold out. Extreme temperature shifts may be playing games with the 99" belt... I'm just going to run it as is unless it gets really loud.

I wish I did the CS-144 conversion years ago.... oh well.
 
Matt Bachand said:
The 6.5 alternator is a typical standard GM alt for the era. Nothing fancy.

Belt squeel has gotten less, but still there... now its really cold out. Extreme temperature shifts may be playing games with the 99" belt... I'm just going to run it as is unless it gets really loud.

I wish I did the CS-144 conversion years ago.... oh well.
Click to expand...

i bet it's the chinese bearings in it, thank you mr president!
 
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