Maybe this is a stupid post, but I hope it helps someone else who doesnt know this.

SO:

I started to do some research on the 3rd gen CS-144 GM alternator upgrade(OEM to 140amp). I went as far as to go to the junkyard and pull one off of an old Camaro. I even ordered the plug adapter. Then I stopped dead in my tracks because the most frustrating thing I ran across every time I tried to determine what belt to use was "get a belt that's 1-2 inches longer than oem".

Now, I could be the dim bulb on the tree here. The ironic thing is I never made any more progress because of the fact that I felt like I would look like an idiot walking into an auto parts store, then holding my belt up to the guy behind the counter and saying "Can you find me a belt that's 2" longer than this?". Not to mention trying to google and find the length of the OEM belt was a fruitless venture.

Fast forward to my new side job at Autozone. Whilst stocking belts in the back one day I ran across this wonderful device:


This big boy measures the belt down to the millimeter in a matter of seconds, which *CAN* be cross-referenced in the computer to find something of similar profile and length. I hope this helps someone else. I plan to resume my project soon now.



TL;DR - Go to the autoparts store and ask for a 2" longer belt. They actually can do it.

youre overcomplicating the cs144, you just run a power steering belt now instead of alternator belt.

for orther stuff that tool could for sure be helpful.

Heck, Tim and Sean just reused the original Alt belt without issue. Talk about over-complicating things...

thats right! forgot about that. i think my cs144 is the bigger pulley size so i had to run a PS belt

Could've just taken a tape measure to the thing too...

When I did this to my 97 4runner, my original belt worked. Didn't need a new one. Its been on for over 2 years now too.

When I finally replaced my belts (after years of running the stock one) I noticed how tight the new one was.

While it was a struggle to get the new one on; it still went on.


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Do you have any voltage issues with the larger pulley diameter? I got a CS144 from DB Electrical and it has a 62mm OD versus the (53mm?) stock pulley OD. Recently noticed that it's showing between 11.8 & 12.3v when idling at 650-700 rpm. From 1200 rpm up it seems fine around 14.8v.

Is this mod still popular? I can't even get a non-Denso remanufactured OEM alternator to survive a year. Reliability on an ancient GM design old enough to have been remanufactured in Mexico multiple times over sounds like a tow truck driver's cash cow.

What's the reasonable alternative?

Anything that doesn't have a comma in the price, I'm all ears.
I can tell my aging stock O'Reilly special is struggling with both
the winch and stop lights. The wiring is in good shape, but I
can see the advantage of a stouter set up in the OEM location.

Denso 210-0461.

105A rated, drill out the lower mounting ear, swap the pulley and there you go. Denso reliability and >25% higher output, same frame size. Wiring connections are in slightly different locations, but all work.

-Charlie

I'm not sure if this is any help to you, but I've been through 3 or 4 CS144s. The first was a new Denso one that went after a month, and the next 3 were advanced auto ones since I worked there, so warrantying them was easy. I'd say look into maybe a higher output stock design alternator or even a higher output CS144 such as they would use in audio builds as I'd imagine they are completely redone.

i never experienced low voltage from the bigger pulley. i did however have a few alternator regulators go bad on me, causing me to replace the cs144 about 3 times. my voltage would A. spike up to 16-17 V for minutes (holy Sh*t batman) or plain not even charge.