BEST available Alternator?

[thennen]

Hello, I'm starting to do some overlanding and am currently on the stock factory original alternator on my 2000 4WD Limited. It's working great, but at 225k miles and 25 years old, I'll feel better with it replaced. I'll keep it with me as a trail spare though since they're relatively easy to swap out.

I'm looking at preventatively replacing it and have considered just putting an Original Toyota Alternator on it.

Assume cost/price wasn't a concern, is there any other option for an equally reliable (or better) alternator? And also if it gives extra AMPs that would be a bonus.

I AM planning to do the alternator wiring upgrades with this. But I'm hoping there might be some better options out there? Any tried and true suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

I recommend OEM, as they last virtually forever. That said, if you're set on replacing your alternator, do yourself a favor when you put the old one aside as a spare: replace the $20 brush kit. It's simple once you have the alternator out, and at 225k, the current brushes are shot anyway. Then your spare will likely be good for another 200k miles. FYI, my only alternator failures in 1.5 million miles across a dozen or so Toyotas have been brush failures. Never had bearing or regulator failures.

 

[1bzdvl]

I did a bunch of searching to try and help you and it seems most all high output alternator companies only offer them for 4th gens and onwards......I found a few that do older Toyotas but most are very HIGH dollar, up around $500 to $900...BUT I did find one source that is more reasonable, see link below.

2000 Toyota 4Runner 3.4L V6 High Output Alternators | Tucson Alternator

Perfect. They're in Phoenix as well! Thank you!

 

[phattyduck]

Good to know. I'll swap it out next time I'm in there. It did give me improved voltage at idle out of the box (14.2V).

If you are getting full voltage at idle with your 'normal' loads (headlights, brake lights, aux lights, turn signals, etc.) then no need to swap the pulley. Heck, even if it just keeps it above 13V with all the loads on, the alternator is supplying all the current for the electrical loads (it just may not be charging the battery in those cases).

-Charlie

 

[phattyduck]

Oh I'm way beyond "STOCK" anything on this truck. I've got air compressors, AC Inverters (1500w RMS), LEDs (220-400watts), Rear Air suspension, Electric Stoves, Heated Seats (all 4 places), Fridge, etc. I can hit 100 amps pretty easily. I do run some of it through a Delta Ecoflow Battery so it helps absorb some of that immediate rush of power, but it'd be nice to turn on my inverter to charge the Delta Ecoflow and not worry about burning anything up.

At that point, you should definitely be running a lot of that off a secondary battery with a current-limited DC-DC charger for the 'house' loads - and note that most of the worst offenders (stove, compressor, etc.) are very low duty cycle. Oh, and probably add some solar so you can get some 'passive' power to the house side while the engine is off. Definitely not a normal use case.

-Charlie

 

[lockedlex]

At that point, you should definitely be running a lot of that off a secondary battery with a current-limited DC-DC charger for the 'house' loads - and note that most of the worst offenders (stove, compressor, etc.) are very low duty cycle. Oh, and probably add some solar so you can get some 'passive' power to the house side while the engine is off. Definitely not a normal use case.

-Charlie

Yep, I'm there already, got a flexible Solar Panel on my hood plus extra panels as needed. Stove/electric pans can easily be 1200w and run for 20-45min (3x a day) so not low duty cycle.

I also ran completely separate 4 AWG from the battery (pure copper, nothing tinned) to new junction boxes with various fuses (all RedWolf and BlueSea) to run all my aux systems (through a 1500w Auxbeam 8 gang switch panel).

I run the EcoFlow Delta's to keep some of them off the "house" load (since that's not the best idea to run that kind of demand off stock wiring or alternator even if it could handle it) and for things like Winch, Viair Compressor (which can run for 20-40 min easily, esp if I'm inflating other trucks) those are on the new "wiring" circuit.

Yes, this is definitely not a normal use case, hence the original question. Thankfully, I've gotten some great input.

 

[toverturf]

The only reason i've thought about upgrading the alternator to a higher output one is because i've thought about getting the BLUETTI Alternator Charger 1. It can output 15-56v at 10a and inputs at 50A - 12V. Would the stock 80a alternator be able to handle that?

 

[lockedlex]

I recommend OEM, as they last virtually forever. That said, if you're set on replacing your alternator, do yourself a favor when you put the old one aside as a spare: replace the $20 brush kit. It's simple once you have the alternator out, and at 225k, the current brushes are shot anyway. Then your spare will likely be good for another 200k miles. FYI, my only alternator failures in 1.5 million miles across a dozen or so Toyotas have been brush failures. Never had bearing or regulator failures.

Oh, I'll definitely be keeping the original and good tip on the brush kit (I'll redo those and keep the whole thing as a trail spare--I replaced an alternator on my buddies '98 w/180k miles--in a parking lot, took all of 20 min, so this is something I'm comfortable keeping on the truck).

I'd be inclined to stick with an original Toyota, but even running my inverter to charge my Ecoflow at say 700w, brings my Voltage down to low 13s at speed. It'd be nice to be able to crank it up to 1000w charging and still be above 13.5 or even 14.

 

[lockedlex]

The only reason i've thought about upgrading the alternator to a higher output one is because i've thought about getting the BLUETTI Alternator Charger 1. It can output 15-56v at 10a and inputs at 50A - 12V. Would the stock 80a alternator be able to handle that?

I switched from Bluetti products to Ecoflow because they have an asinine charging limit. It's something like 300w, 700w and then a turbo function of 1200w, for example. Charging a 1000ah battery at 300w will take hours (but is safe and doable, esp at speed) and at 700w, you will run the risk of not charging your battery (on the stock alt) or having some wiring issues. And at over 1000w, you'll probably burn something up. The Bluetti Alt charger has output at a good range, but it's the Bluetti batteries that have limited adjustments, so just make sure you're connecting a good adjustable battery to it.

Ecoflows let you control from like 100-1200w in 100 watt increments from the app.

 

[Endlessblockades]

Quick question - every alternator sold through Toyota dealerships is a reman, right? RE: P/N 27060-62160-84

 

[lockedlex]

That's my understanding, no one sells new Alternators for our 3rd gens anymore including directly from Toyota.

 

[phattyduck]

Quick question - every alternator sold through Toyota dealerships is a reman, right? RE: P/N 27060-62160-84

Yes, for any vehicle that is more than maybe 3 years out of production. Same with steering racks and a few other 'normal wear' things. A new alternator from the dealer would probably be $1200 instead of the $200-250 or whatever for the reman.

-Charlie

 

[Endlessblockades]

Yes, for any vehicle that is more than maybe 3 years out of production. Same with steering racks and a few other 'normal wear' things. A new alternator from the dealer would probably be $1200 instead of the $200-250 or whatever for the reman.

-Charlie

So a (cheaper) reman Denso from Rock Auto, eat the (cheaper) core charge, and buy a brush kit for that (now) backup alternator - sounds like the ticket. I only have 4 LED devices that I can only use in special nighttime circumstances, anyway. I use the compressor with the engine running, too.

 

[cullowheebandit]

I’d stick with a Denso reman or new unit, same as OEM, super reliable, and you’ll get solid performance for overlanding. If you want more amps, check out JS Alternators; they’ve got high-output options (160-250A) that fit your 2000 4Runner and hold up well under heavy loads. I’ve run a JS 200A on my rig for two years with winches and lights, no issues. Just make sure you do the Big 3 wiring upgrade to handle the extra juice. Keep that stocker as a spare, smart move

 

[lockedlex]

So a quick update, I ended up doing the AC Delco Gold CS144 upgrade. It's only 140 amps, but works well for my needs and is a nice jump from the 80amp stock unit (which I saved and will be keeping on the truck as a trail spare).

I used to get about 13.5-.6 while running. If I ran my AC Inverter to charge my Ecoflow Battery at say 600w, it'd drop down to 12.7-13 at speed and 700+ would be in the 11.x range.

I"m getting 14.3 easily at speed now. AND I can run 1000w at speed and the system is still showing 14+ volts, which is really good.

Time well tell how reliable this unit is (but apparently, they're a pretty good Delco product) and I figured with the bulk of others doing it, it's probably a safe enough bet.

 

[wcjeep]

For an offroad vehicle consider the Premier Power Welder system. I have had it on my offroad Jeep for years. Most oem alternators are cold rated. Meaning after they warm upto operating temp they produce less power.

Premier Power Welder alternators are Hot rated. Meaning Power output is measured at operating temperature.

Have welded many Rigs back together on the trail. Makes winching easy with extra power available. Many winches consume 400amps +/- at full pull.

 

[thennen]

So a quick update, I ended up doing the AC Delco Gold CS144 upgrade. It's only 140 amps, but works well for my needs and is a nice jump from the 80amp stock unit (which I saved and will be keeping on the truck as a trail spare).

I used to get about 13.5-.6 while running. If I ran my AC Inverter to charge my Ecoflow Battery at say 600w, it'd drop down to 12.7-13 at speed and 700+ would be in the 11.x range.

I"m getting 14.3 easily at speed now. AND I can run 1000w at speed and the system is still showing 14+ volts, which is really good.

Time well tell how reliable this unit is (but apparently, they're a pretty good Delco product) and I figured with the bulk of others doing it, it's probably a safe enough bet.

For your old one as backup, do yourself a favor and remove the brushes for inspection. They're probably almost completely gone, and replacing them takes 5 minutes once you have the alternator out, and $20.00 for the part.

 

[2TH4IST]

I recently swapped from a cs144 to a ad244 alternator from mechman. It's body is a bit smaller then the cs144 and has newer tech and dual internal fans. So far it has been solid as a rock. Much more predictable then the cs144. I did have to re-clock it to clear the exhaust manifold. But it's the bee's knees so far.

 

[brillo_76]

I recently swapped from a cs144 to a ad244 alternator from mechman. It's body is a bit smaller then the cs144 and has newer tech and dual internal fans. So far it has been solid as a rock. Much more predictable then the cs144. I did have to re-clock it to clear the exhaust manifold. But it's the bee's knees so far.

I was wondering how those CS144 held up.. Glad to see some feedback and another option ad244. For those that need more power. I only at some point would do a pulley mod on a denso. As I don't need the extra power. Just like the fans and headlights not to dim in winter and summer when I need a little more at Idle..

 

[2TH4IST]

Careful speeding up an alternator with a smaller pulley. You can over spin it and cause permanent damage. I am running a 44mm pulley on my ad244. It's idle speed is around 2000 shaft rpm.

IIRC the stock denso alt pulley size is 55mm, so a ratio of 2.72 to 1.

I measured the alternator groove on the crank pulley to be circumference of 18.5" and a diameter of 5.88".

5.88 ÷ 1.73 = 3.39 to 1 ratio
3.39 × 600 (idle) = 2040 rpm
3.39 x 5500 (redline) = 18,645 rpm

18,645 rpm's are close to max rpm of the ad244 that I have from mechman. But it spins at the desired shaft rpm's at idle and "normal" driving conditions.