Alternator Upgrade - 06/08/2019
The wagon came with a stock 63A alternator. It's ok, but it's always given problems at low speeds just because of the 10SI design and lacks the charge output to charge the battery quicker. I have an 80A alternator setup I pulled off of a '72 Grandville with rear defrost (which is what you needed to order for those cars to get the heavier alternator). I planned to install this many years ago, but it took a while to get around to it...
The factory setup.
ALL of the brackets that need to change. These are all specific to the setup and year. The spacers are definitely important to keep track of too.
Power steering pump comes off.
The old power steering pump bracket with all of its spacers.
The new power steering bracket changes the angle and adds an extra hole. All pumps from GM have these holes to mount all the different setups, but the spacers are extremely important to go in the right locations otherwise the pump won't align with the other pulleys and belts will squeal. And that is annoying! The rear mounting studs are the same, but the spacer for them is ALSO different between setups.
The brackets are on! The long bolt that I used in 2014 was stuck. Despite using anti-seize... I worked it back and forth for 30 minutes to free it. It didn't snap! I used SO MUCH anti-seize on the bolt I just installed too and had a bear of a time getting it to thread all the way in due to the former bolt being rusty. This took over an hour to do. Not fun in the humidity and heat...
Screwdriver is used to tension the pump.
It's not an easy angle to get to due to the power steering hoses, radiator hose, and fresh air tube being in the way!
Alternator is installed!
The wiring differences are noticeable on this alternator. The wires come up at this area of the engine vs the lower one...
The alternator runs!
More trouble than I expected but it did succeed. And the alternator charges the battery pretty darn quickly too, which was the intent!
Return to 1973 Grand Safari
Last updated June 8th, 2019