High xj alternator mount

[The Machinist]

Well, after going through 4 alternators in 3 years I finally had enough.  Todays project, mount the alternator on the A/C bracket, should be safe up there.

[WhiteOut]

Looks good, who knows why they made the XJ's with the alt at the bottom of the engine.

[S-FLY]

Sweet brackets, who makes them?  I've done 1 alternator on my xj so far.

[tubby]

Jamey(The Machinist) spent all of Friday and into Saturday to make the brackets on his CNC. He will be at the show 'n' shine if you want to ask him to make you some. If you spend a significant amount of time in mud or water; this upgrade would be well worth it. You will need to ditch your AC though. A new belt is also needed.

[cLAY]

I had chronic alt problems on my XJ as well. However my AC still worked and with the family often riding along I wanted to keep it that way.

Rich(Capt Crunch) gave me a tip that works great. The way the alt is mounted puts the brushes at the bottom of the alt and the vent holes at the top. This causes mud/water to settle at the bottom of the case and cause the brushes to get stuck in their holders and lose contact. I can confrim this 1st hand as when my alts died a sharp rap on the case often got them going again and any time I pulled them apart their was lots of mud in the bottom of the case and in the brush holders.

His solution was to just re-index the case so the brushes were at the top and the vent at the bottom. This allowed the mud to run out the bottom and kept the brushes higher and drier. After I did this I didn't have any more alt problems.

The procedure is simple, remove alt, remove the 3 case screws and split the alt apart. Now reassemble the case so the brushes are near the top mount. When reassembling the case a wire needs to be insterted into the brush holders to hold the brushes in against the spring. Remeber to remove it when assembly is done.

I know it sounds simple but this seriously worked for me. Before my alt would screw up almost every run. After I did it, no more problems. Remounting higher IS better, but if you're not ready to ditch your AC, try this.

[morerpmfred]

Clay this works on the older style gm alternator but does this indexing work on the newer style nippondenso alternators as well that are used in the newer xj and tjs ?

[cLAY]

I believe so but have never tried it.

[86 irocz]

hey i have also heard if you take the alt out of the chev trucks the case is turned different so the alt actually dains water not hold it  but bolts up the same

[kitimat Rich]

I just seal the unit up when i rebuild the alternator .  Rich Treasure Electric  1-877-632-2166

[cLAY]

How does it cool then?

[The Machinist]

Just a little update, I re-designed my bracket to provide more clearance for the rad hose and more wrap on the fan pulley.  Here's a few shots of the final product.