Quick Alternator Question 1988 7.3

[HammerDown]

Need a quick answer please;
The alternator in my 1988 F250 7.3 just died.
My prior receipt from Pep Boys dated 2000 and I wrote on the receipt and believed it to be a 100 amp.
HOWEVER, no one is stocking a 100 amp for my truck.
They are listing 65amp, 70amp and 165amp for ambulance service.
External regulator with a plug into the alternator.
Might this actually be a 70 amp alternator or, did our trucks call for the 100 amp alternators?
Thanks

 

[Cubey]

I'm 99% sure my RV has a 100A alternator, but I didn't take a good pic the paper sticker on it before the sticker finally fell apart and the exact part that said what it was came off.

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Here is a 100 amp one to fit your gen of F-series, but it says special order so they will charge you shipping. You might be able to find it online for less money and/or free shipping.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...01/6594806/1987/ford/f-250?q=alternator&pos=8

 

[Cubey]

Oh, and here is the 100A alternator that fits my 85 E350 RV (costs quite a bit less) but the connectors may be at a different clock position, so your connectors may not reach?

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...alternator&pos=0&fitAttr_10040=100+-+119+Amps

 

[Cubey]

Here is the difference in connector clock orientation between the E-series (12 o'clock) and F-series (9 o'clock). If you can get your F-series connectors to reach, the E-series alternator would work just fine.

(Or maybe you could turn the back cover to change it...? I'm no expert on the subject)

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[HammerDown]

EDIT... just got off the phone with another Ford dealer and they tell my my truck came with a 70amp and no option for a 100amp upgrade.

 

[Cubey]

^^^ so chances are my truck would have a 100amp on it?
I just got off the phone with a local Ford dealer, gave them my vin only thing available is a 75 amp.

It's possible you do, yes.

I suspect the only difference between the E-series and F-series alternators is the orientation that the back of the case is facing for the connectors. It looks like you could remove the 4 bolts on the back side and turn the casing by 90 degrees counterclockwise on an E-series alternator to make it into an F-series, but I don't know how long the wires are inside, so do it at your own risk of course. It would void warranty too, I'm sure.

But will you look at what I found under being compatible with my 85 E350... a Motorcraft 100A that has the picture showing 9 o'clock (F-series) connector orientation. In the complete compatibility table, it says 1989 F-series also. But only "1989" year models, for some reason.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...286rm/4485473/1985/ford/e-350-econoline?pos=4

 

[HammerDown]

^^^ called another ford dealer/parts dept and he's telling me my vehicle vin is a 70amp. with no 100amp option (at that time)
What the heck???

 

[Cubey]

^^^ called another ford dealer/parts dept and he's telling me my vehicle vin is a 70amp. with no 100amp option (at that time)
What the heck???

Call and ask if 100A comes up for an 89 F-series?

That's the problem with 30+ year old trucks, the dealers databases are probably missing info due to the info being entered into computers in the 1990s from print form, more than likely. Maybe the data entry person got lazy and didn't enter in everything like they were supposed to.

Or maybe Ford was weird and only offered 100A for 1989 on F-series? There is no telling.

The Dana 70 axle vent bolt basically doesn't exist in parts look-ups, but the one for the Ford Sterling axles is the same exact thing. So it won't come up for my 85 E350 Dana 70 but will for my 87 F250 Sterling, but both use the same exact part.

 

[HammerDown]

^^^ I'll try your suggestion tomorrow.
I need this alternator ASAP!

 

[HammerDown]

Here is the difference in connector clock orientation between the E-series (12 o'clock) and F-series (9 o'clock). If you can get your F-series connectors to reach, the E-series alternator would work just fine.

(Or maybe you could turn the back cover to change it...? I'm no expert on the subject)

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My alternator is 'clocked' like the E series.
For this truck I'm thinking I 'clocked' it myself... but that was 20 rears ago!

 

[Cubey]

My alternator is 'clocked' like the E series.
For this truck I'm thinking I 'clocked' it myself... but that was 20 rears ago!

Maybe the shop you bought it from sold you an E-series one because you asked for a 100A the clerk knew to order that instead because F-series ones are hard to get.

Here is the newer off-the-shelf O'Reilly alternator (65A probably) on my 87 F250 right after I installed it in late 2017. It has the 9:00 position.

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A slightly better view of the connectors. Looks like yeah, 12:00 should work on an F250 too due to the routing of the cables. Or at least certain ones.

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[gandalf]

It seems to me that Tim (Warden) wrote an article many years ago about re-clocking the alternator. It's a dim memory, but I think you'll find something in the Tech Article section.

 

[HammerDown]

It seems to me that Tim (Warden) wrote an article many years ago about re-clocking the alternator. It's a dim memory, but I think you'll find something in the Tech Article section.

re-clocking is the easy part, finding a parts house that stocks parts of my 33 year old truck is the difficult part.

 

[HammerDown]

Ford tells me my tuck came with either 70 or 75 amp alt (tow package would have been higher amps).
Somehow when the OE Alt went bad I ended up with a 100amp rebuilt "Motorcraft" from Pep Boys.
A 70amp is going back on as that's all they have availability for and Pep Boys is warranty exchanging because I still have the receipt!
Thinking the regulator is original too as I can't find a receipt that I changed it out... maybe I'll buy a new regulator, if they can get it.

 

[Cubey]

re-clocking is the easy part, finding a parts house that stocks parts of my 33 year old truck is the difficult part.

It's easy to find now that you know to tell the clerk to look up a 100A alternator for a 1985 E350. O'Reilly shows it easy to get, and so does Napa.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/RSE2133021A

Ford tells me my tuck came with either 70 or 75 amp alt (toe package would have been higher amps).
Somehow when the OE Alt went bad I ended up with a 100amp rebuilt "Motorcraft" from Pep Boys.
A 70amp is going back on as that's all they have availability for and Pep Boys is warranty exchanging because I still have the receipt!
Thinking the regulator is original too as I can't find a receipt that I changed it out... maybe I'll buy a new regulator, if they can get it.

All alternators say "Motorcraft" on them because Ford made all the casings. Even rebuild under other in-house brands will say Motorcraft on the casting of the housing.

Yeah, take what you can get for free even if it's not as much as you wanted.

Voltage regulators are easy to get still. If your regulator says Motorcraft cast into the housing, it's probably original. They don't seem to hardly go bad though, or maybe I have just been lucky.