I want to upgrae the starter and alternator in my van to the later style Nippondenso alternator and starter motor but I don't know which vehicles to look in. I would like to keep the external voltage regulator because pulling the alternator on a van with A/C is a bit tedious.

Also, in another thread, slantsixdan said that front wheel drive starter motors won't work in a rear wheel drive vehicle. Does this mean I have to get a starter from a late model truck or van that has the mini starter?

I just walk in to the local pick-a-part and ask for a starter from a 1993 5.2L Dakota or Ramcharger...(the tag lists a bunch of 'cross-references').
So far at $45-50 each, they have functioned well and I have one out of a 1994 Dakota as a spare and the one in my duster was out of a 1993 5.9L Ram.


Good luck,

-D.Idiot

The starter swap is easy enough, though if your present starter works there's no real pressing cause to change it. The alternator swap is harder because of bracketry issues; they are not a direct bolt-on unless you have the relatively scarce 100A large-frame alternator bracket setup, in which case...why change?

The starter that fits and works correctly comes from an '89-'01 RWD or 4WD Dodge truck or van with a 3.9, 5.2 or 5.9 litre engine. No V10s, no Jeeps, no FWDs, no AWDs, no 4-cylinder engines.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Well, my starter is starting to fail (about every tenth start it won't engage the flywheel and just grinds away) and I am pretty sure my alternator is toast. It only puts out 12 volts at idle and 10-10.5 under load, and I have tried several different known-good voltage regulators.

Okay, so it looks like I need to find a v-6 or v-8 mid 90s Dodge truck to get the starter, but what about the alternator? I did a search on this site and learned that there are alternators for the serpentine and v-belt sewtups, and that there are also internally and externally regulated alternators. If I am looking for an externally regulated starter with a v-belt pulley what vehicles should I be looking for? Or should I just forget it and find a regular old alternator?

There aren't any internally-regulated alternators on Mopars, with the exception of a few '84-'85 FWD turbo cars we don't care about anyhow.

If you're determined to have a late-model alternator, the ones with the V-belts are found on '89-'91 Dodge Ram and Dakota pickups plus Dodge full-size vans, and '89 M-bodies (Diplomat, Gran Fury, etc.).

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

You know, I thik it is probably more trouble than it is worth. Thanks for the info but I think I will stick to original equipment.

Reed, if you haven't increased your compression the mini starter really isn't needed.
My compression is around 9.8:1 and it was killing both my battery and starter. If the car didn't start on the first 3 trys the battery didn't have the power to turn the starter. With the mini starter I can crank for a long time, and it cranks much faster.

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What inside of these old starters causes them to do what Reed is describing? The one my Duster does that every once in a while. Is the drive mechanism starting to fail?

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

Yep, failing overrunning clutch in the drive.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Well, I cruised through the boneyard and didn't see and Denso donors, so I grabbed a 78 vintage 47 amp alternator I found laying in a puddle. I didn't even have to remove it, just picked it up off the gorund. Payed my $13, installed it, and it works like a charm. Yay for Mopar engineering!

"mini-starter" meaning the later model v-6 starters with the same bolt pattern?

-dave

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what part of "illegal" is so confusing???

Dusty- yeah- thats the one.

I had one in my hand at Harry's a couple weeks ago but didn't buy it. I was really looking for a 2 barrel intake so I set it down and just kept searching. I didnt feel like going back to it(or lugging it around with me) I guess whenever I find one I should buy them and sell tham here.

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