need advice on high output alternator

Ooooooh, no - this is a new one on me. Usually they are just this bracket hanging off the front of the block that also supports power steering pumps, A/C, whathaveyouwhatnot. They typically bolt straight through, parallel to the body of the alternator. Get your cellphone/digital camera out for me and *please* post me photos from a few angles? On my Blazer, there is a third "leg" that bolts to a support bracket against the back of the small body CS130D. Omitting this part after torquing the nut off of the exhaust head that keeps it in place is the only "mod" I would need to do. (I would just use the two front bolt holes to support the whole works) I got to see what you are looking at there - but it is nothing to fabricate a bracket, and relatively inexpensive to have done for you in light of the "Big Picture(tm)" of your megawatt install. AD244's only come in one style... Stonkin' *HUGE*. :DLife is too short to build slow computers or weak audio!

Here is something interesting- A Google search provided a clue, now to clue you in on the breadcrumb trail: What WILL fit your application perfectly is a CS144, dual rectifier, heavy duty re-manufactured unit with a *BRACKET ADAPTER*. Yes kids, you can sleep well tonight - I found the solution. A little pricey - but a single rectifier, standard duty reman will set you back $209. (140 amp) Going as high as 250 amps will strain the bank account for about $470. Either way you decide, they also sell a bracket U-clip adapter to fit '01 3.1 liter V-6 for $30. For fear of angering the admin and forum gods (The only thunder I like booms overhead, or in my truck - not in my computer!) dare I just hand out a link to the reman's product page? Or better yet, Google search for "2001 chevy malibu 3.1 liter alternator upgrade" and it's the first page that pops up. Short description of Googled text: "Get more power, upgrade your CS130D to a large case CS144 or the Extreme ... for your 1996-2001 GM vehicle with the 3100, 3.1 liter or 1999-2001 3.8 ... The installation shown below is on the 1999 Chevy Malibu with the 3100cc\ 3.1 V-6 engine. If you have this alternator on your GM 3.1 engine you can install up to ..." I will go and hide for a little while and see if my newly minted account and login here gets smitten. :DLife is too short to build slow computers or weak audio!

Do you know anything about how the CS144 compares to the AD 244?  Do you know if it has the same center to center for the mounting holes? I am thinking that the same thing could be done with the AD 244 and I have found a good used AD 244 145amp for under $50.  The bracket they show just looks like a piece of C channel they drilled some holes into to me.   

The CS144 is a bit smaller in diameter on the case dimensions in all directions. Looking at the photos on some sites that show the upgrade/mod would indicate mounting problems with anything larger than the CS series unit. If you will note, it looks like heater hoses run right up against the back of the CS after it is installed. Also, the case is cast with slightly different lugs to pass the bolts through, maybe because of the tighter space it was made to go into. The AD244 would be grossly oversized if you managed to adapt it - looks like it would literally bulge your hood out when you closed it. I *USED* to have a vehicle with a 3.1 60 degree GM V-6 to look at, but it was hauled away to the scrappers a month ago due to a seized block. Otherwise I would go outside and figure it all out based on what I know of the AD244's at the moment. Let me get on the trail of looking up the sizing and mounting hole spacing and get back to you on that. That is something I just do not know off the top of my head. I just find it intriguing at the moment that nearly all 3.1 liter V-6 GM blocks recommend the CS144 as the only upgrade path if you need more than 105 amps stock on the CS130D. Also of note, on CS series alts, the number indicates the outside diameter of the stator coils - since the form that holds them in place is externally visible (The GREEN/ black band in the center of the alt) you can do a fast and dirty size up visually if the differing units were side by side in front of you. Okay, let me get on the trail of finding overall dimensions and spacings...BRB.Life is too short to build slow computers or weak audio!

Okay, the bolt spacing on the front is the same as the AD244 - 6.5" center to center on a GENERIC case. (More below) It is also 6.5 inches from the rear +Batt post to the front of the external fan. It is just a tad larger in diameter (14mm) over the CS130D. The AD244 is enormous compared to the CS144, and I honestly do not think it would easily allow you to close the hood, let alone fit on top of the block with all that plumbing. I sure wish I had the stuff in front of me to say with 110% clarity and truth and make measurements. Now I have held an AD244 in my hands once, 15 pounds compared to the CS's svelte 10 pounds and much deeper. It looks like a CS130 all mutated. A CS144 is merely a tad bulkier than the CS130D, making it a direct bolt in truck job easier than a car mod. 3rd gen. J-body enthusiasts use this alternator in place of their 130D's with minimal bracket/alternator casing mods (grinding brackets down or the casings of the alt to make it fit mechanically - only a 1/16" needed in each case it would seem). The AD244's depth and overall mass does not play nice in tighter car bodies and builds but the CS144 can be made to perform just like the large case AD244. If you like to thump and bump with a kilowatt in the trunk, find at least a heavy duty 140 amp CS144 with a casing cast to the bolt pattern you need - that is the enigma here... NO online resource I could find will directly state what style of CS144 they have in stock. They made them with a myriad of diffe4rent bolt lug spacings and orientations to fit into many, many passenger cars and light trucks as a factory Hi-Output option. GM vehicles in Police and emergency applications carried this alternator as stock in a 140amp package. Special applications can be built into casings to match your specific block spacing and orientation in double rectifier hop-ups upwards of 300 Amps continuous service, but again - you got to hunt, call and request it after supplying vehicle specific data. Otherwise, a generic cased CS144 next to a 130D in every comparison photo I see on the web looks like a slightly bigger twin. The AD244 in comparison to either small case alts is a Goliath. List of *confirmed* donor vehicles to try in the boneyard for a CS144 @ 140amp unit would be: * Corvette (94-96 5.7L exc.ZR1 - 84-85 all - 80-82 HD opt. only) * '93~95 Cadillac DeVille * This alternator also fits directly into these vehicles, no mods needed: Suburban - Blazer - Tahoe - Jimmy - Yukon - Safari - Sierra C, K, R, S, T, V Series trucks - Astro & G Series van 1986~2006 (These are DIRECT bolt in applications w/*gerneric* cases on these trucks - harness adapter may be required depending on the type you pull from the junker and if it was an aftermarket mod/upgrade) * 140 Amp version can be found in 1994~96 Impala SS/Caprice (Factory H.O. package... In short - hunt the yards in addition to the web, these things were put in a very wide reaching installation base and as a factory kit upgrade at time of vehicle order. Snap a photo of your alt, find a donor and if a bracket was used to get it into a car, snag that too to make up for clearance issues that would otherwise have that alt smacking into a valve cover or something. Man, I thought that this was going to be easy, but I got your back buddy!Life is too short to build slow computers or weak audio!

I really appreciate all the help and info you have given me.  I found a cs 144 on ebay from a deville.  It says its a 140 amp for around 50 bucks.  Do you know if it has the amp rating on the casing somewhere?  I was looking at the knukonceptz website alternator guide and it says that 98-99 luminas had a 140 amp option.  Also do i need to change the plug to make these work?

I did some field research the past two days. The CS-140's wound for 140 amp service (high output) that could find st the wreckers had ovsl, 4-pin plug. Electrically, they would be a drop in replacement for my CS130D already on my Blazer. I found no external markings that would indicate the capacity of them. Since they were so old, the Remy/Delco sticker on them was long gone, so I could not reference a part number for you. Now - I got to look at the AD244 and a DR44G - both are mechanical/electrical twins. They too had an oval 4-pin harness and would be a mechanical fit fo my truck with a 1" oversized belt. Though the casings on the large body alternators were bulkier, their overall length was similar to an CS130D with identical mounting lug locations. (Again, speaking for myself and my truck) So I would say at this point, locate a junker source that has the components you are desiring and size them up side by side to make sure that they fit in your car's application. A truck affords the luxury of generic locations and sizing with room to work with. Nobody could give me specific details of upgrading a 3.1 Malibu but from what I can tell from anything I found online, a bracket of some sort will need to be made/modified to make up clearances to keep *any* upgrade other than a rewound CS130D from bumping into the block. One CS140 the fellow could show me that was wound for "Heavy Duty" 140 amp service came off a low mile, wrecked Caprice Police packaged squad car, '05 model year. (Looked like an aftermarket rather thana factory mod) There was a bracket adapter that was on the block to accommodate the bulkier case.Life is too short to build slow computers or weak audio!

I had to look around for an answer to your plug question, I guess either I was imagining things in the sweltering heat down here or just plumb forgot - Vehicles that have a CS130D alternator as stock from factory will need a wire harness adapter to fit an OEM style CS144 of any build or type. The harness adapter is part # D1-W1206. Vehicles with a CS130 alternator (Without the D, if you please note) will NOT require an adapter of any kind.Life is too short to build slow computers or weak audio!

I scored a 140 amp CS144 at the junkyard for $45!  I may have stumbled on an easier solution to the mounting issue.  The older gm 60 degree v6's had cs144 style alternators on them from the factory.  I think that a bracket for an older engine will bolt up to the new 3100.  The only hang up is that the belt is routed differently on the older engines than on mine.  I don't have an older engine to look at so I'm not sure if it would be a simple matter of changing the belt routing and installing the older bracket or if it would be more involved.  Does anyone have an older gm 3.1 or 2.8 they could take some pictures of?