New Alternator

My alternator has been leaking a black gooey substance, and staining my garage floor for years:

Recently, my car has had an un-diagnosed electrical gremlin, causing the car to need periodic jump starts. I also needed to replace the alternator belt, so I decided it was time to replace the alternator.

The popular alternator to retrofit into the Delorean is the GM Delco-Remy CS130, and the popular car to cross reference is a 1991-1994 Saturn. I was considering buying one of these alternators from a parts store, with a lifetime warranty. Buying an off-the-shelf CS130 usually means having to swap a serpentine pulley for the V-belt pulleys. A 1/2 inch spacer is needed behind mounting ear. Some bolts need to be changed to mount and tension it correctly. A wiring harness is also needed to plug into the alternator. A new “Saturn” CS130 was near $165, while rebuilt alternators are cheaper.

I was also interested in the “Iceberg” upgrade for the CS130, which adds more cooling fins for the casing. Check out the details here: https://alternatorparts.com/iceberg.html
I wanted to stay away from high amperage output alternators, since they sometimes fail to provide adequate amperage at idle speeds. I’ve read stories of owners having to raise idle speeds since their high-output alternators were failing to charge during city driving.

After totaling the cost of new parts-store alternator, pulley, harness, and bolts, I opted to instead buy a 120 amp alternator from DMC Midwest. Their alternator, a version of the CS130, includes a different casing which mounts easily to the Delorean’s alternator bracket without a spacer. It also includes bolts, wiring harness, the correct pully, and a new belt:

Several years ago, someone posted the parts needed for a stainless turnbuckle alternator tensioner. I added the parts to another order I was already purchasing.

The hardest part of removing the old alternator is access to bolts. Also, the AC belt needs to come off when changing the alternator & water pump belt.

I spent a few hours cleaning belt shavings off the engine:

I needed a longer M8 bolt to mount the new tensioner to the timing cover. After purchasing a stainless bolt and mounting everything, I found the tensioner is too long! I cleaned up the stock bracket, and reinstalled it:

Installed, working:

Costs: