97-99 TJ alternator upgrade options

thameren

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As some may know the 97-99 have the AC mounted on the passenger side so the dorango alt. Won't work. I was wondering if there are other alternators that are reasonably priced I have a 98 with the 4.0
 
I don't know about the difference between the Durango and TJ alternators but I do know that we used the alternator off his 1995 Dodge Ram V8 on my son's 1995 YJ 4.0.

The pullies matched perfectly, all we had to do was remove the bolts that held main body of it together to allow us to "clock" the back so the wiring and mounting brackets all matched the one we took of the YJ.
 
The OE 117 amp alternator is plenty, why are you thinking of swapping it out? I put some occasionally very heavy amp draws (extended winching sessions) on my battery and have never had a problem.
 
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Idk about the help with amp draw but when I upgraded from the 90 amp one on my 4 cylinder I picked up some new cables from custombatterycables.com that are a little bigger gauge than stock.
 
Stereo, electric fan(s), 4 seat heaters, winch, etc. There are reasons.

I have a '98 with a/c and I think I have a Durango alt. Maybe it's from a GC? Don't remember. It was 137 amp IIRC whatever it came out of.
 
The OE 117 amp alternator is plenty, why are you thinking of swapping it out? I put some occasionally very heavy amp draws (extended winching sessions) on my battery and have never had a problem.
I have some subs that draw a lot of current and I have a lot of lights on my jeep and planning to add a winch soon. Mostly just want the alternator to not struggle to keep up with everything
 
I have some subs that draw a lot of current and I have a lot of lights on my jeep and planning to add a winch soon. Mostly just want the alternator to not struggle to keep up with everything
Keep in mind that you'll never be running all of those together at the same time. Many Jeepers commonly run all of that on the OE 117 amp alternator without any issues whatsoever.
 
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Keep in mind that you'll never be running all of those together at the same time. Many Jeepers commonly run all of that on the OE 117 amp alternator without any issues whatsoever.
My 98 TJ has a 90 amp, and I see many 90 amps listed as the replacement output on RockAuto. Most XJs came with a 117amp which has the same case size, so if you want to upgrade that would be a bolt in swap.

I put a 136 amp from a ZJ Grand Cherokee into my previous XJ. Make sure you upgrade the cables while you are in there to see the full benefit. There is a slight bit of grinding needed on the alternator bracket to clear the larger case of the 136amp. Having done that upgrade, unless you have a ton of electrical load all at once I doubt it's necessary. On my XJ I needed it since I had heated seats, the electric aux fan, power windows, winch, high powered audio system, lots of aux lights, etc. It did help, but unless you have all that stuff I think you can get away with stock 90 amp or 117 amp. The TJ doesn't have all of the same electrical crap running. On my XJ the e-fan running all the time while needing the winch and other stuff put more of a load on the system.
 
My 98 TJ has a 90 amp, My 98 TJ has a 90 amp, and I see many 90 amps listed as the replacement output on RockAuto. Most XJs came with a 117amp which has the same case size, so if you want to upgrade that would be a bolt in swap.
The '98 TJ came with either an 90 amp or 117 amp alternator, depending on how well it was equipped. The 90 amp version was usually only found with the most basic stripped down models like without A/C. The majority of TJs delivered were fairly well equipped and most packages included the 117 amp alternator. Both of my TJs included the 117 amp alternator.
 
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The '98 TJ came with either an 90 amp or 117 amp alternator, depending on how well it was equipped. The 90 amp version was usually only found with the most basic stripped down models like without A/C. The majority of TJs delivered were fairly well equipped and most packages included the 117 amp alternator. Both of my TJs included the 117 amp alternator.
Interesting, my 98 is a Sahara but has a 90 amp. It probably isn't original.
 
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Decided to look up my build sheet today and found out even my 98 2.5L without AC came with a 117 amp one. I also only saw 90 amp replacements so figured it needed an "upgrade"
 
The OE 117 amp alternator is plenty, why are you thinking of swapping it out? I put some occasionally very heavy amp draws (extended winching sessions) on my battery and have never had a problem.
Glad I read your post. I will be replacing the battery in my 06 TJ soon after loaded winching was almost too much for it. Charge gauge going down and the Check Gauges light coming on. I wondered about a higher amps alternator but I feel the same as you, if 117 amps can't do the job, something is wrong.
 
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Glad I read your post. I will be replacing the battery in my 06 TJ soon after loaded winching was almost too much for it. Charge gauge going down and the Check Gauges light coming on. I wondered about a higher amps alternator but I feel the same as you, if 117 amps can't do the job, something is wrong.
Yep I have even winched twice on my AGM battery alone when the engine couldn't be started yet the battery still had enough power left to start the engine once the engine problem was fixed. Granted neither pull was extended or heavy but both definitely had to winch the Jeep perhaps 20' to get off the trail.

Go for a good heavy duty AGM battery, mine has an 880 CCA rating which is perhaps a little excessive but a little too much battery is better than not quite enough. Odyssey and Northstar are outstanding but most other name-brand AGM batteries are fine. The two brands I would personally not buy are Optima and Duralast from Autozone.
 
Has anyone found a 117 amp replacement alternators for a 97/98'? My 98 Sahara has a 117 amp that is squealing and needs to be replaced, but all I can find are 90 amp alternators.
Quadratec and Extreme Terrain have a 120A alternator for $180.
Most of the other websites list only a 75 and 90A.
 
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Yes. Just match up the year for a ZJ and I believe the Durango. I got one on my '98 Sahara from a '98 Durango IIRC. Google it for part numbers to verify, but I am pretty sure that's correct.
 
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The '98 TJ came with either an 90 amp or 117 amp alternator, depending on how well it was equipped. The 90 amp version was usually only found with the most basic stripped down models like without A/C. The majority of TJs delivered were fairly well equipped and most packages included the 117 amp alternator. Both of my TJs included the 117 amp alternator.
Yep, even my 97 SE, with no accessories other than AC, came with the 117.
 
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