Hey Bama, welcome to the club!
First of all though, before throwing a new alternator at it (not a bad thing, but not the only solution always either) check a few things off the list and also ask yourself a few questions.
First, is the wiring in good condition? Could the alternator be fine in other words, and something be wrong with some other component like the voltage regulator, or the wiring.
That's the mechanical part. The "what do I want or need" part is harder.
Are you looking to keep things mostly stock? Whether stock-looking only, or stock in function? If so, a higher output stock style 1G alternator might just be fine for you. No wiring modifications at all, so keeps the stock look.
Does not perform as well at idle as the other models that are upgrades over stock, such as a large case 1G or either of the 3G units would do. But even a high-end stock one would still have plenty of total output for you most of the time.
A typical cheap rebuild would be available up to 65 amps. More expensive modded ones are probably available up to 100a or more, but remember as a rule of thumb that anything above 70 amps and you're looking at modifying at least some of the wires anyway.
Any modern alternator, whether a 1-wire or standard, is going to be "internally regulated" so you don't need your old voltage regulator and would normally remove it. So while easy to install, that's still a case of modifying the wiring slightly. Not a big deal unless you think wires are a bundle of snakes best avoided!
This is when you start to lose the stock look, but get into cleaner wiring under the hood. Any 3G (either 90a or 130a rated) will require an up-sized charge cable.
For brands, luckily we don't seem to have the same trouble with alternators as we do with lesser parts such as the starter relays, but I believe I've heard members with bad experiences with the Autozone brands, so it might be worth staying away from them until you hear otherwise.
Either way, you probably know that we have more trouble as the prices go down, and less trouble when you pay more. Not universal, but universally accepted as a general rule of thumb. Don't cheap out...
;D
Lots of us have had good luck with Tuff-Stuff stuff.
It's all basic stuff regarding what style to choose. They all keep the battery charged and the electrons coursing, but some are simpler installs than others, and the more powerful ones can handle more add-ons without complaining.
Nice to have some extra headroom sometimes. But as you noted, it's not 100% necessary either. Not for most of us anyway.
I've got big alts on all my stuff, from 70a to 110a to 130a, but I figure it's justified every day just because I wanted them and sometimes need them. Not because I need them every day.
Good luck!
Paul
