Remanufactured Alternators

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SubLGT

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What are the best remanufactured alternators on the market today?
Bosch?
Beck/Arnley?
NAPA?
Carquest?
Other?
None?


Daniel Stern, the lighting guru, wrote an interesting 2009 essay on reman alternators:
http://ednixon.com/pix/Alternators.html

"..............I've seen what goes into the "remanufactured" parts, and it's pure junk, through and through. Low-bid, low-spec Chinese consumables that don't even come close to meeting the OEM spec. And yes, that's even on the "lifetime" units........................Many or most of them have been through the quick 'n' abusive, low-price-at-all-costs "remanufacturing" process several times. Critical casting dimensions have been blasted into oblivion...multiple times. Low-quality parts have replaced low-quality parts...multiple times. Stators and rotors have been mismatched...multiple times. .........................The latest gimmick is the "100% new" scam. Yeah, you can walk into a parts store and buy a "100% new!" alternator or starter or whatever for your 20-year-old car. Sure...but they're brand-new, very low quality Chinese copycats. ...................Alternator problems like low output at idle, flickery or spiky output, etc. are often greaty aggravated by the installation of a "remanufactured" alternator. These contain mismatched components from multiple different original alternators, which are physically interchangeable but electrically don't work properly together. There are many problems that can affect any alternator and reduce its output, make it flickery, etc..........................."Lifetime warranty" means you get to spend your lifetime replacing failed parts under warranty. Sure, they'll usually give you another alternator (starter, carburetor, brake cylinder, distributor, whatever) but the overall effect is to make the car unreliable, which means the lifetime warranty is nothing but a sales tool....."
 
I personally would opt to have your factory alternator rebuilt locally. If this logistically is not an option I would see if the same shop could provide you with a factory core that hey have rebuilt
 
I've been through the rebuilt warranty merry-go-round. Can't remember if it was AZ or AAP. Went through three and the longest of them lasted three months. They never gave me grief about warrantying them, and thankfully the alternator placement made for an easy swap, but I had enough and coughed up for a new OEM. It was nearly 3x the cost of the AAP or AZ rebuild, but it ain't no good to have an unreliable vehicle. OEM worked fine for four years before I retired the car.
 
Are "factory remanufactured" alternators a better choice? I know that Toyota and Subaru have an in-house remanufacturing program for some of their parts.

I don't have a local rebuilder that I trust.
 
Yes I think OE authorized remanufactured parts are a better choice. I think they're about as good as a new OE part usually. They usually cost more than the aftermarket remanufactured, but well worth it.
 
These remans are terrible. I look for OEM low mileage used. Many times the ones from a newer engine fit just fine.

Rock auto has a little interchange guide next to the part. At least you could get an idea of what the latest model is that shares the same unit.
 
I bought a brand new Valeo ($250) for my BMW when the original failed at 175,000 miles. The original BMW alternator was a Valeo. The new one made a weird electrical whine. I disconnected / reconnected everything, thinking there was a ground issue, but that didn't help. Then I bought a remanufactured one on eBay for $100 or so and it was silent. As a test, I put the new Valeo back in and it whined again. Installed the remanufactured one and it was silent again.

So I returned the new Valeo on a warranty claim. My $100 eBay alternator is now at 55,000 miles or so and is working flawlessly. So in my case, the new OEM was junk and the cheapo reman was far better. Guess I lucked out.
smile.gif
 
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I've had good luck with USA and BBB industries rebuilts.NAPAs Rayloc was always a joke.For 30 years now,the name "Rayloc" has meant trouble....before that it was "Arrow" rebuilts.
 
I still use reman's from Discount-Advance auto parts. They warranty them forever. Yes, I'll end up changing it 3 times, until I get one that works. But, eventually, one works for a good long time. And, if/when it fails, It's warranty too!

Seems stupid, but the savings have been significant. And, I'm not at all sure more expensive "brands" are any better, or even any different.

One success story I had: I purchased NEW Ford truck alternators on Ebay for cheap. They are removed from new "conversion" trucks, like emergency vehicles, that need bigger alternators.
 
Had good luck with Ultima alternator .Friend of mine gave up on faulty reman. starters and ended up buying a new one.
 
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Depends on how hard it is to replace for me. If it's a tricky one, I'd go OEM. An easy one right on top gets a cheap rebuild.


I've had both a Napa and AutoZone premium rebuilt alternators [censored] out on me. A "cheap" one from O'Riley's went the distance; at least we sold the car with it still charging.

No idea how many miles were on the Napa unit.. it was in the SHO when we bought it.

The AutoZone alt made the lights in our van flicker randomly for a long time, progressively getting worse until I removed and took it in. It took a lot of fuss and having them test it twice before they finally replaced it. One of those failures that hides itself 80% of the time. The manager lady was a real [censored] too. I will never shop there again..
 
You've opened a subject that about everybody knows about, and it's doesn't take somebody like a light bulb salesman to figure out.
In the past, I've rebuilt all of my alternators and starters myself, but it's getting real tough. On the last starter that I tried to rebuild, parts were not available locally and the parts that I could get were several days away. Parts stores just laughed when I asked for replacement parts that I needed immediately and one salesman told me he hadn't sold starter or alternator "parts" for several years. So I got a rebuilt.
The last alternator was the same way. I was real leery about replacing an alternator with a cheapie that took about 3 hours to R&R.
The closest alternator/generator and starter shop is about a half hour away and will only do repairs for the local zip code. Outsiders are turned away.
Years ago, I've had good luck with Wilson alternators and starters that my local NAPA store could special order. I think you will feel somewhat comfortable about their products if you look at their web page. But it still took a day or two of waiting so in the meantime, your vehicle was just sitting there.
 
Originally Posted By: cmorr
I personally would opt to have your factory alternator rebuilt locally. If this logistically is not an option I would see if the same shop could provide you with a factory core that hey have rebuilt


Last starter I had to replace was on an old Case tractor. NAPA quoted me a price of over 300 dollars. I found a local Mom and Pop shop that rebuilt my old one for 157 bucks. Looked like new and worked great. Same starter has been on tractor for 5 years now. Only draw back was I had to wait a week for unit to be rebuilt.
 
If this is for the car in your name. My Subie Indy with 30 years Subaru experience chose Bosch on our recent replacement in our 05 LGT. He said there were cheaper and also more expensive alternatives but felt most comfortable in his experience with Bosch.
 
Maybe a little more work but try to find out where some local police/fire/ambulance/truck places source their stuff from. I was dealing with a shop that did installs for the lighting on these vehicles. They did the modifications in-house. Basically every alternator got rebuilt as a HO alternator because all those lights at idle need juice.

Some places send out but again they might tell you where. Get a cheapo to tie you over and send factory out for rebuild and replace it. Decide if you want to keep cheapo spare or ditch it.
 
Magmaniac.com. Obtained an OEM "rebuilt" from them, it looks like "OEM" means an extra 20 amps or so. Credit for the core and retrun shipping box.
 
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