Best alternator for 98 Forester, not many good choices

[D60]

With B&M stores you're paying their property tax and insurance, counter-person wage, and mostly an "insurance premium" for the LT warranty.

It's priced such that they could hand you a couple replacements and still make a few bucks. And they're hoping while you're in-store you pick up something else.

That said, sometimes the convenience of being able to swap it locally IS worth it.

 

[LexusToyotanut]

Sounds like you have a lot of choices lol. Dealer still sells your weird part? Pay it if u want good quality , denso sells your alternator? Buy that if u don’t feel like spending 500 at the dealer

 

[Astro14]

What about a local rebuilder? Is that an option in your area?

That has been my preferred option. My local shop will do one for $105. You’re certain that the fit, and amperage, are correct.

 

[ragtoplvr]

A one to 10 man local rebuilder is your best bet. They get instant feedback if if the quality is bad, so they always try to get good parts.

Usually have a few day turnaround if they have to order parts.

Otherwise new china pretty much all the same, only a very few factorys over there make any one specific model so buy from any reputable company in the USA.

Rod

 

[Trav]

My alternator is whining, so it will need to be replaced soon.

The 98 is different than the 99+ models. It has a different engine (EJ25D), and a lot of other stuff is different, too. One of those differences is the alternator. Since it's a one-year special, there aren't many alternators available for this car.

You can still get an OEM alternator from the dealer, but it's over $500, and I'm NOT paying that

The only new alternator out there is WAI. There are some other cheap no-name alternators on Amazon, but I trust them even less than I trust WAI

There are some reman options, of course. You have Bosch, Denso, Remy, Pure Energy, and BBB. Of course, the core charges are kind of high, and you have to pay to ship it back. The parts stores' prices on these alternators are outrageous, twice what Rock Auto is charging!

Is the new WAI worth buying? Or is reman actually the better choice here?

I will pair it with an OEM belt from the dealer. It doesn't have a modern automatic spring-loaded tensioner.

WAI is cheap crap and dimensionally not exactly the same as OE. You can get a Bosch reman from Summit for $109, the warranty inc 2 years road service, I have used quite a few of these with zero problems.

Bosch Automotive AL4301X Bosch Remanufactured Alternators and Generators | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Bosch Remanufactured Alternators and Generators with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Alternators and Generators at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

 

[D60]

WAI is cheap crap and dimensionally not exactly the same as OE. You can get a Bosch reman from Summit for $109, the warranty inc 2 years road service, I have used quite a few of these with zero problems.

Bosch Automotive AL4301X Bosch Remanufactured Alternators and Generators | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Bosch Remanufactured Alternators and Generators with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Alternators and Generators at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

We put a WAI starter on my non-profit's '02 Polaris. The first one died in short order, the second has been good for years.

In this case OEM Polaris was $400, WAI was $40 on Amazon. It's easy to do the math on how many WAIs could die before OEM would make more sense financially ‐- obviously the PITA factor isn't accounted for as it varies for each person

 

[meep]

The good news is that is one of the easier alternators to replace. Agree with Bosch or denso.

there’s a good chance that this unit is still used in their newer vehciles. Might cross-reference the part number and see if a junkyard could pull the same part out of a late model vehicle.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

UPDATE

It turns out I didn't need an alternator after all. The noise was coming from a bad idler pulley. I got an NSK idler pulley which was made in Japan and looks just like OEM from the dealer

$50 total for Subaru OEM belts and the NSK pulley. The alternator/PS belt was made by Mitsuboshi and is the 5PK877, while unfortunately the AC belt is Gates (as in US Gates, not Unitta) 4PK895. Both were made in the USA. The original Mitsuboshi belt had a green area where the writing is, while the new Mitsuboshi does not. The original Gates was written in green letters, while the new one is blue letters and has a barcode in white. I think the car still had its original belts because they looked bad and cracked and old.

Most aftermarket belts, including Mitsuboshi, are 2mm shorter for the alternator (5PK875), while the aftermarket AC belts are the same length (4PK895) or slightly longer (4PK900).

This video helped me a lot:

 

[D60]

UPDATE

It turns out I didn't need an alternator after all. The noise was coming from a bad idler pulley. I got an NSK idler pulley which was made in Japan and looks just like OEM from the dealer

$50 total for Subaru OEM belts and the NSK pulley. The alternator/PS belt was made by Mitsuboshi and is the 5PK877, while unfortunately the AC belt is Gates (as in US Gates, not Unitta) 4PK895. Both were made in the USA. The original Mitsuboshi belt had a green area where the writing is, while the new Mitsuboshi does not. The original Gates was written in green letters, while the new one is blue letters and has a barcode in white. I think the car still had its original belts because they looked bad and cracked and old.

Most aftermarket belts, including Mitsuboshi, are 2mm shorter for the alternator (5PK875), while the aftermarket AC belts are the same length (4PK895) or slightly longer (4PK900).

This video helped me a lot:

If it's the same idler as most of the boxers, it's a common failure. I did an '02 Impreza recently. I was shocked that my local dealer 1) was a few bucks cheaper than O'Reilly and 2) stocked it.

Nothing like OEM for less $ than O'Reilly!

 

[mrbreezeet1]

Deleted Late to the party as usual! With all kind of big important things, meanwhile the issue has been resolved!!

 

[Trav]

We put a WAI starter on my non-profit's '02 Polaris. The first one died in short order, the second has been good for years.

In this case OEM Polaris was $400, WAI was $40 on Amazon. It's easy to do the math on how many WAIs could die before OEM would make more sense financially ‐- obviously the PITA factor isn't accounted for as it varies for each person

The problem is with WAI alternators is for these Subaru engines the case is dimensionality larger and hits the oil pressure sender under it making it impossible to get the OE belt on. On some of them even the pulley is too big, there does not seem to be an sort of uniformity.
The case is very cheaply made from very thin castings with cheap Chinese bearings. A new WAI is more expensive than a Bosch reman.

With many German cars OE Bosch new is sometimes cheaper than a reman so you really have to look around. A BMW 35d starter for example.

 

[zzyzzx]

I would think Denso would be the quality choice.

Except they don't replace the bearings.

Alternators

DENSO brand Alternators deliver more Quality, Reliability, and Value than any other manufacturer.

www.densoautoparts.com

Bearings are validated to OE standards
Which means they aren't necessarily replaced; they mostly just regrease the existing ones.