Squeaky reman alternator

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Anyone ever had this issue? Yea yea, I know, reman alternators, especially Delcos are generally junk, but the lifetime warranty from auto parts stores is hard to resist. The first reman Delco for my Corolla lasted 80,000 miles until the last few days; the bearings started making a dreadful noise. Oreilly gave me a new one no question, even when the first one I bought was when the store was Checker. Now, the new one squeaks! Especially when you shut the car off, as the alternator alomost stops spinning, it goes "squeak squeak squeak" really loud. You can hear the squeak if you turn it by hand. It's not as noisy when the car is idling or driving as the bad one I replaced, but still noiser than I'd expect, and since I do a ton of highway driving in the spring and summer, I don't want this pos alternator to strand me. Should I see if it breaks in, or bring it back to Oreilly and pray they warranty it.

Thanks!

ps, after researching things, it seems the Nummi plant that built Corollas in California sourced both Denso and Delco alternators, and that the Denso will fit on a car that had Delco as OEM like mine. Lesson learned; the next one I ever had to buy will be a Denso.
 
Yea sometimes you get a dud. Most reman is done outside the US now so they rebuild it, put it on the bench test, and if it pass's the proper voltage it goes out.

Just have to swap and have them bench test the new one first to make sure its good and quiet.
 
Take it into the auto parts store and demonstrate the squeak by hand. Tell them it's killing your battery slowly too and you kept having to jump it, they should replace it.

I had the exact problem with a junk autozone alternator with lifetime warranty where it would pass their little testing machine but would squeak badly and only charge enough to kill my battery slowly. The first guy didn't want to replace it but the manager came from the back heard it squeaking and replaced it.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Anyone ever had this issue? Yea yea, I know, reman alternators, especially Delcos are generally junk, but the lifetime warranty from auto parts stores is hard to resist. The first reman Delco for my Corolla lasted 80,000 miles until the last few days; the bearings started making a dreadful noise. Oreilly gave me a new one no question, even when the first one I bought was when the store was Checker. Now, the new one squeaks! Especially when you shut the car off, as the alternator alomost stops spinning, it goes "squeak squeak squeak" really loud. You can hear the squeak if you turn it by hand. It's not as noisy when the car is idling or driving as the bad one I replaced, but still noiser than I'd expect, and since I do a ton of highway driving in the spring and summer, I don't want this pos alternator to strand me. Should I see if it breaks in, or bring it back to Oreilly and pray they warranty it.


If you are getting 80,000 miles out of a rebuilt/reman alternator, you are doing well above average. If it works at all, you should be happy, since that's also above average for them.



Originally Posted By: Drew99GT

ps, after researching things, it seems the Nummi plant that built Corollas in California sourced both Denso and Delco alternators, and that the Denso will fit on a car that had Delco as OEM like mine. Lesson learned; the next one I ever had to buy will be a Denso.


Your best bet is to repair the alternator if it only needs brushes or a diode pack. Junkyard or new if you can't fix it. I would not pay extra for a Denso alternator, a Remy one made new is fine.
 
Can you tell if its a metallic "squeak" or a belt squeak? Sometimes when they paint the pulleys they get too much in the grooves and it squeaks until the paint wears off.

Not that I'm making excuses for sloppy paintwork on the reman... but it is something that's more or less self-correcting.
 
Could be a funky pulley. Had one on a saturn. I suspect it wobbled and did hi-jinks with the belt. Pulley was very, very shiny instead of the somewhat shiny we are all used to.
 
It's a metallic squeak; it doesn't even sound like a bearing; it sounds like a brush or something else inside isn't centered or "true" and rubs something else during rotation. Pulley is clean, tension is perfect; I looked at it as close as I could while running to see if there is any wobble; I can't see any. I also stuck ruler between the water pump and alternator pullies to see if they were flush/square, and they are.
 
The lifetime warranty means that you can spend the rest of your life bolting in replacements.

Take it back for a cash refund. Buy another elsewhere.
 
Considering on this vehicle, it's a 10 minute job, I'll stay with the remans! Plus, I can't even buy a new one locally. They are all remanufactured. Unless I want to pay 40 bucks more and have it delivered.
 
If its a 10 minute job, Id take it back and complain for a swap. Their rules and brainless quota hires may give you a hard time, but be persistent.

Did you replace belt, tensioner, idler?
 
Originally Posted By: Ken2
The lifetime warranty means that you can spend the rest of your life bolting in replacements.

Take it back for a cash refund. Buy another elsewhere.


+1

I haven't had any issues with the remanufactured O'Reilly's alternator on my car, but it's a diesel so maybe I just can't hear it Lol
 
I have not had issues with NAPA rebuilt alternators, but the one I have had has been in used for so long I can't say if the ones that they are selling as rebuilt now are any good.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
If its a 10 minute job, Id take it back and complain for a swap. Their rules and brainless quota hires may give you a hard time, but be persistent.

Did you replace belt, tensioner, idler?


Tension is manually adjusted; no idler, the crank powers the belt which in turn runs the alternator and water pump. Belt only has about 20K on it and looks good.
 
If your faulty alternator is the original factory alternator and this car is your daily driver that needs a quick repair, put on your "lifetime warranty" replacement. But instead of giving them your faulty alternator for the core charge, keep it and have it rebuilt, either by you or your local alternator/starter rebuilder. Because you will need to use it again, probably sooner than you think.
Just keep the core box with your now-fixed OEM alternator and when the "lifetime warranty" alternator fails, either get a free replacement or get your money back from your purchase price.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
If you can get your money back, bite the bullet and buy a new unit even if it's easy to change.


One must still be careful here. The majority are made in China.
 
The Remy i got from Advanced Auto sold under the Tough One "New" label was made in Mexico and appeared to be a higher quality reman than the chinese ones. YMMV.
 
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
My How to on an alternator repair:
http://www.aleromod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32281

Only real downside to repairing your own alternator is that you can't always do it and the parts are most likely mail order.

I had a friend who tried that on a Subaru. He couldn't get the alternator back together, and was stuck with buying a reman. The parts store would not accept the old alternator as a core, and it cost him a large sum of money.
 
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
My How to on an alternator repair:
http://www.aleromod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32281

Only real downside to repairing your own alternator is that you can't always do it and the parts are most likely mail order.

I had a friend who tried that on a Subaru. He couldn't get the alternator back together, and was stuck with buying a reman. The parts store would not accept the old alternator as a core, and it cost him a large sum of money.


Owned.

I learned to use brand new alternators and starters. The reman are a [censored] shoot.
I don't like doing the job twice. Risking being stranded and missing work, its not worth it to me.

I bet these auto stores get returned reman alternator and starters, and some clerk hands it back to the next buyer without checking it.
 
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