Thoughts on Alternator Replacement

[Sprintcar26]

I have a 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5, 4 cyl. Great car, bought almost new (6,000 miles) in 2010. It now has 174,000 miles. Extremely carefully maintained (oil and fil every 3,500; transmission and cooling system flushes (transmission through the cooler line, 2 qts at a time) every 2 years (which is about 20,000 to 24,000 miles). All to say it runs great and is probably the last good Altima made-the last one with a conventional auto transmission at any rate. My quandary is, it has the original alternator (which has exhibited no problems whatsoever), and has been carefully treated (always good battery's, no over charging, no over use, mostly highway miles) but alternators don't last forever, and usually don't predict their own demise (like a noisy bj or an exhaust leak). So I fear getting stuck with family in car at 2am on a snowy night. You can't get a new alternator for a 2006 Altima (or even an OEM-unused), and rebuilts don't usually last very long, so my plan is take the car to a local auto electrical guy, and have it rebuilt. Electrical guy says that's the best way to go, but of course he has a vested interest in my making that decision. Or I could just let it run until the inevitable. I'd appreciate any thoughts, Thanks in advance.

 

[ctechbob]

How hard is it to get to and replace?

If it is super easy and on top of the engine, I'd let it roll. My 2003 Accord is still on its original alt at 300k+, but the one in the Acura failed at something like 150k.

They are pretty easy to replace, so I don't give them a lot of worry in the grand scheme of things. If they were buried under hoses, wires, and pulleys at the bottom of the motor, I might think about replacing them on my own time before they failed.

 

[RBT]

I have a 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5, 4 cyl. Great car, bought almost new (6,000 miles) in 2010. It now has 174,000 miles. Extremely carefully maintained (oil and fil every 3,500; transmission and cooling system flushes (transmission through the cooler line, 2 qts at a time) every 2 years (which is about 20,000 to 24,000 miles). All to say it runs great and is probably the last good Altima made-the last one with a conventional auto transmission at any rate. My quandary is, it has the original alternator (which has exhibited no problems whatsoever), and has been carefully treated (always good battery's, no over charging, no over use, mostly highway miles) but alternators don't last forever, and usually don't predict their own demise (like a noisy bj or an exhaust leak). So I fear getting stuck with family in car at 2am on a snowy night. You can't get a new alternator for a 2006 Altima (or even an OEM-unused), and rebuilts don't usually last very long, so my plan is take the car to a local auto electrical guy, and have it rebuilt. Electrical guy says that's the best way to go, but of course he has a vested interest in my making that decision. Or I could just let it run until the inevitable. I'd appreciate any thoughts, Thanks in advance.

The problem is that the car is from 2006 so if you take the view you have of the alternator for the rest of the car, it will soon become cheaper to buy the new car. Drive the car, keep an eye on it generally, including how the charging system performs, and change it if and when needed. There are a lot of benefits of being smart and driving an older well kept car, but there are some downside risks as well. Accept it as part of the risk reward and move on, don’t create expense and potential problems by over thinking it.

Good luck, hth.

 

[Arc]

I have a 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5, 4 cyl. Great car, bought almost new (6,000 miles) in 2010. It now has 174,000 miles. Extremely carefully maintained (oil and fil every 3,500; transmission and cooling system flushes (transmission through the cooler line, 2 qts at a time) every 2 years (which is about 20,000 to 24,000 miles). All to say it runs great and is probably the last good Altima made-the last one with a conventional auto transmission at any rate. My quandary is, it has the original alternator (which has exhibited no problems whatsoever), and has been carefully treated (always good battery's, no over charging, no over use, mostly highway miles) but alternators don't last forever, and usually don't predict their own demise (like a noisy bj or an exhaust leak). So I fear getting stuck with family in car at 2am on a snowy night. You can't get a new alternator for a 2006 Altima (or even an OEM-unused), and rebuilts don't usually last very long, so my plan is take the car to a local auto electrical guy, and have it rebuilt. Electrical guy says that's the best way to go, but of course he has a vested interest in my making that decision. Or I could just let it run until the inevitable. I'd appreciate any thoughts, Thanks in advance.

If it were me I would put a new one on it. The shaft bearings are probably shot. Once they start making noise they won't last long. My wife and I were out shopping one day when mine went out on a jeep with a couple hundred thousand miles on the original alternator and before I got home the bearings completely let go and the thing caught on fire. There were no signs of failure when we started the day.

 

[wag123]

IMO, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

 

[SC Maintenance]

My 2011 Fronty has its original alternator at 230K. No issues.

My Xterra one failed only because I submerged it - they put the alternator too low on the engine - I was only in a couple feet of water.

I would not touch the OEM one honestly. There made by VDO - which back then was Siemens. Good stuff.

If you want a spare maybe get a used one? LKQ ships. https://www.lkqonline.com/2006-nissan-altima-alternator/-h4F4nKcjnK

 

[NibbanaBanana]

I have never owned a post 1990 car in which I have had to replace the alternator. I can't even think of anybody I know who had to replace an alternator. I have replaced an OE starter by mistake and 1 Kia starter that failed. But other than that even the starters seem to last for the life of the vehicle most of the time. Stick with the OE.

 

[nobb]

IMO it's hard to say that a local rebuilder is any higher quality than the mass rebuilding companies unless you know exactly what components they are putting in or their QC/tooling. An OE rebuilder (eg. Motorcraft, Denso, etc..) would be best, but anything aftermarket is hit or miss. Some components like OE voltage regulators are pretty much uneconomical to source, so chances are everyone is just getting the cheap Chinese version. And you have NO idea what parts they are using. Eg: chances are they'll test the diode pack/voltage regulator and if it's ok they'll reuse it.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

I agree, if it's not broke, don't fix it. Worn out/ dying batteries will shorten the life of an alternator, so make sure you're battery is in good shape. The alternator on my Honda CRV was still working at 300K, but I bought one from LKQ with 60K on it, just in case. The 300K one died about 50K later. Just went on the shelf in the garage and swapped it out. LKQ OEM doing just fine.

 

[CleanSump]

It's hard to predict. I've run 2 Jeeps past 235k miles, 2 GMs past 200k miles and two Mercedes past 350k miles on original alternators. The only one I've replaced since the 1970s was on our former 2008 VW Jetta. That went in less than 100k miles.

 

[f355spider]

I have had good luck with factory rebuilt alternators and starters from the Nissan dealer. I shop them online and out of state to avoid sales taxes and get the best price. I have to mail back the core, but a simple process these days.

 

[Donald]

If the local starter/alternator rebuilder is over 50 then drive over to his shop and talk to him. See what he thinks.

 

[Sedin26]

I've driven a number of high mileage vehicles over the years. I've generally just let alternators go forever unless there is an issue.
When it's happened, I've had the local auto electric guys do a rebuild. They're actually all relatively young but the shop has been there forever and they do fantastic work - I think they're at least 2nd generation, if not 3rd.

 

[qvalff8]

My alternator lasted 256k when one of the brushes on the voltage regulator wore out. This lead to a bunch of sparking, which also eroded the slip ring copper pretty deeply. When I drilled out the remaining brush material and soldered in new brushes, I put two washers under the voltage regulator, so the new brushes ride on new, thick copper. I should have taken everything apart and put in new slip rings, but it's a pretty involved process. I've got all the parts to do it, but hopefully my kludge will last 40-50k miles more (I've already put 15k on this "fix").

Regarding your question. Let it ride. Or find the local rebuilder. But never return your OEM alternator for a core charge. YouTube videos can help you rebuild it yourself (mine involves a lot of chiseling to get the slip ring electrical leads unburied in all that plastic... )

 

[cheech279]

If you insist on replacing the alternator, hopefully you can find a Denso or a Hitachi, but nothing touched by Cardone.

 

[Selmorides]

Have the local guy rebuild it. You know it’s a good core and they only replace parts that actually wear or degrade from heat, exposure, age, etc.

 

[dishdude]

Don't touch it. The same argument can be made for countless other parts on the car; fuel pump, water pump, coils, where do you stop?

 

[qvalff8]

If you can't stomach any down time, order the cheapest one (after accounting for you not returning the core) on rockauto and put it in the trunk. Then you can drive around for the week or two it takes to get locally rebuilt.

 

[grasscutter]

How hard is it to get to and replace?

2006 Nissan Altima Charging System