Alternators, OEM vs aftermarket , which is best?

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Other day, i stopped at autozone, and bought anew duralast alternator for my 95 neon. Did some research, and not many think highly at all, of autozone. Dug even more, and it seems remanufactured alts. dont get a good say either. Most seem to think, dealer OEM is the way to go. NAPA sells new alternators as well. NSA, beck arnley, and ac delco are othes tht sell new, not remanufactured.
Im looking into this, but trying not to pay an arm and aleg! NEw alt. form chrysler, mistubishi modelis $500. New NAPA, non remanufactured, is around $300. What has everyone elses experinces with oem and aftermarket alternators been like?
 
Many reasons than price? interesting. Well, suppose it was a brand new ac delco or NSA or beck arnley, NON remanufactured, shouldnt they be just as good?
 
The cheapie AAP alternator I bought for my F150 lasted 10 years and 70K miles; I got rid of the vehicle so who knows how long it would have lasted.
 
Actually ' it depends on what the OEM used.
I have seen several GM/Delphi/Delco alternators die in less than 5 years. Many Ford/Visteon alternators do go much longer than that.

I have also seen several Denso alternators go over 10.

The lifespan of Bosch, Hitachi, and Mitsubishi alternators varies widely.

Another thing to consider is under hood temperature. My mom's 1985 Nissan Maxima killed the factory Hitachi alternator in just a few years, and the reman alternators didn't last either. That car had a V6 shoehorned into the space of an inline 4.

What did your Neon leave the factory with?
 
Unless it is a brand new one from an Import manufacture it all a wash. First OEM parts from a dealership are not made buy the same supplier that makes the parts for manufactureing. Second even if the part is made by the same company that makes the parts for the manufacturing side it is seldom built tot he same standards. Second if is remanufactured no domestic OEM does their own remanufactureng of alternator's, water pump's or starter's. It is either done buy the same companies that do it for parts houses here in the usa or it is done in mexico or some third world country.

So get the best warranty you can get if you are going to keep the vechile! Case in point almost all Toytoa starters last 7-12 years on average then they fail. It does not matter if it is a rebuilt,remanufactured or brand new after market one they seldom last more the 2 years! So I get my starters and alternators for Toytoa from Autozone and so I have no problems getting them exchanged!

If their is a local electrical place that rbuilds them you are better off to get it rebuilt truthfully!
 
People think lowly of autozone because they hire idiots for the most part that do not know cars. If you are a truely knoldgeable person they will either force you out or make life difacult for you! usualy something better will come along as well. For the most part Napa and Car Quest are usualy the places a true car guy will work if he likes to sling parts! AutoZOne is like a Walmart! The only good thing is that their warranty is national and no reciept is needed! Autozone does not have anyone that just works for them reman'ing parts. Their are about three major hard part remanufactures in the USA and box up parts for all the parts stores! Like wise if you look at rotor's how many companies in Mexico,Canada and CHina do you think their are makeing rotor's? They will make what ever you want in terms of quality to what ever price point you select.

If it is a new part and does not have a core charge that is a dead give away that the casting and probably the entire assembly for a part was made in China! Some people prefer remans since they know that the casting is at least an orignal OEM casting. This way they at least know it will fit and mate properly!
 
I'd go with whatever has the highest efficiency and get a size no bigger than I absolutely needed.
 
I bought a new duralast alternator from autozone 7 years ago. still good (knock on wood) however, I have had serious bad luck with rebuilt starters from advance and oreilly. they didn't fit correctly. solenoid died
 
Most original alternators can have the brushes and rectifier, and/or voltage regulator replaced by an alternator shop. This will cost $50-$100, more than an AZ unit but more reliable. The bearings are probably good for life of car. I did this on my 90 Accord EX and ran 2nd alternator to 270k miles when I sold the car. You can DIY this if you are the handy w/ tools.

good luck
 
If you have a GM car and don't install your own parts go to a participating lifetime warranty dealer and get your alternator installed.

It will have a lifetime warranty (parts AND labor) as long as you own the car. Ford probably has a similar program.
 
I don't worry about alternators any more. My car doesn't need one and doesn't have one...
wink.gif
 
I picked up a heavy-duty rebuilt alternator from NAPA a few months ago. It came with a bench-test performance printout and showed the name of the technician who did the rebuild. The case was a Bosch. So I'm pretty confident that I obtained as good a rebuilt alternator as I'm likely to find anywhere.

On the negative side, it was pretty expensive. But for my Golf, it takes about 2 hours labor to R&R, so if this one lasts longer then it will save me money in the long run.
 
Originally Posted By: MrCritical
If you have a GM car and don't install your own parts go to a participating lifetime warranty dealer and get your alternator installed.

It will have a lifetime warranty (parts AND labor) as long as you own the car. Ford probably has a similar program.


I got a reman ac delco from a GM dealer. parts guy told me the same thing, if I put it in, it's a year warranty. if the dealership shop does it, it's a lifetime warranty. I put it in. :)
 
Once again, I consider myself blessed. 345k miles on a Bosch alternator. About 150 k back, I splurged on a 10$ regulator / brush pack. A 10 minute R+R
 
I had an 87 Ford Taurus 4 cyl, 5 spd bought new. At 130,000 miles the alternator burned up Aug 91. Replaced it with a new Ford alternator. It failed in Aug 92 at 158,500 miles. Replaced it again with OEM and asked the dealer if their were different specs, as it failed so quickly. Nope, there is only one. It failed in Aug 93 at 178,209. I inquired about a NAPA alternator and they had an optional 2 yr warranty which I got. That lasted as long as I kept the car, about 200,000 miles in 95. Each failure was burn out, smoked and stank. Everytime I took it somewhere to repair I told the history and said something must be causing this.. but no help. The first two failures happened on trips out of state. I just looked this stuff up cause I remembered the times differently.... I learned to hate the smell of the alternator when it smoked. August was a bad month!
 
Did you replace the wiring plug when you replaced the alternator on that Taurus? The Ford 2G alternator (which that one is) has a problematic spade output connector and you should replace the plug when you replace the alternator if there are any signs of overheating.

I think some remanufactured ones come with a new plug in the box.
 
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