My alternator is dying.I've always had good luck with buying parts at NAPA(my current one from them is 8 years old).I was going to buy another one from them but this week I found an automotive electrical repair and exchange shop in town. I talked to 2 friends that are mechanics and they told me that this shop has a good reputation.When i called the guy at the electrical place he told me he uses all delco or equivalent oe parts to rebuild alternators and no "chinese crap!" lol. It would also be $20 cheaper going to him.Does this sound like a good deal to you guys? Or should I just go to NAPA?

 

buy a lifetime warranty alternator and do it right the first time.

 

Next to an AC Delco reman, NAPA probably has the best aftermarket parts in the business. Stay away from the chain store units, they are junk anymore. I rebuild alt's in my spare time for friends and my own cars and I have serviced a few from the chains. YES, they do use a lot of imported low quality parts. There is nothing wrong with using a reliable repair service. You have as as good a chance or better of getting a quality job than maybe even from NAPA. If he uses, and you can request it genuine Delco brushes, regulator and rectifiers you will have a reliable unit. And if it's a few buck cheaper so much the better. This lifetime warranty stuff is a joke since you will probably change 3 of them in the time that a good rebuild will last.

 

Oh man, I've had BAD luck with a Napa alternator. I put one in my IROC and it lasted all of 3 months before a bearing failed and the thing was wasted before I could get it shut down. (The thing failed right in the middle of a drawbridge and I had to keep going until I got off the bridge. What a terrible noise. By that time it was nearly on fire.) The shaft was cocked off to the side due to belt tension and it was totally siezed. The fan was cutting into the mount bracket.

My original alternator lasted about 8 years. I replaced it with Kragen lifetime unit that lasted about 3 years. Then the 3 month Napa unit, then another Kragen Lifetime that lasted another 3 years and now yet another Kragen lifetime that's been in there for about 6 months and is still working (thank ***). Fortunately the alternator is easy to change, takes about 15 minutes.

Anybody have any experience with those "iceberg" 140 amp units?

 

I would go with the NAPA alternator. Since you have no problem with the last one you bought.It lasted you for a good long time before going out on you.Plus,you get a warranty even if it does happen to go bad.Do it right the 1st time and be done with it.

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Yes, I have done several of the iceberg conversions, both with stock output and the 140 amp upgrade. I am not crazy about the rectifier package. I subjected the diodes the sustained 35 amp current and the stock Delco package faired better than the higher amp diodes they supply temperature wise. They do increase output but the charging curve is different. At idle you will see LESS output than the 105, but over about 1800 rpm it cooks pretty well. The best replacement is still the Delco remanufactured unit. A lot depends on driving habits, a lot of night driving with heavy accessory load will overheat any alternator and cause premature failure. Battery condition is always a major factor in how long the alt will last. A constantly low battery(%of chg)will also reduce significantly the life of the alt.

 

does napa or some auto place like that sell the delco units or do you have to get them from the dealer?

 

Places like pep boys can get them. Go to www.acdelco.com, they give the nearest place and the part number. There is also a place www.gmpartsdirect.com that sells basically wholesale, gotta watch the shipping though.

 

I have a remanufactured alternaotor in my corolla.

I paid $11 for it and I got a free vise grip and an adj wrench with it too...at the junkyard. I had to walk 3/4 through the Jap cars before I found it, but I was stoked to see that remanufacturer's label on it. Still going strong after 7 months.

I still have an alternator from my '84 Trans Am, would that work for you?
It's not a junkyard part, I bought it at NAPA in '99 and I think I still have it's reciept, probably turned for 30k miles or so. I never had any charging problems since I kept up my wiring and always had a fresh battery. A new battery with that alternator would be a good idea too. Alts can be real sensitive to belt tension too, lots of people fry them just by tightening the belt a few pounds too tight.

I would sell it for around $30-$40, it's a v-belt type, I'd have to look at it to see what types of connections it has.

-just saw your post again, LG4? this was from an L69, should work fine. It's clean too, no grime or rust. Save yourself some serious cash and deal with the Junkyarddog!

Usually when mechanics give another shop a good word, you can go with it, that's how I find good service sometimes.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys.I found out that alot of companies in town use this electric repair shop for alternators on their fleet vehicles and that they are very reliable.I went ahead and brought in my alternator and was assured they use all delco and equivalent parts on rebuilds,no imported cheap stuff.I dropped it off in the morning and it was ready in the afternoon and they were very friendly. It was so nice to go somewhere and find a bunch of middle aged guys who knew what they were talking about.I'd definately use them again.

 

Glad to hear it worked out, we have a local shop that does the same thing. They are nice enough to sell me parts if I am stuck, I have parts for the Si and CS ones but not the "d" version that the newer ones use. Considering the price of a Delco reman you got a good product and I'll bet the price was right too.

 

I used to have all my electrical components rebuilt by a mechanic who was friends with my grandfather. I'm still running one of his startersa nd alternators on my Mustang, and it's been about 10 years since they were rebuilt. Sadly he retired two years ago, so I've been buying NAPA remans since then. I've never had a bad alternator from NAPA (I did get one bad starter though), and I always buy the lifetime parts. What I really miss is spending an hour in his shop hearing all the old stories about my granfather, my father, and my uncles. It's great to hear about people still going to the old timers for stuff like this. Learn as much as you can from them, because one day they will be gone. Man, that was wistful!