Hey Everyone,

I went out side to move my GTA out of the garage and I found the battery was dead. Jumped it and it was still dead. I pulled it and took it to Autozone and it had absolutely no charge. The replaced it and I came home and replaced it. After I had connected, and fired up, I could hear the alternator buzzing/arcing. It looks like its time to replace it...

Here are the car's stats:
91 GTA, LB9 305 TPI, Auto

Here's my questions: What amp alternator am I looking for? Napa and Autozone have 3 or 4 different amp versions. I don't have any extra audio and I'm not putting any in. Are there any brands I should keep an eye out for or any place I should look at first?

Thanks,
-Justin

 

Have you considered taking the current alternator to a good local shop that does alternator work, and having them overhaul it, and bench-test it?

No telling what kind of overseas-rebuilt junk you will get if you just trade-in your current alternator to a big-box, imported-rebuilt-parts store.

 

I never thought of that. I don't even know if there are any local generator service shops close to me anymore. My dad knew where 2 were, but they seem to be closed now.

 

That would suggest to me that you either live in an urban area that has "gentrified," or you live in an area that was dependent on a particular industry that moved away.

Hopefully your situation is the former. If so, it just means that you need to drive out to where the shops moved. There is still money to be made in the US by rebuilding alternators and motors correctly. You might pay a little more, but its better than a piece of mystery junk in a box.

You also have the alternative to SHIP your part to a really good shop that cares about their reputation. If you need to do the repair on the cheap, shipping adds to the cost. If it will fit in a USPS large flat-rate box, it will cost you $16 to ship it one-way to anywhere in the US.

 

These guys have a solid reputation in my area.

Arlington Armature
http://starrad.com/services.htm

 

I couldn't agree more! We have a shop here that rebuilds starters, alternators, a/c compressors, just about anything. If I can avoid it, I don't buy ANY new parts for my cars anymore. I just get them "fixed" or rebuilt. I even had my factory heater core fixed and re-conditioned. I'm sick of Chinese garbage. Don't let your original parts get away. Fix them if you can!

 

Thanks for the advice guys. W.E.G., all the shops were run by old timers who retired and their kids closed down. I did find a place in Pittsburgh that looks like pretty reputable. I'm going to give them a call tomorrow and check the price out.

 

I just replaced the alternator on my '88 GTA this past weekend with this 105 amp remanufactured unit from Advance Auto.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...920%7CL2*14999

I had to replace the radiator too since the old alternator grenaded and took it out.

 

I like that lifetime warranty, used it on my GMC ALT after "3yrs?" swapped it out with a little hassle for the core refund. Small buisness is great, but I like that lifetime warranty
and GM alternators seem to have a short life. My girlfriend had her ALT rebuilt an about a month after the 1yr warranty went out so did it. Auto Zone has Lifetime, but on the down side, I'm about to head there now, with a volt regulater issue that came with it, maybe? See above Thread.... FML,... jk,