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Alternator rebuilds.....whos best

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Old 10-06-2016, 10:42 PM
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Default Alternator rebuilds.....whos best

I recently needed a replacement alternator....And I reflected on my experience a few years back - I went to local rebuilder company, in a hurry, and had to take what they had. Red paint on stator/rotor, And aluminum paint on housing just reeked of quality. But, It worked.

In need again, and in pursuit of quality, I Decided to go with the "AC Delco" brand. Upon receipt, I see the Mexican rebuilder gave it the same "Rattle can rebuild " treatment internally. You can see it on the internal cooling fan. I am pretty sure these weren't red (along with the rotor) from GM originally ?

So whose the best "name brand" rebuilder you have experience with ?
Old 10-07-2016, 12:51 AM
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The only good alternators I've ever had are OEM original, OEM remanufactured, and Powermaster. Now that Powermaster makes an LS1 unit, that's what I'll buy next time I need one. Great quality, visually and mechanically, in my experience with other applications.
Old 10-07-2016, 07:35 PM
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A rebuild......you kidding.

Go to PepBoys and buy a damn alternator. Lifetime warranty and its a beast. I've had mine for over 8 years with a stroker engine and a 1,000 watt woofer......its a beast. I will never pay for an alternator again.

Rebuild it...... what a joke.

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Old 10-08-2016, 01:00 AM
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Originally Posted by LS6427
I've had mine for over 8 years with a stroker engine and a 1,000 watt woofer......its a beast. I will never pay for an alternator again.
With that luck, (a long lasting parts shelf alternator and just dodging a major hurricane) you should buy a lottery ticket!

I think the concern is being stranded more than paying for the thing. (The stakes are much higher in snow zones.)
Old 10-08-2016, 03:28 AM
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Originally Posted by wssix99
With that luck, (a long lasting parts shelf alternator and just dodging a major hurricane) you should buy a lottery ticket!

I think the concern is being stranded more than paying for the thing. (The stakes are much higher in snow zones.)
Yes and yes.

Not to mention the bottom mount F-body location is a pain to change outside, without a lift, in said snow-zone snow season. A C5 wouldn't be so bad with the top mount location, but still not desirable when you don't have time to be stranded. I've had enough poor quality Pep Boys, AutoZone, or *insert-any-other-national-parts-chain-here* alternators to fill a Chicago pothole. So I'll take a pass on ever going that route again.
Old 10-08-2016, 05:01 PM
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Originally Posted by wssix99
With that luck, (a long lasting parts shelf alternator and just dodging a major hurricane) you should buy a lottery ticket!

I think the concern is being stranded more than paying for the thing. (The stakes are much higher in snow zones.)
Yea, but with electrical components, even a brand new AC Delco can take a dump in one week.

We just purchased a starter/generator for our aircraft...remanned $16,000. Brand new, $30,000

We went brand new back in February.....45 hours of flight time later.....BAM, it took a **** and we got stuck in Florence, Italy this past June....sat there waiting for our mechanics for two days to fly out and fix it with a replacement. My boss had to charter another jet to get his family to their next stop on time. New ones are supposed to last 350-400 hours. NOPE.....

The last starter/generator that was on that side lasted 250 hours and it was a remanned unit......thats why we figured, lets get a new unit in February.

So electrical....it can die any time.

I just have front end ramps....I drive my front tires on the ramps, alternator is swapped in 15 minutes.

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Old 10-09-2016, 06:13 PM
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Originally Posted by gjestico
I recently needed a replacement alternator....And I reflected on my experience a few years back - I went to local rebuilder company, in a hurry, and had to take what they had. Red paint on stator/rotor, And aluminum paint on housing just reeked of quality. But, It worked.

In need again, and in pursuit of quality, I Decided to go with the "AC Delco" brand. Upon receipt, I see the Mexican rebuilder gave it the same "Rattle can rebuild " treatment internally. You can see it on the internal cooling fan. I am pretty sure these weren't red (along with the rotor) from GM originally ?

So whose the best "name brand" rebuilder you have experience with ?
What is this the 1980's??
Old 10-14-2016, 10:55 PM
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Originally Posted by King Nothing
What is this the 1980's??
Well, I wish it was...but my hair cant support that era at this point. And yours ? (point that is)
Old 10-23-2016, 03:22 AM
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Originally Posted by King Nothing
What is this the 1980's??
I have to agree with the OP, finding a decent alternator is alot harder than it should be. My 99 Z28 ate about 5 duracrap gold's brand new within a year's time before I went with a Powermaster.
Old 10-23-2016, 06:15 PM
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Originally Posted by gjestico
Well, I wish it was...but my hair cant support that era at this point. And yours ? (point that is)
I wasn't gonna say my hair can't support that either lol
My point was who actually rebuilds alternators? The average joe who owns these cars couldn't do that at all, that's why the parts stores have warranties on them. I'm a diesel mechanic and we don't even rebuild them, if it goes out replace it with brand new.
Old 10-23-2016, 09:40 PM
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Originally Posted by King Nothing
that's why the parts stores have warranties on them......if it goes out replace it with brand new.
Those chain parts store warranties don't pay for your time to keep swapping them out, and the problem is that they don't ever offer a "brand new" one. They are always low quality rebuilds. That's why I won't buy that garbage anymore, just too many bad experiences that have cost me time, effort and caused needless frustration.
Old 10-23-2016, 11:18 PM
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Originally Posted by RPM WS6
Those chain parts store warranties don't pay for your time to keep swapping them out, and the problem is that they don't ever offer a "brand new" one. They are always low quality rebuilds. That's why I won't buy that garbage anymore, just too many bad experiences that have cost me time, effort and caused needless frustration.
Buy directly OEM. Reason I didn't say it is because most people don't like the prices of OEM parts. There is a reason parts are cheaper at local parts stores.

But there is a flip side to this; if someone continues to have their alternator go out, they need to look at other things instead of replacing the alternator. I.E. The belt, connections, is it overcharging, is it undercharging, what is the condition of the cables. There is a lot of reasons an alternator can go bad other than the internals.
Old 10-24-2016, 02:24 AM
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Originally Posted by King Nothing
Buy directly OEM. Reason I didn't say it is because most people don't like the prices of OEM parts. There is a reason parts are cheaper at local parts stores.
That's exactly what I do now, and exactly what I recommended in my first reply above. The only brand I would/will consider, besides OEM, at this point is Powermaster.

Originally Posted by King Nothing
But there is a flip side to this; if someone continues to have their alternator go out, they need to look at other things instead of replacing the alternator. I.E. The belt, connections, is it overcharging, is it undercharging, what is the condition of the cables. There is a lot of reasons an alternator can go bad other than the internals.
I would agree, unless we're talking about the cheap junk from chain parts stores. I've been through so many of those units under warranty (as many as 4-6 before going OEM) on cars that had no charging issues at all once they had a good quality alternator. I once wasted a great deal of time digging into the harness and other charging related components just to discover that junk alternator rebuilds were the problem in the first place.
Old 10-24-2016, 03:28 AM
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Powermaster is what I run myself!



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