Well the alternator on my 350 Olds in my '49 is singing the blues (bearing blues), I know I want to get a new, not rebuilt, so who makes the best? I see the Powermaster ones with a 1 year warranty, that look good, but have NO idea IF they are. ANY suggestions greatly appreciated.
Looking at their webpage regular 10 or 12 SI alternators don't run much different in price than a new one from the parts house. I'm not sure that they are any better but you might get a few Bubba points at rod trots when the Bubbas see that you have one. If yours is charging good New bearings from Napa cost well under 20 bucks and it doesn't take long to put them in. New brushes don't cost much either. A lifetime guarentee unit from O'Reilly's doesn't cost all that much and if it goes bad you take it back and get another one. My go to Starter/Alternator shop in Yakima closed up because the owner's son wasn't capable of running the business. I bought a lot of parts from them and had them do work that I wasn't equipped to do.
I was wondering this myself a while back but after not finding any persuasive answers as to a good source I put away my credit card, went upstairs to my pile-o-parts, pulled out a GM core and freshened it up. It just needed a good cleaning inside and out. It's working well so far. I'd still like to know of a good source though.
If you can get the screws holding the cases together out without any of them breaking off they're easy to rebuild. Bad diodes aren't easily home-repairable, but that generally isn't an issue. It will pay to check them however, as a failed diode may not be apparent under 'normal' operating conditions. One possible issue with new 'branded' alternators is sometimes they're a proprietary design and if you need a replacement in Wide Spot Iowa, they may not accept it as a 'core'.
I'm a fan of GM alternators. I even run them on my old Ford, just have to drill out one of the mounting holes to fit the larger Ford bolt. Like was said, easy enough to put new bearings and brushes in, too. They're one thing GM got right....
i have allways used my local alternator & starter guy , over the years ive used several diffrent ones and allways had great luck ... they can do em several ways ,,fix it ,,refurb it,, restore it ,, make em one wire ,, and step em up .. and they allways stand behind em ,,, auto parts alts and starters can be so hit and miss its so much better when ya deal with the builder directly .. and if theres a prob ya hand it to em or run it by and they are allways on top of it Vs a nose bubbled mouth breather at the chain store ,,,, fabricator john miss you dad
"I know I want to get a new, not rebuilt, so who makes the best?" I doubt the best new alternator is as good as a quality rebuilt old Delco. I think the ones made in Mexico are better than the ones made in China, though.
Call John at Brillman company. My choice would Nippodenso. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Same here, but instead of drilling out the hole, I installed a threaded insert in the Ford mounting bracket, to use the GM 3/8-16 mounting bolt. That way it's a direct quick swap out on the road, if need be.
Interesting but are we going to have a "who makes the best..." about everything? We just had one on water pumps. And, of course, these are all opinions, no actually facts or testing, just anecdotal and usually xenophobic.
Because some of us intend take it on a trip for a week or more (I turn 76 soon and have less tolerance for fixing things on the roadside at 100+ degrees F).
Probably not a lot of different between new and rebuilt. As far as best probably not a lot of difference there either. Most of automotive parts are made in China, India Mexico etc. Even products touted as made in USA are just assembled here from parts made offshore. Read the labels clearly not just the large print “Made in USA”
You know, I usually do too, but I noticed recently that many suppliers offer up to six or more choices for popular GM applications. Everything from a test, clean, paint and re-box from the local mass “rebuilder”, to a brand new but most likely Chinese made version. All from suppliers like Cardone, Dorman, AC Delco, and the ever present plain white box. I think the OP was hoping that someone would chime in with some definitive info such as; “ I worked for Cardone for 27 years, all of their parts and service are USA based and they test each unit thoroughly before it’s boxed and shipped”. I know I was. A few years back it took me three tries to get an alternator that worked from the local NAPA store. The counterman, who always was a dick, gave me the look but exchanged them anyway. They’re gone now but the alternator is still working. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The *best* alternator will be yours rebuilt with NOS American made bearings, brushes, diodes/voltage regulator and any other renewable parts. Anything else, whether "new" or rebuilt will not have parts of the original US made quality. Bob
Changing an alternator or a generator along the side of the road is the same for me. If in question, I carry a spare with me. And yes, they are generators unless the car came with an alternator. Now to think of it, I have not yet had a generator fail on a trip.
You are assuming that 1. NOS parts are still available 2. NOS makes the parts just as reliable as the original OEM parts (which were SO reliable that the thing now needs to be rebuilt/replaced 3. Someone has the time and resources to scout out all those parts and isn't stuck or wanting to drive his car now 4. All parts made in the USA are golden/ all parts made over seas are crap 5. The 95 million or so cars sold in the world every year are all sitting in the driveway because they have been made with crap foreign alternators. I know there's a #6, but I am laughing too hard and have to go outside and roll down the driveway.
Just a personal experience. I had a Bosch alternator that was noisy. Replaced it with a Chinese knockoff that I found on e-bay. It lasted about 70 hours; locked up.. I rebuilt the Bosch with new bearings, brushes, and ring and put it back on. I am betting that the rebuilt Bosch will last longer than the Chinese one.
Considering how hoopty some of the 'new' chain store stuff is, I would stick to a rebuilt unit by AC Delco. What alternator do you have now? 10DN, 10SI, or a 12SI? Bearings are not hard to change on these. Hardest part will be blasting the nut off the pulley/fan. Bought a PM unit years ago, didn't want to bother rebuilding an existing 10SI unit(lazy), so I opted for one of their '140Amp' units. It was the same size as my stock 63A unit, which made me wonder how the winding's could be capable of supporting '140 A'. Pulley was a larger diameter, which means it would spin slower(that can't be good for charging), and the fan that came on it was made of too thin sheet metal. At speed it would deform and whack the alt belt. Sounded lovely. Replaced the pulley/fan with a cheapy 'Spectre' chrome pulley/fan piece. Which actually fixed the low charging and fan whacking problem. By 5K miles the alternator started to wail at anything above idle and soon just constantly screamed. Junk bearings. Maybe PM has improved their stuff, dunno. Price-point vs convenience vs output. I'll stick with a rebuilt unit from AC Delco. And if I need more amps I'll get a 12SI to replace the 10SI.
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