about 6 weeks ago I had to replace my alternator. The only place that had one was O'reilly's and i wanted to get it running that day... Well 6 weeks later I am paying for that mistake.... I started to kept my original Ford alternator and have it rebuilt but let them have it for the core charge....

This one is still under warranty from O'Reilly's. Itis a Ford case... Should I go ahead and let the shop rebuild the Orielly one or take my chances on another piece of junk that might hopefully last a couple months longer and do an exchange? It would run around 100 bucks for the shop to rebuild it...

My local napa has one in stock now
NAPA AUTO PARTS

Napa also wants a $39 core charge... If I take the alternator back to Oreilly's and get a refund, I will have to pay out the core charge to NAPA

Can someone explain this comment with the napa alternator?
"Plastic Output Harness Connector Must be Replaced Wherever Used on Ford I.A.R. Alternators
w/ Internal Regulator"

This is why i normally try to buy oem Ford parts...

Here's the piece of crap I put on
Item Detail Not Found | O'Reilly Auto Parts

You could hear a hissing sound after a day or two coming from the alternator as it turned... Thankfully it is not all that hard to change. It is just the fact of having to do it over and over and over.....

I remember at my fathers shop when I was little, they rebuilt starters, alternators, wheel cylinders, master cylinders, ect... Perhaps it si better tho do that these days instead of replacing parts over and over till you get one that will last long enough to get you stranded off in the mountains!

 

You made of money?

 

no, but i do want an alternator that I wont have to keep replacing... maybe i should swap out the O'rielly one and find a good ford one at a junk yard to carry as a spare..

 

Over my ownership and servicing of E-series from '97 and later I've always used the NAPA top quality new alternators----not cheap but have outlasted even the OEM versions.

Best thing is no core charge since its new, lifetime guarantee, they've run me about $200 each and so far not one single misstep at all. Reliability costs a bit more, well worth it in the end IMHO.

 

It is always possible to get a bad anything. I bought around $3000 worth of parts in total restoring my '88 club wagon. Amazon, and Oreillys mainly. The only part I had problems with was the fuel selector made by BWD and bought from Oreillys but I could have bought it anywhere. They replaced it and the replacement worked.

I try not to by the cheapest or the most expensive.
jim

 

Oreilly's just sells them and has nothing to do with it's rebuilding. I've seen a decline in quality in remanufactured parts over the years. If at all possible, I have my starters and alternators rebuilt by a local rebuilder. Several years ago a buddy had is alternator go out in is IROC Camaro. I changed it out for him with one from Pepboys. Well, the new one didn't work right out of the box. I took it back and the parts guy argued with me that the car had a short that was frying the alternator, but I was able to convince him to give me another one and I made him test it before I left. Well, the first 2 he took off the shelf were DOA. He soon changed his demeanor, apologized and said he was going to test every alternator before he gives it to a customer.

 

Yup, same thing happen to a friend of mine on his Suburban; bought a new GM from the dealer and it was no good. They gave him a replacement and that to was defective. In the mean time it was ripping us a new one trying to figure out what was up because we were starting to doubt if it was in fact an alternator problem. So he went and bought a cheap rebuilt one from a local auto store and that cured the problem. Even before that incident, I never assumed that because it was brand new that it was a good part.

 

I have been using the same guy for 20 Years Vaughan Auto Electric in Vaughan, On.....And it lasts.....

 

It's a shame of the quality of parts today. As a 50 something mechanic, I get so frustrated at the junk that comes in those "white" overseas boxes that they call new parts from ISO certified factories. Their idea of quality is way different than mine. And even buying the best name brand money can buy does not insure you will get a good part. Seems they just what to make it bolt on and work for awhile and that,s it.

 

All the inferior Chinese parts, no matter who builds it, if there isn't quality replacements going in, you're going to do it again, upgrade, don't just replace the alternator, everyone has added something that pulls more juice, so you are already pushing it, that causes heat, resulting in premature failure. I often wonder if the internal regulated units are superior, mine is external, still has the old points style regulator from 40+ years ago, and you should see what I'm pulling from it. LoL

 

"Buy once cry once", there is no savings by going cheap! Frugal is good but, cheap is EXPENSIVE. Wastes time, aggravation, and won't have saved any money after the third or fourth replacement, laying in the snow etc.

 

Oh I don't know, Chevy dealer put a new Delco alt on my van, 3 blocks later it was discharging.

 

Yes, but that was a ch.. ch. Che.. Never mind.

True enough OEM stuff is sometimes defective, and el-cheapo replacements sometimes aren't but that's not the way to bet.

 

I like to buy Motorcraft parts when ever I can. But now even that isn't a given on the quality of the parts. The Motorcraft brake shoes I bought and installed on the back of my 96 E250 said the magical "made in china" words on the label!

But even with that, I still buy Motorcraft parts over parts store brands when I can.

 

You didn't mention year and engine, but from your profile pic I'm thinking older, V-belt not serpentine.

I think I've mentioned it here before that I've had awesome luck with 2009 and newer OEM alternators made by Mitsubishi. They regularly last us 700,000 miles where the 2008 and earlier OEM would be lucky to get 150,000. I retrofitted our older vans with the Mitsubishi alternator - splice in the new connector pigtail and make a little metal strip with bolt holes on either end to brace the top of the alternator on one side and you're done. No more alternator worries. You can pick them up for $160 new on ebay or $80 used. It's probably not possible if you have a v-belt old style alternator though