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My alternator appears to be shot. I'm looking at replacements on Rockauto. I want to get a Motorcraft. The one here which should be the correct replacement looks a little different. It doesn't have the blades on the front. Is that something I swap out from my old alternator? Mine has the external voltage regulator.
It looks like you would need to swap over your fan & pulley to the new ALT.
That is also a reman. for $105 + s/h and I cant tell if the regulator also comes with it or not, thinking not.
I would look at local parts stores to see what they have and price.
You may still need to swap the pulley as most are 1 belt and you have 2.
Also get a new regulator and replace it when you do the ALT.
Most parts store offer replacement parts with a lifetime warranty.
In my over-inflated opinion, I'd be a bit hesitant about a "lifetime" warranty unless you know all the details.
An alternator has internal parts that will wear out, namely the brushes and bearings. Other parts can fail, but those are not so common. But brushes and bearings? I cannot and will not expect those parts to last forever. If a vendor says otherwise with a "lifetime" warranty, that's probably just an advertising gimmick. They're hoping you lose the receipt or sell the vehicle before their part fails. That's how their business model works.
I poked around a few websites for details of a "lifetime" waranty.
NAPA had a limited lifetime warranty against defects in material and workmanship, but specifically excluded normal wear. That to me seems to be a very realistic option.
Autozone and O'Reilly's had no mention of normal wear. That makes me think they are selling alternators that somehow never wear out, probably built by magic elves living in a hollow tree.
If I were to spend $150 with a vendor pitching a pie-in-the-sky warranty, I'd have to think some of my money went to paying for somebody else's warranty replacement. To cover that expense (maybe $20's worth?), corners may have been cut elsewhere.
If I were to spend that same $150 for a component with a more realistic warranty, I'd bet the quality would be better as they didn't have to compensate for all those "lifetime" warranty replacements for normal wear and tear.
I actually just caught hell from a local parts monkey when I turned in the brake pads off of my 96 Oldsmobile for warranty replacement. Usually, the parts are replaced, "no questions asked." If local stores stop honoring the lifetime warranty on their parts (the way Crapsman tools did) then I'll start shopping on-line for auto parts and save some money.
BTW, the OP might consider a 3G alternator upgrade. That would be cheaper than any on-line or parts store alternator. Plus, the voltage regulator could be deleted. The only drawback is that it requires a trip to the salvage yard.
Just saying, Home Depot will replace the Craftsman lifetime warranty. I have used them for that.
Also, will add, NAPA has no problem replacing the right front caliper on one of my cars. Since the 12 month warranty 3 or 4 years ago, they have given me 4 replacements in that time. One of the other Auto Parts stores told me they do the same thing, seems the "reman" company had an issue, so getting replacements is not a problem. I've been told the problem at the "reman" has been fixed. The left front caliper has been fine.
Of course no part lasts forever. But lifetime warranties are nice if you plan on keeping a vehicle a long time. I've benefited from many lifetime warranties. I tend to keep vehicles for many decades though.
I couldn't find a reman Motorcraft alt locally, that's why this seemed like a good option. I could get one of the off brand remans I guess. I figured Motorcraft would last longer.
