2005 Superduty, 6.0. Well, my battery light came on the other night. Dashboss was reading 11.6 volts at the battery while going down the road with lights on (night driving) so I turned off the headlights and just used the lower fog lights on the mountain road home. By the time I got home my battery voltage was at 11.2 - 11.4 volts, the FICM voltage lowest point was 47 V, but pretty much fluctuated between 47.5 - 48 (watched for injector health). I assume that I'm in need of an alternator again. The last one I had installed was a Ford remanufactured Alt a number of years ago. I paid to have it done at a Ford Dealership in Victorville Ca while on the road with trailer in tow and they charged me like two hours work and had it installed within 20 minutes, so I suspect that the job is much easier than their book states. Anyway, I have two questions:

1) What is the current favorite alternator? OEM reman? Aftermarket? Suggestions and cost, please.
2) I've read that the alternator is a piece of cake to replace. Anyone have instructions/shortcuts or have a link to a recommended youtube or something?

Thanks

 

I run OEM alts, and when they die I have a local guy build them.

as for changing it. It is very simple. Disconnect the batteries.
Pull the tension until the kickstand locks it down. I put tension on the belt with a bungee cord. Pop the 10mm off the alt power cable. Pop off the 3 - 13mm bolts holding the alt down . Replace as opposite. Make sure the belt is on the pulleys..my sizes might be a mm or two off, but you'll.get the jist of it

 

I've never looked for a video because I've done it many times.

The priority is knowing where the tensioner kickstand is.

Two alternator electrical connections should be removed after removing and isolating the negative terminal clamps on both batteries. You don't want sparkies.

If you are strong enough, once you know where the kickstand is, standing at the pass fender, reach down so you can move the kickstand into place, then grab the belt and pull it away from the engine until the tensioner moves enough to get it caught. The belt will be loose.

There is a 1/2" square hole in the tensioner, so you can use a long handle ratchet, a ratchet with the handle extended courtesy of a deep socket that fits over the handle, and a 1/2" long socket extension. Or the unique tool for doing this with a 1/2" square on the end.

Number three is when the cable and harness are disconnected, remove the front and one of the rear bolts mounting the alternator, then, while holding the alternator in place, back off the last bolt to let the belt pull the nose of the alternator down until the belt tension is removed.

The main power lug should be a 10 or 12-mm nut. The harness connection has a tab in the middle that must be depressed. I use a small, flat screwdriver rather than my finger. Then, pull up.

Choice of alternator. That's a hard one, as all the rebuilds seem to be crap. While not absolutely perfect, I like the Bosch 135/140a alternator that you can buy new. Amazon, RockAuto, Advance. It's not expensive, and if you want it to perform like a 180a alternator, you can install a smaller pulley cheaply bought off eBay.

The next step into new alternators gets expensive.

 

I've been running the Bosch since 2017, 50k miles, still going strong.

 

I had the Bosch for a couple oe years until it went bad. The warranty issue was a bit tough because I bought if of Amazon. Ultimately, Amazon refunded my money (kudos to them for standing behind the product) but it was a long process to get to that point.

I ended up getting a 180amp US Diesel alternator from FICMREPAIR. I havr had it for over a year and it is still going strong.

 

With either Amazon or RockAuto, some people have no problem while others do. Part of the reason may be that Bosch targeted the F450 and F550 for this alternator, not the F250 or 350. Not that it should matter everything is exactly the same 250 to 550.

 

The good news: I, like many others run the Bosch AL7606N alternator. I replaced my original Ford alternator under warranty in 2011 with a Ford rebuilt alternator while on the road. I upgraded the Ford rebuilt alternator in 2014 with a new Bosch AL 7606N purchased from Amazon. In 2019 the Bosch failed while out of town and I called Amazon and they sent a new one to me overnight. .I reinstalled the rebuilt Ford alternator to get home. I installed the replacement Bosch when I got home.

The bad news: I don't believe that Amazon does a swap out for alternator warranties anymore. So you probably have to return it to Bosch to get warranty service. Another requirement for warranty service is that the original unit must have been sold by a Bosch authorized seller. At the time I bought my original Bosch, Amazon was an authorized reseller. Also make sure that Bosch customer service confirms that it is an authorized product for you vehicle.

In summary, from what I read in your post, I think the Bosch would be a good fit for your application. I would recommend that you take your Ford rebuilt alternator to a local rebuilder, have it repaired and carry it as a spare. As to how to install, I posted a writeup sometime back on how to install an alternator without messing with the tensioner. It was easy. Good luck!