jakers

94 Coupe, Took a drive this evening as it was a nice 71 degrees in Georgia around sunset.

So, the voltage starts jumping from low 11's to about 14.4. I take it by Advanced Auto Parts and it tests at a steady 11.3 volts. So it appears the alternator is going south. I ordered a "OEM" remanufacture from Advanced with a Warranty etc... $116 plus a core deposit of $60.

Has anyone replaced theirs with AAP replacement? Is it OK? Appearance? Comments please.

My car is no collectors item, however, I like to keep it somewhat close to original. Should I have my original rebuilt?

Pete K

They are all junk. You did the right thing. You bought (I assume) a lifetime warrantee alternator from a national chain. They usually go bad every 2-3 years regardless. If you are 1 thousand miles from home when it fails next time, you simply have to keep your receipt in the car and find the nearest advance auto.

Corvette Kid

If you have a rebuilder in your area who has a good reputation, I would let them rebuild yours. Have them show you the types of parts they use. You wouldn't believe the quality varience available in the internal parts such as bearings, regulators, etc. A proper rebuild can and should last as long as the original. Unfortunately, just buying a rebuilt is a real crap-shoot. You just don't know, regardless of the source or warranty. There are more substandard ones out there than good ones.

JAKE

I live in Texas, and last year I got stranded on the side of the road when I was travelling up in D.C. area when my alternator failed. Took me about 6 hours to track down a rebuilt one and replace the the dud.

I'd bought the failed one from O'Reilly's, and as you can probably guess, there was no O'Reilly's in the area. I ended up buying another one from AutoZone w/o giving up my core.

When I returned to TX, I exchanged the bad one and now I carry the replacement in my car with the tools needed to swap it out whenever I travel out of the state just so I don't have to walk that road again.

Aside from the questionable parts inside the alternator, I believe heat from the headers contributes to their early demise. Seems that many early C4s suffer from alternator problems.

As I understand it, the later year Vettes have redesigned alternators which I'm told are much less failure prone.

Jake

jakers

I was about to ask about the headers and the heat the the effect on the electronics... I have Hooker Super Comps on my car and I am preparing to take off my headers and send to Jet-Hot for a coating.

See related header question:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...61&forum_id=48

Morley

I bought an alternator from Advance several years ago..When I opened the box the alternator had a sticker on it and paperwork...The name on the sticker was "Power Master", the same brand that Summit sells...So far so good with it.

Tom Piper

My experience with rebuilt alternators has been poor.

I buy only NEW alternators now -- you can buy a "duralast Gold" all new alternator from Autozone, and a new Gold alternator from Sears.
Prevously, my lifetime warranty rebuilt alternators went bad about every 10 months at very inconvenient times.
I paid twice as much for the new alternator, but the last 5 years have been worth it.

Tom Piper

RacerX70CC

As the saying goes: "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgetten..."

rick lambert

I guess I have to just "knock on wood" because I've had very good luck with rebuilts from AZ, Schucks etc.

Fuzzy Dice

I'll give you the cliff notes version of my story...2 nights in motels, 4 rebuilt alternators, 2 AAA tows and a lot of stress...all this in a 10 day period...

Solution: one new OEM alternator still going when I sold that car 6 years after install...pricey but I will never, ever go through that crap again with a rebuilt...

Aggravated4life

Hey guys,he said ADVANCE auto,not auto bones....



Anyhow,I bought one from Advance auto...a rebuilt a/c delco alternator from GM in the a/c delco box.Thats the only one I will buy or have the old one repaired if possible.I dont care for the other rebuilt kits.They look nice and shiny but thats about it!

Nathan Plemons

I've never had any luck with any of the chain auto parts store parts as far as alternators and starters are concerned. There is a local shop that rebuilds things in house using quality components and done by adults who are actually getting paid more than 25 cents a day. Their rebuilt stuff lasts a very long time.

If that's not an option for you I would only consider a new AC Delco alternator, not any of the parts store rebuilds. A lifetime warranty does you a whole hell of a lot of good when you're stranded in the middle of the road.

Tom Piper

I've used Advance, Pep Boys, and Autozone for rebuilts-- none lasted as long as the common cold.

When I asked a local dealership where to buy one when the dealership didn't have one in stock, the parts man told me to go to NAPA and tell the man that I wanted a "quality" alternator without a lifetime warranty, and not one of the low-priced ones that NAPA sold to compete with the chain stores.

It seems that we, the consumers, with our quest to save money by buying the cheapest, have driven a market that does us no good. We now have people willing to sell us junk, made who-knows-where, with a liftetime warranty, for a couple of bucks.

I do agree on local rebulders though -- they use quality parts, but they do charge more too. And, they won't give you a lifetime warranty.

I must say, that the Autozone "duralast Gold" ALL NEW alternator with a lifetime warranty has been a good buy for me. But, it also cost about twice as much as a rebuilt -- money well spent.

Tom Piper

Aggravated4life

Hey guys,
Is there still a high fail rate with the rebuilt Cs144 from the chain stores?
I know the older vettes had the model ,forget the number,maybe the 136?
And had a high fail rate regardless of the rebuild.Was just wondering about that too.I though his 94 had the alternator design on it?

Tom Piper

I've posted this before, here is my next alternator:

http://www.mean-green.com/products/alternator.html

It can be bought for less at JCWhitney.


Tom Piper

dwestsr

Why don't you guys try rebuilding the alternator yourself? It's one of the easiest and fun projects you can do other than fuel pump replacement. The how to instructions are on the internet as well as in the tips section. Napa has the parts. It's usually the rectifier bridge that goes and it costs about $15. But ,in anycase , all you need for diagnostics is a multmeter. I did mine about two years ago and it's still going strong. However, I also carry a spare and tools just in case. I never intend to buy another alternator once I found out how simple they are to rebuild! BTW, Summit and others sell a heat sink that attaches to the rear of the alternator that will make the rectifier bridge last a lot longer. It's the underhood heat that kills it .

Aggravated4life

Always wanted to learn how to do that...I thought you need a small press to get the fan/bearings and etc out of there for replacement?

jakers

Well this is exactly the reason that I spend time on this forum... Valuable first hand information from a great group of people.

So here is my plan:

1.) Local rebuild through a shop with a good reputation.

2.) Track down a new GM Alternator for primary use.

3.) If I can't find #2 I may try the Mean Green but that is alot of $$Green$$.

Thanks to all.

_twisted_

that will cure your concern of heat - definetly you will notice the underhood temps much lower and you plugs/wires will thank you

rightofway

i bought a powermaster alternator from summit(free cooler too) i am very pleased with it and was surprised that it had a tag on it with how it did on test stand of some sort