daehttub2000 Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My 8 month old Alternator from Autozone is making a racket in 0 degree weather (95 Legacy Wagon). It's not just a noisy belt (I think:rolleyes:, I'm tempted to do the W40 thing...). At first I thought it was my heat shield getting worse until I finally turned off my stereo, stopped, and opened the hood. They said they'll replace it but I'm going to wait for a warmer weekend. I'm not happy about this. My first one lasted 12 years until I killed it with a dead battery:dead: . What kind of luck has everyone had with rebuilt alternators? This one cost me $158 before tax with the core exchange. I'm not looking forward to scraping my knuckles in the winter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 I will not buy an aftermarket rebuild alternator from anyone. I've found a local rebuilder who is "old school". I've found him expensive, but I never paid anywhere near $158 for a rebuild. Most of his "full" rebuilds have run around $120. Generally, the rebuilds run between $60 and $120 depending on what he finds bad. He generally warrantees his work for one year but I've never had to bring one of his alternators back for any reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Parts store rebuilt alts are junk. Yes ok so maybe you get a lifetime warranty but it's still your time, trip to the store, and possible vehicle downtime every time it fails. Many parts store rebuilt stuff gets only the faulty component replaced and maybe a few other things, gets cleaned up, tested and then sold. That means many parts in there can go untouched. See and in this case the OEM reman part from a Subaru dealer who sells parts online would have cost less than the parts store alt. 23700AA34ARA ALTERNATOR ASSEMBLY REMAN FOR 1995-1999 LEGACYS, approx $130 from Subaru dealers selling online (price includes ~$30 core charge). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrand Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Well, just replaced mine today, Prostart from Pepboys lifetime warrenty. First went out in 1998, first one lasted 24 ours, 2nd one lasted 8 1/2 years, and then from 11/2006 till today. They gave me a Bosch rebuilt as a replacement. Thing that is maddening in all cases iof failure is alt light on car does not come on unitil batt is almost dead, and car starts cutting out. I was driving car today and radio started cutting out, made me suspicious and did the voltmeter test when I got home-myconclusions were confimed upon taking back to store with tester and walking out with replacement unit. I do agree quality of rebuilds can vary, but Ihave had pretty good luck with most from the chain stores. A very good friend had a starter/alternator rebukd business in central Illinois now, too far for me to use but if any one in that area needs a high quality rebuild job.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 For altenators, you really need to check the dealer and on line first. Blus alt was 214.00 from the mechanic (got screwed on that one a few times) but 1st subaru was 61.00 Always check the dealer first, as you may be nicely surprised. the 95 legacy is 67.50 plus 50.00 core charge. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
destey Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Always check the dealer first, as you may be nicely surprised. the 95 legacy is 67.50 plus 50.00 core charge. nipper Oh man, I just paid $130 for an autozone "Worldwide" that's making noise out of the box. That's a helluva good deal nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 FYI I bought a Suby 2.2 that had a spiffy fresh rebuilt alternator on it. Aluminum and some green, brand new stickers. It was bad and noisy - Worldwide. I wondered who sold that brand. I think I kept it for kicks. It was only worth less than 5 bucks as a core for scrap. I had never seen a Worldwide one before - atleast not so spanking new that it was easy to tell what brand it was. I've never torn one apart and this one may be my guinea pig. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 [...]Many parts store rebuilt stuff gets only the faulty component replaced and maybe a few other things, gets cleaned up, tested and then sold. That means many parts in there can go untouched.[Exactly. Example: Diodes in an alternator have failed. They get replaced, but in a poor rebuild worn brushes and bearings with lots of miles might not. See and in this case the OEM reman part from a Subaru dealer who sells parts online would have cost less than the parts store alt.[...]Yes, the key is "remanufactured". Under the best circumstances, that means several of the particular "cores" are gotten together. They are then fully (or very near that) disassembled, and major components that are in good condition are cleaned for reuse. Other components that are worn (or even might be) are replaced. Where needed, proper lubricants are used. After reassembly, the part is tested under conditions that ensure it meets or beats original factory specs. If done properly, the end result is a part that should last just as long as the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 And sadly there is no standard legal defanition of rebuilt or remanufactured. Ideally it should be a new diode set, new regulator, new brushes new bearings, cleanup of parts, and electrical testing. Sadly it can just mean the replacement of whatever part failed and a cleaning. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daehttub2000 Posted January 20, 2008 Author Share Posted January 20, 2008 DOH!!! I feel like a real Homer Simpson now. Thanks for all your great replies and info. I was so turned off my my local Subaru dealer/parts departments that I assumed I'd get hosed by them. Autozone says they'll refund my money. I'll see what the local pirates, er, Subie dealer, quotes me on an OEM alternator on Monday. While an alternator change is relatively simple, it's something I don't want to be doing every 8 months. I also want the peace of mind of an OEM alternator that will hopefully last another 12 years. I can see the Autozone business model behind charging $160 for a $50 POS and giving it a lifetime warranty:Flame: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 DOH!!! I feel like a real Homer Simpson now. Thanks for all your great replies and info. I was so turned off my my local Subaru dealer/parts departments that I assumed I'd get hosed by them. Autozone says they'll refund my money. I'll see what the local pirates, er, Subie dealer, quotes me on an OEM alternator on Monday. While an alternator change is relatively simple, it's something I don't want to be doing every 8 months. I also want the peace of mind of an OEM alternator that will hopefully last another 12 years. I can see the Autozone business model behind charging $160 for a $50 POS and giving it a lifetime warranty:Flame: every 8 months? i was dreaming at that, with getting only 3 months out of two of them. One shop was blaiming all my accessories, another said nothing was wrong, and a third said it was my wiring. I went off on two of them, then decided to bite the bullet and go OE. Thats when i found out they were not only putting the wrong altenator in the car (the expensive impreza), but charging me through the nose. Since then, I have not had a single issue, and its been 6 months. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 For anecdotal evidence I can let you know how my two Subaru reman alts fare. First is for '96 Legacy, been running for ~2 months seems to be ok so far (had a napa in there when I bought it). Second is for '00 Outback, not yet installed, original suddenly went to 16V output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daehttub2000 Posted January 21, 2008 Author Share Posted January 21, 2008 Price Check in Aisle Subaru: The Pirates at the local Subaru dealership are charging the following for an OEM alternator rebuild for my 95 Legacy 2.2L: $128.75 + $50 Core + $16.53 Sales Tax = $195.28:mad: It comes with a one year warranty. I'm going to start checking the online sources that were mentioned in a recent post. How long can I drive on a noisy alternator before it dies on me:rolleyes: ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 How long can I drive on a noisy alternator before it dies on me:rolleyes: ? I'm glad you volunterred to find out nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 It's hard to say how long it could go. If it's noisy it's probably the bearings. If the thing siezes up it will probably break or burn through the belt which means you will also lose power steering. Here's some pics of what your new alt will look like! I just put one of these alts in on my '96 last month. 23700AA34ARA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daehttub2000 Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 Cool Pictures:banana: Thanks Porc. Now only if Haynes & Chilton used color pictures... I've ordered the OEM alternator from Jason at the 1-866# in WA. I'll let you know how it goes. $126.96 without the core trade-in with shipping. $67.50 otherwise plus shipping! I'll get it in about a week. The local Subaru dealer is such an ___________... Once I get it installed, I'll get my money back from Autozone when I return that POS "rebuild". I hope I don't get stranded over the next few days (Not funny Nipper...) and I hope it's warm enough for me to work on the old wagon outside without getting frostbite. It's 8 degrees right now and the windchill is -3. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again to all the USMB regulars out there for all the info and help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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