Sources for 95 Legacy alternator

[Suby7]

My 95 Legacy wagon's alternator is cooked, it makes a whining sound and is hot when I touch the casing and doesn't appear to be charging the battery. Anybody know a good source for a rebuilt alternator? Any brand to avoid?

[99obw]

http://www.1stsubaruparts.com has them for $96.56. That is what I will be buying when I replace our alternator. I don't know who rebuilds them or what parts they use. You may want to give them a call and ask them, they are very helpful. I have come to the conclusion after years of maintaining and repairing my own cars that the weakest link in a car is the parts store part that gets put in it. I have even started buying OEM parts for my '92 dodge. The parts store stuff is just garbage.

[alias20035]

Subaru alternators are easy to rebuild and share many parts in common with both GM (bearings) and Nissan (bearings, brushes, voltage regulators, rectifier's, etc), so no real need to worry about who rebuilds it, so long as the bearings, brushes, rectifier and voltage regulator have all been replaced.

 

Typically the brushes are the leading failure, followed by the voltage regulator. Voltage regulators are a common failure on Outacks with all of their optional electrical goodies such as heated seats. By plugging in other electical items and using high power aftermarket stereos many owners blow their voltage regulators.

 

On my 93 Legacy I knew the brushes and front bearing were gone so for $18 in parts I rebuilt it, but if you do not have the knowledge to diagnose and repair alternators the rebuild route is the best approach.

 

Since your alternator is not charging it is likely that either the brushes are worn out or the rectifier/voltage regulator has burned out. But your bearings are worn and the armature and commutator are nearing their mid life. So a rebuilt alternator with warranty is the best approach, even better if it includes the test certificate to prove that it produces the correct voltage and amperage at the correct RPM's.

 

Under $100 for a new alternator is the best deal you are likely to find.

 

Don't break electical system repair rule number one: Be sure to disconnect the negative battery terminal when working on the alternator, a friend of mine blew up his battery when his socket wrench grounded to the intake manifold. The wrench exploded causing shrapnel wounds and burns to his hands and arms, and he had acid burns on his face and eyes.

 

BTW: With sound systems over 300 watts RMS I recommend the use of a 1 farad capacitor. The capacitor will stabilize the load on the battery and alternator, preventing the frequent power surges during "bass hits" that are very damaging to the voltage regulator within the alternator.

[frag]

I have a reman alt from 1stSubaruParts waiting to be installed.

The one you get from them is a Subaru approved reman alt (Subaru written on the box). No experience with them but I presume they are better than ordinary after market reman alternators.

Since my alt has not failed yet (but should in the not so distant future - 200,000 kilometers) I've not decided yet if I will return the core or take the time to rebuild it myself and keep in case of need in the future.

[Suby7]

Thanks for the good info. I have replaced brushes and voltage regulators in alternators in the past. I just have a gut feeling that this alternator may have more problems than just a regulator and worn brushes. This alternator is giving off alot of heat and it smells like the wires are cooking inside. I think I am better off just replacing it with a quality rebuild.

 

I checked with my local dealer and they wanted $450 for a new one and the local parts stores wanted from $200 to $350 for a rebuild. Thepartsbin.com wanted $154. So $96 for a Subaru approved rebuild sounds pretty darn good

[hklaine]

There may be a recall on the alternator in your car. If you haven't already, you may want to see if the recall is still open. Your dealer or SoA can tell you.

 

-Heikki

 

EDIT: This is recall WXF-63 (Alternator Service)

I believe it applies to all 95-96 Legacy/Outback.

[Suby7]

I will double check with the dealer about the recall but I remember when the recall came through it was for 1996 and did not include the 1995. But it never hurts to ask in situatiions like this, I found that if I asked alot of times the local dealer or SOA try to accomodate.