BUYING an alternator, vs. having yours REBUILT? Options

[malcolm2]

I did a search and found that several years back, most of the recommendations were to find a local rebuilder to rebuild your alternator vs. buying a rebuilt one.

Is that the recommendation of the majority of folks here?

I have been chasing an intermittent charging problem in another post and have pretty much come to the conclusion that my ALT is the problem. So it is coming off.

This current ALT had been rebuilt by a shop in town, but it gave me trouble and had to be taken back. The shaft was moving in and out causing a clunk. It ran for about 16 months before that happened and now it has been about 12 more months since that repair.

So I am a little leery of returning to my local guy and I am considering purchasing a rebuilt unit from FCPeuro.com. They have a lifetime warranty on this unit. $162 shipped. $75 of that is a core charge.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/porsche-vo...r-412-411-al75x

[Tbrown4x4]

I just had an alt fail, so I pulled it out and tore it down. The slip rings and brushes were worn beyond salvage, so strike 1.

A core that came with a parts car had some burnt insulation from the slip rings to the rotor windings. Strike 2.

The alt out of my '71 looked horrible and wouldn't even turn. I took it apart and cleaned everything up. Everything looks good inside. Possibly an older rebuilt Bosch unit. New bearings and brushes and it charges like a champ.

I could have called Rockauto and been out about $70 or $80 dollars tops, and saved a little time, but I have to do things the hard way.

Did the guy going through that rebuild care as much about quality as I did? Doubt it. If it fails, they replace it, but you're doing the labor again!

We do have a local guy I trust who does starters and other electrical, but my schedule didn't jibe this time. I might have him go through my 2 cores later. I usually just buy parts from him.