Good morning all,

I just determined I need to replace the alternator in my XK8...

IE; slight electrical smell from the alternator, the bearings are noisy (whirr noise), and my 1 year old battery is not seeing any charge (I watched the voltage reading slowly drop from 13 to 12.56 over 10 minutes of idle.)

Is there any reason to not consider a "remanufactured" Nippon Denso (has 1yr warranty)
as a replacement alternator?
Should I be concerned about this being an inadequate choice, or is it me just being paranoid?


Thanks for any input, most appreciated!

 

check the yellow pages for a local auto electric shop. They should be able to bench test yours and go thru it to fix what is the matter. Does the reman ND have a lifetime warranty? or just 90 days. The auto electric shop may give you a year. Have you checked your local car quest store ?

 

If your voltmeter when attached to the battery is not showing over 14 v. when the engine is runing about 1500 rpm, the alternator may be bad. Most auto parts stores offer a free test for this. Finding a good rebuilt alternator is a crap shoot. There are a couple ways to help glean how good it is, price and warranty. If the part goes for less than $100 or is warranted for less than a year, it's a paperweight. If it goes for around $200 -$250 and up with a lifetime warranty, it's possibly worth putting on. A new one runs $400 and up, and this is not a bad idea considering how hard it is to install one in a modern car, often requiring an engine lift.

 

Autozone has Reman Densco for about $225 with a 2 year warranty. I bought mine after the oil cooler hose ruptured and bathed the alternator in oil. No problems with it. Gus has a DITY on his site I think. It's definitely a lot more work on an "R" car than an "8".

 

Thanks everyone!

I pretty much just wanted to find out what the general opinion was on going with a
"remanufactured" Denso
as my choice, seeing as though they are pretty inexpensive compared to a new one.

There doesn't seem to be any "oh h#ll NO" type responses/reactions from anyone, so I'll probably roll the dice on one of the Densos or Bosch.

Again, I really appreciate the input on the subject!
Have a great week everyone!

 

I installed the remanufactured alternator in my xk8 and I got it from AutoZone. It seems to work just fine. This is my procedure http://www.gusglikas.com/AutoRepairAltRepair.htm Hope it helps!

 

Nippon Denso alternators (and starters) are premium pieces at premium prices. On the other hand, some "big box" auto part stores' rebuilt alternators come at a bargain price but with a lifetime warranty.

Alternators get 1.1 hour replacement in the base rate manual--not too bad. I'm with Gus on going with the lower price/lifetime warranty alternator.

 

You could always rebuild the alternator yourself.
Change the brushes and bearings. That's it for rebuilding.

 

You folks RULE. Thank you again for every ounce of time and input shared!

Its going to be a bit before this repair gets handled (definitely before spring) , but I'll be sure to update with the final outcome.

Cheers!

 

I agree!

I've never paid for a rebuilt starter or alternator in my life. If you're no confident, shops charge a very small amount for the rebuild service. The shop I buy parts from charges $40 + parts for rebuilding an alternator (and he warranties P&L for a year) and $35 + parts for rebuilding a starter.