I then ordered a Valeo from Bimmerworld which arrived seized. Finally ordered the same Valeo from RockAuto (for less money, too) which has been working great so far.
Owner reviews for alternator
Yes. I had one on my e39 (M54) for a long time. Probably put close to 75k miles on it before I sold it. It was the Bosch variant. No issues with it at all. In fact, it appeared to be a Bosch reman in an Autozone box. Hard to tell what the internals were but they looked exactly the same.
I have installed HR (07/08 350z) alternators and DE (03-06) alternators. They seem to be almost identical in my mind except the HR uses a different pulley and outputs at a higher amperage (110A vs 150A).
Owned a 4th gen 4runner for over 10 years. Boring to drive and look at, but it took a lot of abuse and never gave me any problems. It only had to be towed once due to the alternator going out on me 50 miles from home.
Don\u2019t do the alternator until it dies, it\u2019s an easy job because it\u2019s the first thing you see when you open the hood. It takes as long to get the plastic cover off and the belt off then to get the alt out although you may need a pry bar to wiggle it out.
The alternator on my 2019 Forte failed.
I bought a used one with 20k miles on it, an new idler and tensioner pulley for around $350. Installed it all myself.
If anyone is curious, the 120a Bosch and Valeo alternators (rectangle ground connection) are completely interchangeable despite the statements online saying they have different pullies and mounting points. They are slightly different but everything lines/bolts up the same. The Bosch (left) is a decent amount larger in size, not sure why, but it fits perfectly with no clearance issues.
Right on schedule, about 7 months later, that reman also went out and I decided to pay more to get the Duralast Gold which is all new. That one lasted about a year and a half but then the bearings went out on it, but I don't think that issue was the alternator's fault because after I replaced it, I found out the Harmonic Balancer had lost its integrity and was wobbling a little. Again, not sure what caused what (did the bearings put extra pressure on the aging balancer or did the balancer go out and damage the alternator?), but all I can say is that since replacing the harmonic balancer and using the Duralast Gold alternator, I have not had any issues for over 2 years now.
I bought a brand new, OEM Bosch alternator from Rock Auto. A week back I started noticing a bearing squeak sound in the engine on startup... Later got another battery light... Today was driving and lost power steering suddenly and got battery light again. Pulled over as the car was getting hot quickly. Opened the hood and the serpentine belt was shredded. Alternator was completely seized and had burnt belt on the pulley. Got it towed home.
I had a bosch alternator in my Mark 2.. 8valve motor. I noticed the battery was not being charged. so instead of dealing with the voltage regulator or brushes etc, b/c the unit was old I decided to go with a brand new one. making me think i should have ponied up to the Bosch.
Write your review about alternator
Help others - share your experience with this part.