Alternator Motorcraft or AC DELCO
The OEM motorcraft alternator in my focus lasted 14 years and its replacement, a Remy, lasted 6. If the difference in price between OEM and aftermarket isn't too big, and you plan on keeping the car for more than 5 more yrs, I'd go with the OEM.
Personally the AcDelco would be my top choice here with these options going new and not a reman.
If those are your only options you're gonna go with, Remy or ACDELCO. Keep in mind the ACDELCO is not made by ACDELCO and is just rebranded. But has a warranty and decent support.
RockAuto does offer Motorcraft alternators and back in 2021, I purchased one for my 2016 5.0 Lariat.
When it comes to an Alt i would spend the extra dough for an OEM model like Motorcraft. Nothing wrong with Rock Auto. I always buy there.
Dealer quoted me $557 for my 15 f150 alternator the other day. Found the same motorcraft alternator for $325-ish (+a $75 core charge). A little less painful. I share them same feelings as a couple other posters. Been burned by enough cheap-o remans over the years to skimp on certain parts.
Depends on if you want the cheapest store brand they make or OEM quality Motorcraft. I’ve gone through enough cheap alternators in my life that I only mess with OEM anymore.
On rock auto I see new alternators from ac delco. Not sure about any of those brands.
The issue you can run into is most common vehicle alternators are light duty at best. Lets say its a 100 amp alt, don't pull more than 40 amps continuous. A great example is the AC Delco 10si alternator. Loads of cheap knock offs and copies of that alternator all claiming crazy high amperage but none list the duty cycle. The 10si frame is designed for 40 amps of power and the heat that creates. You might be able to get a little more cooling with a better fan but you won't get 100+ amps out of one.
Another good way to tell your alternator is going is the battery light illumination. I noticed as I drove to higher RPM's, used the vents or even used windows with more power gave more illumination of the battery light. Tested the alternator at a shop and found it to be weak, battery was fine.
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