Alternator OEM FORD or Duralast

The Taurus alternator and 2 speed e-fan come to mind as the two most common parts that people pickup from junkyards and slap them on to their cars.

Replaced the 2017 ACDelco alt with a Duralast Gold 160 Amp. Life time warranty. For 200 bucks at Auto zone. Hope this is the last one I buy.

Had the same issue with my -07 Volvo v50 (it has a ford engine). Swapped the alternator and the problem was gone.

I replaced the alternator on my Windstar last month. Disconnect the wires, remove 3 bolts and lift it out. Takes like 10 minutes or less.

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.

It was in fact a Duralast dud! One more example of a “new” alternator being broken out of the box.

I had a new remanufactured duralast alternator as well that I thought was defective but I kept following the power cable off the alternator and found the fusible link.

Had issues with every single Ford alt I replaced (from autozone, Napa, Oriellys) didn’t matter. Only had luck with either dealer parts or from a local rebuilder.

I once went through 3 alternators in 2 days from the Ford dealer on one job.

Go with a new OEM. I had a Ford E250 I put a remanufactured one in and it lasted like 2000 miles and gave out.