I wonder if anyone else has had lousy luck with alternators. My wife has a 2003 Forester.
In March 2010, with about 86K miles, we decided to replace the head gasket on the driver's side, and rolled in a bunch of other jobs, like the timing belt and a reconditioned alternator (I think the shaft bearing was getting bad, but I don't remember exactly).
August 2012, with 105K miles, the alternator died and needed replacement. The warranty had expired, so we shelled out for a rebuilt one again.
On Saturday, (October 2013), the alternator quit on the road. Luckily we were able to limp into an Autozone and swap out the unit in the parking lot, so we're running again. (I think she only has about 115K on the car now.)
My question is: are we just really unlucky with alternators, or is there a problem with these rebuilds? I'm thinking of just replacing it every August for $115.
When the first one died, our mechanic was surprised, and said that the rebuilt ones had a good track record, but I'm wondering about that now. Notably, the unit that failed on Saturday had a loose case-assembly bolt that backed out and tore up the edge of the AC drive belt, so that needs replacement as well now.
Thanks in advance,
Tom
In March 2010, with about 86K miles, we decided to replace the head gasket on the driver's side, and rolled in a bunch of other jobs, like the timing belt and a reconditioned alternator (I think the shaft bearing was getting bad, but I don't remember exactly).
August 2012, with 105K miles, the alternator died and needed replacement. The warranty had expired, so we shelled out for a rebuilt one again.
On Saturday, (October 2013), the alternator quit on the road. Luckily we were able to limp into an Autozone and swap out the unit in the parking lot, so we're running again. (I think she only has about 115K on the car now.)
My question is: are we just really unlucky with alternators, or is there a problem with these rebuilds? I'm thinking of just replacing it every August for $115.
When the first one died, our mechanic was surprised, and said that the rebuilt ones had a good track record, but I'm wondering about that now. Notably, the unit that failed on Saturday had a loose case-assembly bolt that backed out and tore up the edge of the AC drive belt, so that needs replacement as well now.
Thanks in advance,
Tom