What brand replacement alternator did you install & what was the year, mileage?

[mpd13078]

I have a 2002 TB that I purchased, first owner was a lease, with 35K miles in spring of 2004. I now have 130K miles on it & may have to replace the original alternator. When I slow down to a stop, the voltage gauge drops some from 14v & the headlights will dim, but will go back to normal operating voltage right afterwards. Considering a Gold Duralast from Autozone. Opinions?

 

[Wooluf1952]

I replaced mine with a Remy Tough One (PN 91609) from Advanced Auto. A lttle over two years with no problems.

 

[smt 59]

Make sure that it is the alternator before replacing as all these trucks do this, if you do need to replace it make sure it is a 180 amp and check battery at the same time. Do a simple check by swapping relays 45 and 46 under the hood and monitor the flickering, it should go away. A good shop will deal with a local rebuilder and replace with OEM.

 

[MAY03LT]

I had good luck with a reman'd delco from rockauto.

 

[kickass audio]

I went from the stock one to a 270a mechman unit in 2010. idr the mileage it was swapped at since I didn't make note of that stuff at that time. It lasted 4 years and then the bearing on the rear of the alternator literally exploded and made the rotor rub onto the stator and get so hot it was starting to burn itself up. I swapped it out with a 250a mechman alt on 10/25/14 at 134,272 miles and all has been good until the one time I had to gun it to get onto the thruway since some d-bag wouldn't let me on and I noticed that when I got my engine speed above 6000, the alt would stop charging. Turns out that I was really over-spinning the alt and if I kept doing it, I would have killed it. lol. So lesson learned, with a 1.75" diameter pulley on the alternator, do not go above 4400RPM on the dash. If you do, the alt will work until it gets too fast but its not good on the alternator. The stock alt can handle higher speeds since the pulley is larger.

With your voltage dropping down like that, you could fix it with a smaller pulley on the alternator so that you can increase the speed of the alt and get more output at idle. Downside to doing that is you need to watch how high you rev your engine.

If you want to make sure everything is alright, get your alt load tested and check the voltage ripple to make sure it isn't anything crazy and that the output level is good. If it is, you can just ignore the voltage dropping some or get a smaller pulley and smaller belt to rev up the alternator speed and fix the problem.

 

[seanpooh]

I went to the junkyard and got an alternator off a trailblazer. Mine went out around 180K.

 

[Mooseman]

My experiences with different brands. When my original one died, I bought a new CCC alternator from Prime Choice, died within a couple of months (they don't even sell them anymore). Then bought a Remy brand new alternator, died about a year later. Then I got an ACDelco rebuilt, it had voltage regulator issues out of the box. Then got a new unknown brand and it's been good for about a year and a half.

 

[bspurloc]

i got a tough one from advance.
out if box spinning it was making a dinging noise.
i chose to ignore it thinking whatever was hitting would wear off
after around 9 months it was still making the noise so i warrantied it for a replacement. its still working good.

 

[Mike w]

RE-Man from Autozone at 172k miles, just a week ago.

 

[Eric04]

I've had good results with the Genco brand. Three units for different applications within the last few years and all have been flawless. This was especially nice when replacing the unit in my wife's Uplander because it was kind of a PITA to remove and I'm in no hurry to do it again.

 

[Eric04]

In truth, her Uplander is a PITA in general...

 

[Mooseman]

In truth, her Uplander is a PITA in general...

Going off topic but I have to ask. I have a 2008 Montana SV6 (better looking sister of the Uplander) and it's been the most reliable vehicle we have ever had. Problems we've had since new are the battery, rear wiper motor and front end links. It has 154k km. What problems have you had apart from the alternator?

 

[Sparky]

I replaced my OEM on my 02 at 127k with a Remy (I think). The output was fine on my original but the bearings started screaming. That was about 78k and nearly 4 years ago. No issues since.

 

[Eric04]

Going off topic but I have to ask. I have a 2008 Montana SV6 (better looking sister of the Uplander) and it's been the most reliable vehicle we have ever had. Problems we've had since new are the battery, rear wiper motor and front end links. It has 154k km. What problems have you had apart from the alternator?

I suppose what has been most annoying about the Uplander is the intermittent nature of its mechanical faults. Dash lights come and go A LOT. Mostly ABS but security at times too. Radio quit early on. Would occasionally stumble upon acceleration. Couldn't get it tracked down. Eventually that turned into a high pitched whine emanating from the transmission. Not a ton of high dollar repairs, but pesky codes thrown from areas which have been addressed. I'm thinking GM wired the thing like it was a Christmas tree. [emoji12]

 

[marinegrunt]

My sister has owned an Uplander for about 4 years. The rear wiper motor has been replaced twice. She has also had issues with the abs lights coming on. I cleared the code about a year ago and it hasn't been back on since. Besides that she has had great luck with it. It's a 2006 but does have low miles. It has been a great vehicle for her.

 

[coolasice]

arent those a realy ugly mix between a minivan and a truck?

 

[Sparky]

It replaced the Venture a few years ago, but looked like a cross between the Venture (rear end) and... well not sure what they did to the front end. Was only around for a few short years before they canned it.

 

[Mooseman]

The Montana SV6 was canned in the US after 2006 but it continued in Canada until 2009 when Pontiac got axed. The Uplander did continue in the US though until 2009. These vans were spread out among all GM Divisions except Cadillac and Saab.
Chevy Uplander, Pontiac Montana SV6, Buick Terrazza and the Saturn Relay.

I suppose what has been most annoying about the Uplander is the intermittent nature of its mechanical faults. Dash lights come and go A LOT. Mostly ABS but security at times too. Radio quit early on. Would occasionally stumble upon acceleration. Couldn't get it tracked down. Eventually that turned into a high pitched whine emanating from the transmission. Not a ton of high dollar repairs, but pesky codes thrown from areas which have been addressed. I'm thinking GM wired the thing like it was a Christmas tree. [emoji12]

When yours was built, it must have been started on a Friday and finished on a Monday

We have ours up for sale now
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1041972664

 

[Eric04]

I think it was made on a holiday weekend.
Yours does look and sounds great. Others have commented on the reliability of the model as well so it could be I ended up with the bad one in the barrel. It has been the most problematic Chevy I've owned.

 

[Chucky1322]

Had mine rebuilt for about $100, went out around 200,000 miles.