I have owned this car since 1999 and have had very few problems. It has 103000 miles. Lately it has not been charging the battery. I have replaced the battery but I think I need a new alternator. Can I get a recommendation for the best replacement and should I go new or rebuilt?

 

A Denso rebuilt would be better than a generic new one. A new oem would be best.

But you are throwing parts at it instead of troubleshooting. If you are not able to troubleshoot, its often cheaper to pay a pro, since you won't go through as many parts before you happen to get the right one.

Troubleshooting charging system is as easy as getting a $10 voltmeter, and check battery voltage at idle. It should be getting around 14v-14.5v charge from alternator.

With engine off a healthy battery should be around 12.6v. At 12v its mostly dead. Those .6v make a huge difference. Of course, battery might read ok and struggle with a load, so a load test will really tell you if battery is ok. Most places that sell batteries will do this for free. Good to know for next time.

Meanwhile, check your charging voltage and get back to us. Maybe its not a charging problem but a current leak problem, where something is using juice even when car is off, draining battery. If so, an alternator would be a huge waste of money.

 

Voltage regulator, rectifier, and brushes are what you need to overhaul it. Usually the bearing lasts.

Not hard to do at all.

 

My original is still good but I'd go this route when the time comes. I'd much rather source replacement Denso parts and keep the original alternator going than swapping it out for a generic.