You should be able to install bearings in an alternator. I believe those are the same as 6203 "please check the number" (that also goes into AC idler). Buy NSK, NTN, NACHI, SKF or TIMKEN bearing. Unbranded will last 10K miles or less.

Remove the pulley nut, four 8 mm long bolts and pull the front cover and armature. There should be two bearings at either end of the armature.

Get the OEM brush kit ($15ish) . Aftermarket brushes won't generate the proper voltage when fully loaded with accessories. Toyota products and quality control is amazing.

well I walked into Napa to pick up my Napa Alt and asked if they can get the Denso also and sure enough they could for an extra $65. I'm picking it up tomorrow. Peace of mind is worth $65 to me. thanks everyone. I might try rebuilding my old one too just to have a spare. It's less pressure to rebuild when you don't need it right away.

thanks for the heads up of not getting a reman but at least try to rebuild it

Again, remans are fine. Just make sure it's a reman of an OEM alternator.

let me clarify that you can "order" Denso from whatever parts store, just have to ask. Having worked for a Autoparts chain,anything with a lifetime warranty is almost guaranteed not to last. doesn't matter if its alternators,starters, chassis parts etc. Since Advance is in the Worldpac spectrum,you can almost certainly find the original OEM part,may not be available same day but you can get it.

well I picked up my new remanufactured Denso. Made in USA from Napa. I've taken out my old original alt but had to stop as I couldn't feel my fingers anymore. My garage is about 34 degrees right now. Took about 20 minutes in the cold to remove it. I had called the dealer and various shops to save myself the effort in the cold but they all wanted 450-500 in labor! Which on this part is absolutely insane. More updates once I can feel my fingers.

When I worked at a shop over my summers a few years back, even name brand alternators became hit/miss. Nearly all are rebuilt in Mexico. I don't think Mexican labor is a bad thing, but the parts used in a rebuild along with quality control are very spotty which just gives "made in Mexico" a bad rep. I remember opening some Hitachis and Densos only to see "remanufactured in Mexico"on the sticker. Not inspiring.

One year ago my original alt finally wore out at 311k miles by the brushes wearing through the slip rings. I decided to buy a used oem alt from LKQ junkyard from their ebay website. They had an oem alt with about 90k miles on it for $50 delivered. I received it a few days later and replaced the brushes before I installed it. The minimal wear on the brushes and slip ring were consistent with an alt with only 90k miles. Has worked flawlessly since then.

Success. Tested with the multimeter. And no awe-full squeal.

The new Alternator. My old one does spin so maybe the bearing are still good. It's not a smooth as the new one but not bad.

Good to know that at least these specific Densos are USA remans. Then again, they build ford exploders in the USA.. hahaha

I was reading this thread today, just ordered the same alternator from RockAuto.

I did look to rebuild, but just doing the brushes wouldn't have been enough for me. I would have wanted to do the bearings too, and send the housing and pully out for sandblast / powder coat (i get that stuff for a pretty reasonable charge - probably 15-20 dollars for this job).

The final straw was when I looked at the FSM, and saw press work for the bearings (which I do have the press), but by the time I calculated the cost of all the OEM parts, my time for the repair (including press work), and the cost of refinishing the exterior bits, it just seemed easier to buy the reman'd Denso unit from Rock ($120 after $34 core charge return)...

450-500 labor to swap an alternator. on a 4runner....man im in the wrong biz

Good choice on the alternator. I do this for a living and I mostly buy rotating remanned stuff from NAPA. There are no new OEM starters, alternators, A/C compressors, etc for any vehicle older than a couple of years old. After that is factory reman. Any new alternator, starter, etc that you buy at the parts store is made in China. Better to use remanufactured original equipment. Napa has this line of parts packaged as Altrom that are actually OEM parts and they are usually priced in between their economy and premium lines.

Just went through three remanufactured Toyota/Denso alternators for my 2000 4Runner Limited from Titus Wil Toyota dealership in Tacoma WA, every one of them had bad diodes right out of the box, returned.

Perhaps try your luck with RockAuto if you ever need another one in the future.

Sent from my SM-T220 using Tapatalk