Denso vs. ? Alternator 2007 4.0L non-obvious

[cognus]

ok, so I posted early morning on pulleys, changed them, only to discover we had misdiagnosed. Its the Alternator: original one fading fast at 165K miles. not bad...

So I thought this is easy: I'll get whatever was originally in there, a Denso. Searched for 30 minutes online, including here for obvious "this is the way to go" but no... Not seeing an obvious winner. I would be glad to upgrade, I'm not trying to go cheap, I'm down for longevity and performance.

What should I buy? Toyota dealers [I talked to Camelback Toyota parts] sell one unit for the job, a reman of the OEM. He claims all parts but the case are replaced. Looking around online, there are more than one Denso unit for the application, specific for the yr/model/trim/motor - some get good reviews, some get dismal reviews due to early life fail. From Camelback, the part is $300 with an offer to reduce via core kickback of about 43 bucks once you are done fooling with it. That for comparison purposes.

also see: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sx_as?...527021263&vehicle=2007-76-1005------------3-1

What did you do? What's the right one? Is there really much diff between them or are they all using the same electronics package, bearings, etc [I doubt]... ?

help me pls

 

[cognus]

Rock Auto lists several. The upper $ range are Bosch and AC Delco, all are reman except for one new AC Delco.

also I really don't want to do any rewiring - just plug and play

 

[riceandpho]

how much electrical accessory have you add? planing to add more? a high output alternator is the way to go if you have a large load. but for oem replacement , try the junk yard if you want, then take the old worn one out and have it rebuild to output a little more.

 

[Bumbo]

I agree with the high output if you need it, but if I was going to order from Rock Auto looking for an OE replacement I would get that reman Denso.

 

[cognus]

I would like to add an inverter [is that the right term?] at some point to have 120v socket but at the present, it is pure stock other than upgraded bulbs here and there. no seat heaters etc.
It looks like all the current choices are 130. I had read somewhere here that the original for the generation was 100. I need to look at the one on my truck now and see what the part num is. But, I guess I am leaning toward the Denso, it just looks like there may be several, if not many, re-builders of Denso units and the result is mixed - some good, some fatally bad.

 

[riceandpho]

the brushes and bearing is the part people replace, i'd take the stock alternator and have a pro rebuild it, since you know its yours and its oem.

check out a local yard and pull one off any 4.0 engine.

 

[ZiaMan]

I went through the same path you did. My options were do I rebuild myself, buy reman from rockauto or OEM?

in order with notes:
1. Do I rebuild myself?
- Definitely the cheapest option out there and doesn't seem that difficult between how to guides and youtube videos. However, someone pointed out that if you have an alternator that is going out and making noise then there is a possibility that the shaft or other components that don't get rebuilt will be out of spec and you will still have a bad alternator.

2. Reman from Rockauto/Vatozone/etc
- My biggest concern was you never know if you will get a good rebuild or not. My other concern was that the warranties were anywhere from 90 days to lifetime but you still have to remove and reinstall. If Rockauto then you are dealing with shipping time on top of it.

3. Toyota Reman
- This is what I went with. At the end of the day I trust Toyota to provide a high quality rebuild that I don't have to worry about. Also there is a 1 year warranty which seems to be the best of both worlds - longer than 3 months and not lifetime, both which scream to me you will replace me. If it didn't say reman there is no way you would be able to tell, it looks truly brand new. I also caught a 15% off discount from partznet which brought it down to the $220 range (plus they are local to me so I could just pick it up). At that point the price difference between top of the line rock auto and toyota was not as much and worth it to me.
TL: DR - buy once, cry once

 

[cognus]

as it turned out my OEM alternator sorta made the decision for me.
Wednesday about noonish IIRC I set out to go work a job nearby and about 2 miles out the charge fail indicator came on the dash :suspicious:
so it was toasted and had been draining the battery.

btw - mechanic #2 says that this kind of failure is an electronic one: neither brushes nor bearings [it was quiet to listen to, except for that characteristic whine/moan].

so, I needed to make a 140 mile round trip that day, and the ONLY alt I could find and lay hands on was the CarQuest one from Advance. Boom... got it, got it installed, and we're done ... with a 20% discount for ordering online then picking up local. i still have the core in my 4runner