Replacement alternator

[PFX]

Hi,

I've had a faint 'whirring/whining' sound coming from behind the driver seat pretty much since I bought my Boxster a year ago, and after a long process of elimination I am fairly certain it's the alternator (bearing or pulley, likely).

Therefore I am planning to replace my alternator and am trying to source a replacement unit, preferably a remanufactured Bosch or Lucas (brands which I know and have learnt to trust over the years) in the absence of a recommendation for other brands, from someone who does not just flog alternators but can at least confirm with some certainty that the replacement unit will fit, which would be a rather useful thing.

Has anyone replaced their alternator, and where did you get your replacement unit from? What brand was it, and did it fit as expected? And, did you encounter any major issues when replacing your alternator (apart from removing that one bolt which seems tricky to remove)?

Thanks in advance!

NB- I have had a quote from a company from Lancs, but unfortunately I think I have upset the poor guy on the phone when I started asking silly questions (I do that a lot) about the brand they'd supply as their quote did not say (he told me they get them from 'various sources' which I would not even have heard of, and so they sell them under their own brand; which I did not find particularly useful). And, when I said I'd  prefer to know what I'd be paying for (terrible, I know) and ideally wanted a brand such as Bosch or Lucas, the poor guy seemed to get even more upset, and told me they were twice as expensive (300.- he said, a real shocker) and pledged to send a new quote before ending the conversation rather abruptly. Not sure I want to risk upsetting them any further....🙄

[TROOPER88]

West Lancs electrics. Apologise for being silly and move on, I have had loads of alternators from them and never had a problem. 

 

First class

[PFX]

Thanks Trooper, that is exactly what I am going to do (move on, that is 🙃)

[DaveEFI]

On 5/18/2021 at 12:18 PM, PFX said:

Hi,

I've had a faint 'whirring/whining' sound coming from behind the driver seat pretty much since I bought my Boxster a year ago, and after a long process of elimination I am fairly certain it's the alternator (bearing or pulley, likely).

Therefore I am planning to replace my alternator and am trying to source a repla cement unit, preferably a remanufactured Bosch or Lucas (brands which I know and have learnt to trust over the years) in the absence of a recommendation for other brands, from someone who does not just flog alternators but can at least confirm with some certainty that the replacement unit will fit, which would be a rather useful thing.

Has anyone replaced their alternator, and where did you get your replacement unit from? What brand was it, and did it fit as expected? And, did you encounter any major issues when replacing your alternator (apart from removing that one bolt which seems tricky to remove)?

Thanks in advance!

NB- I have had a quote from a company from Lancs, but unfortunately I think I have upset the poor guy on the phone when I started asking silly questions (I do that a lot) about the brand they'd supply as their quote did not say (he told me they get them from 'various sources' which I would not even have heard of, and so they sell them under their own brand; which I did not find particularly useful). And, when I said I'd  prefer to know what I'd be paying for (terrible, I know) and ideally wanted a brand such as Bosch or Lucas, the poor guy seemed to get even more upset, and told me they were twice as expensive (300.- he said, a real shocker) and pledged to send a new quote before ending the conversation rather abruptly. Not sure I want to risk upsetting them any further....🙄

The UK Lucas company ceased to exist many years ago. The brand is now far east owned, and many of the reproductions far poorer quality than original. Some alternators have alternatives from different makers, but to the same OEM quality.  A remanufactured unit - unless it comes from the maker - may contain non OEM parts, regardless of the name on the outside.

[PFX]

13 minutes ago, DaveEFI said:

The UK Lucas company ceased to exist many years ago. The brand is now far east owned, and many of the reproductions far poorer quality than original. Some alternators have alternatives from different makers, but to the same OEM quality.  A remanufactured unit - unless it comes from the maker - may contain non OEM parts, regardless of the name on the outside.

That's great info, many thanks!

Trying to get quality parts can be a minefield these days with so much being produced (and imitated) in cheap labour countries and without the same quality (control) standards of days past. Adding to this, it's not unusual for the retail price of goods of lower quality to be as high as the original or OEM counterpart.

This is why I ask for advice and try to be selective rather than just take whatever someone tries to flog me as 'that'll do'.....😉

[DaveEFI]

On 5/21/2021 at 11:05 AM, PFX said:

That's great info, many thanks!

Trying to get quality parts can be a minefield these days with so much being produced (and imitated) in cheap labour countries and without the same quality (control) standards of days past. Adding to this, it's not unusual for the retail price of goods of lower quality to be as high as the original or OEM counterpart.

This is why I ask for advice and try to be selective rather than just take whatever someone tries to flog me as 'that'll do'.....😉

The alternative is to have your own alternator fixed. Replacing the front bearing usually not too difficult a job. But of course that means the car off the road for longer. Or buy a good used OEM from Ebay, etc. If you can find the Bosch part number, a brand new one from a Bosch dealer likely to be cheaper than Porsche spares.

[PFX]

 

4 hours ago, DaveEFI said:

The alternative is to have your own alternator fixed. Replacing the front bearing usually not too difficult a job. But of course that means the car off the road for longer. Or buy a good used OEM from Ebay, etc. If you can find the Bosch part number, a brand new one from a Bosch dealer likely to be cheaper than Porsche spares.

Thanks that's good to know. I was thinking about it but was not sure how much of a fuff it may be to replace the bearing, and since I have to do it on my drive in the absence of a cosy garage I think I will opt for an OEM or stick with CPS.