I have a 98 i30. At 128K, I put on a NEW, not rebuilt alternator from NAPA. I am now at 136K and its starting to make a grinding noise. Its only been in about 9 months. Since I should get a free replacement, is there a certain brand you guys recommend? I can't believe this is screwed up already. I thought NAPA made quality parts.

 

ive had friends that had good luck wit bosch reman.....and i think napa has them....all remans are hit or miss but ive seen bosch work fine..matter of fact, still are and its been a few yrs now!

 

You sure you didn't overtighten the drive belt too much and cause premaure bearing failure?

 

Before you posted here, you should have called Napa and found out its warranty coverage.

 

More Info.... There is a Honda mechanic, Robert, that lives a few doors down the street from me. He was over when the pulley bearings on the original alternator failed. He picked a new alternator up for me at the parts house he uses and said it was a Napa part & it was marked that way. I installed it. I tend to under tighten belts because I don't want to ruin the bearings. The belt did squeal when I started the car and I slowly tightened it until it quit squealing. When I was done, Robert took a look at it and said it was good to go. I checked out the noise with a stethoscope, it is from inside the alternator. It is louder at start up but quiets down when the engine warms up. It has a year warranty on it, so I should be able to switch it out. I am just disappointed because the car ran so quietly before that you couldn't tell that the engine was on. It's a great car.

 

I just was curious brand of alternator I should have gotten that you guys would recommend. I value your guys opinions.

 

Fixed that for ya???

Otherwise, very good point

 

Update..... the alternator started making a loud noise Saturday morning. On Tuesday as quickly as the noise started it has stopped. I am stumped. It is as quiet now as a ***** on Sunday. I don't know what the cause was. The neighbor mechanic brought a belt tension gauge from work and checked the belt last night. It was a little high (24 lbs), 22 lbs is the spec, so we loosened the belt a tad. But the car is back to its old quiet. I am happy. Maybe some crud got into the cooling vents and made noise, I don't know. Anyway, should I need another alt in another 100K, I will see what's on the market then.

 

Maybe a dry bearing until it warmed up like a ***** at a Politician/lawyer Convention! Funny thing I just replaced a 99 Altima's altenator with a really nice junkyard unit for $30 and that altenator was laying down 14.1 Volts with all the accessories on and the brakes applied! That Kid was happy as hell! He didn't have to cough up $100-$200 for an Altenator rebuilt or New!