Heads-up on Buying Alternators

When you have a bad alternator and choose to buy a new or rebuild from a parts store, make sure it's all there!

Today someone brought in a new or rebuilt alternator they had purchased, that didn't have a pulley on it. They had returned their last alternator, that was defective, to one parts store chain, got a refund and went to another chain and got this one without a pulley, then came in to my shop looking for a pulley for it. Unfortunately, I didn't have the correct pulley and since he didn't want to wait to order one, I had to send him on his way.

This is not an uncommon practice among suppliers of alternators as one alternator may fit several different vehicles but will have different pulleys depending on the application. This way stores only have to stock one unit instead of eight or ten units to fit all the applications. His alternator fit a 98 Ford F series pickup with a V-6. It appeared that it would also fit other years of Ford pickups, Rangers and Explorers among others.

So before you turn that core in, open the box and make sure that it's all there as you may have to swap the pulley! If it were me, I'd suggest keeping the core until you have installed the new unit and made sure it's working. Loosing your original core on the outset can cause you major headaches in the long run, especially if you have to return the new unit.