alternator advice
 

I have a 2001 Silverado 1500 5.3L ext cab and the alternator bearing is going out. It still has the stock delphi 105 amp alternator in it and it needs to be replaced asap. Is it recommended to replace it with the oem delphi alternator, or is anybody aware of an alternative/upgrade? I'm also considering taking it to get rebuilt to save cost. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for the help. Great forum!

Personally, I'd have it rebuilt by an alternator shop, or just go get a unit from autozone/advanced auto/O'reilly's/napa/car quest etc.

I had a 91 chevy and when the alternator went out at 100,000 miles I bought a life time warranty unit at Kragen, it went out at 10,000 and the only place close by was an Autozone so I bought a lifetime warranty one from them. It lasted about 10,000 and for the next several years I alternated between the two about every 10,000 miles until I finally went to the local chevy dealer and got a replacement. My son has the truck now and the chevy alternator has about 80,000 on it. Basically in my experience a lifetime warranty means you'll be replacing it for a lifetime. But at least it doesn't cost anything except time.

Thanks for the response guys. I am leery about some of the brands that some of these big auto parts stores carry, and I'm sure some of these are the "lifetime warranty" units TMW mentioned. Most of these are re manufactured anyway, so I'll probably pull it today and either replace the bearing (if possible) or take it to my local alternator shop for replacement or a rebuild. Thanks again. I'll post an update later.

I bought a 130 amp new one from Advance 4 years ago for my 2001 and have not had a problem since.