Alternators

How long (in terms of mileage) does an alternator last?

I have a 1998 Honda Civic EX sedan.

 

It's generally the alternator brushes, and not the whole
alternator say, that are most likely to fail at this point,
assuming the alternator has not had anything else go wrong.

See http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lioness/id13.html for
more discussion, reflecting a fair amount of what's been
posted here in the past.

 

Failure on my 98 civic LX occured at 178000kms (110000mi). Failure mode was
the bearings. They failed, which allowed the center shaft to shift. This
caused to rotor to dig into the copper stator assembly, making a rebuild less
than economical.

I actually replaced it with an alternator from the wrecker. $95 for a unit
with only 118000kms (73000mi) on it.

t

 

100-150k, depending on use. on some makes [denso], you can replace
brushes as a cheapo life extension. on others [mitsubishi], you can't
and your only option is replacement. unless you're into recreational
alternator repair, just get a reconditioned unit from a reputable source
that offers decent warranties.

 

you should come to norcal. you can get alternators, sometimes _new_
ones if you're lucky, from junkyards for $35.

 

at the time, $35 US was about $95 canadian.... lol

Also, just a note, that the failure mode I listed had a noticeable whine
before it failed for quite some time. Only upon disassembly did I discover
that the stator was beyond repair...

t

 

maybe next time your car tries to tell you something you should listen to
it, putting new bearings in the alternator is fairly easy and costs less
than a whole new alternator.

 

Here is my experience with Honda alternators:

'74 Civic 70K sold with original alternator still operational.
'80 Accord 85K sold with original alternator still operational.
'86 Integra 115K sold with original alternator still operational.
'94 Integra GS-R 161K still running on original alternator
'98 Odyssey 85K still running on original alternator

In 33 years of Honda ownership I have never replaced an alternator.
YMMV.

 

By the time the noise was noticeable it was too late. The whine was the
stator being eaten away.

 

`86 accord 90,000 miles and 150,000 miles alternator replacements
mred

 

im wondering if a battery thats getting weaker can strain the alternator and
cause it to go bad.

-jeff

 

it most definitely can. I would say more often than not that the battery and
alternator are replaced at the same time.

 

I second that, and will even hazard a number: 150K miles is a rough life
expectancy for alternator brushes. I've seen them go beyond 200K miles, but
150K miles or 200K km is a ballpark figure. 100K miles or 150K km is
premature IMO. For the rest of the alternator I think most last the life of
the car (but not all do by any means.) Aftermarket alternators are a whole
different thing, too.