Alternator for 99Q

[ZMARKUS]

Hey Q owners,
Need to replace alternator on Q. Despite the long the life of original, I'm not trying to pay OE price now. what aftermarket brand would be fine at least year or would a use OE be better. Thanks

[Skibane]

If you can find a rebuilt sold by Hitachi, you should be GTG.

ETA: Looks like Rock Auto stocks them.

Another option is to have a local starter/alternator shop rebuild your old one.

[BadQ45t]

Buy OE, they last forever, my 97 is still original, this will be the last one you ever buy

[ZMARKUS]

They do last a long time. This is original that has gone out 16-17yrs later. Can't be mad at that.

[ZMARKUS]

I thought rebuilt Hitachi would a winner as well but my mechanic said they've had issues with them to their surprise. He recommends a good used or new original. He's not confident in any particular aftermarket.

[Q451990]

In the absence of a good recommendation for something different, I'd order the Hitachi from Rock Auto (or wherever you can find the best deal). I replaced the one in my Frontier last summer, and it was drop shipped directly to me from Hitachi's remanufacturing facility in KY. As far as I know, the factory part you'd buy at a dealership is a remanufactured Hitachi just like what you'd buy from Rock Auto.

[ZMARKUS]

After giving it more thought I opted for original new replacement. That relieved any anxiety I had from my family having a breakdown from an unwise decision to save money this particular time. How is that Hitachi doing in your Frontier nowadays?

[ZMARKUS]

That resonated so true that I replaced it with OE.

[BadQ45t]

There are some parts you mess with and some you don't. I put a POS one into my wife's car years ago from someone that I thought was a trusted mechanic and in 13 months she broke down again. Needless to say I have never gone back to that shop as they didn't warranty it.

You made the right decision.

[Q451990]

After giving it more thought I opted for original new replacement. That relieved any anxiety I had from my family having a breakdown from an unwise decision to save money this particular time. How is that Hitachi doing in your Frontier nowadays?

It's doing fine. My original one failed prematurely due to a very slow coolant drip that happened to be right above it. So yeah... we're all guilty of unwise decisions from time to time.