Its been 3 weeks since replacing the $90 remanned alternator ,yesterday It failed.Today I went the the local Oreilleys and the guy at the counter gives me the news that I was sold the wrong alternator.He shows me on the screen the right one ,but right above it is the cheaper unit.He doesnt explain why this one is offered just that its the wrong one,the right one cost $125 and will be installed sat.Ive been round and round with the alternator issue on another car ,this guy seems to have found the reason .I still have no answer on why they offer this cheaper alt. if its not up to snuff for the mb diesel car.

When I look at the O'Reilly website, I see a 55 amp alternator and a 65 amp alternator. Did you initially buy the 55 amp version?

(Be mindful that the offerings on the O'Reilly site are geographically tailored.)

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When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

Yup,comparing the 2 the 65 amp looks well made.

I used them for a 2001 Chrysler replacement. 1st ones bearings lasted about 3 months... 2nd one lasted about 6 months. Had a shop r&r the unit and it took O'reillys about 8 months to refund the labor.

Both the O'reilly units looked like junk.

The 3rd unit came from Advanced about 3 1/2 yrs ago. It actually looked like an alternator out of the box too.

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Overhauled parts from the chain parts stores are frequently more trouble than they are worth. If time permits, repairing you original alternator is likely a much safer bet that a rebuilt from south of the border or the other side of the planet. Bearings and brushes are easy DIY. Worn commutator rings can be machined or replaced by an auto electric shop at a very reasonable cost. Same with bad diodes and most internal issues.

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When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

Two years ago, I installed a.$90 Pep-Boys 55-amp. reman in my '82 240D. Big Mistake! Usually Pep has a decent line of Bosch replacements, but in my case they only had this 'white-box' special. It started going intermittent after a few months, but of course when Pep tested it, it worked fine, so no refund. (The slip-rings and regulator brushes were never lined up properly, but I couldn't tell them that!)
So my friend Chuck Taylor gave me a couple old used Bosch alternators he had laying round his garage. The smaller 65-amp unit bolted right in the 240D, while the other - a 100+ amp unit of unknown origin - wound up last year in my Euro 300TD, after a new regulator and wiring upgrade. Both are still working great. Thanks again, Chuck!

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Chain auto stores are highly price competitive and when most car owners only have their cars 30-50K miles after the component is replaced, most replacements survive till then. ( No new info here. )

I have taken to having the MB OEM starter/alternator being rebuilt by a trusted shop. The guy I use does mostly truck & bus work. He is happy with an alternator which does not weigh 100+ lbs.

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Gary
Experience is something you get, Just after you needed it....
'99 E300 295K, '83 300D 220K, '75 240D 185K sold
'80 MCI Bus Conv DD 6V92TA, w/4 cyl. Kubota diesel GenSet 12.5KW

Purchased an NSA alternator for my 96E300D about two years ago, and have had zero problems with it. Only thing I had to do was to change over the pulley from the old to the new, and that was it. Price was competitive with a rebuilt , and the quality seems higher than the ones offered from the regular parts store.


Starters & Alternators, NSA Corp-The Best Solution for NEW Starters & Alternators Company Info

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96 E300d

Buy the German re manufactured Bosch unit from this site and it will last forever with no issues. We have had 4 of them in service for years...0 issues. Same goes for starters. You get what you pay for at the chain stores with their "Malaysian rebuilds"

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Here in the NoVa-DC area (Yuppieland) it's become harder to find a quality rebuilder for car-parts, as the local market is more biased towards office support and computers.
The Bosch line at Pep-Boys is still pretty decent, but it's only stocked for mainstream vehicles, so I got stuck with the 'white-box' special.
I guess my only satisfaction is the dead alternator that came on my 240D (also a rebuilt!) had the pulley jammed so tight, I had to beat the $#*+ out of the shaft to free it, so it might not have been much good as a core.
They gave me the core refund anyway!

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

El Cheapo rebuilds aren't really fully rebuilt. I strongly suspect that the unit is dismantled, a quick squint at what part actually made it stop worked is carried out. Only the broken part is swapped(and not always with a new part either). So, now it works, but the bearing didn't get changed, the slip rings are still worn, etc, etc. It's just a collection of worn but somewhat functional bits that will fail anytime.

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I choose to be happy, even when the Mercedes is being awkward, lol

Always bench test mcparts store part before installation. Sometimes they are bad out of the box. I try to avoid them completely but sometimes price, time frame whatever overcome my resistance. They fail more frequently than OEM (not OEM brand) parts but sometimes they run a long time.

The O'Reilly alt on my 00 Diesel Ram is still going strong. The crank sensor on the Ram is still working after 2 failed Cummins parts. The SD calipers took 2 installs to get working. I hate the feeling of installing parts simply for practice sake.

The price of quality manufacturing appears disproportionate to the cost. Unfortunately, it is becoming more difficult to find quality.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Fortunately with my non-turbo diesels, unless there some issue like a broken or seized mounting-bolt in the bracket, it's not that difficult to change an alternator.
Unfortuately, the fault with my Pep-Boys altenator didn't show up until a few months after I installed it. Which is a common problem I have with aftermarket parts nowadays. But I suspect some of the OE stuff has declined in quality too.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Back together and so far so good ,I still havent tested it on the meter so Im running close to home for the time being.I usually have another car to jump into and would spend the time and money at Fastlane but I might just go ahead and order one from here for the future, it might come sooner than expected with the history on the rebuilt junk these parts stores or handing over the counter.If it goes out Ill be asking for a replacement ,a replacement of my money and time.