Most reliable alternator for 2001 LX 470 right now? [long]

[Pyrenees]

A little background if you haven't seen my other threads. I have a 2001 LX 470 with 172k miles. It starts and drives perfectly, but I noticed that with the doors open and keys in the ignition I drained the battery rapidly (an hour) three times recently. I swapped the battery with a new Bosch 27F this week but my "charging at idle" voltage on the terminals has been 13.3 volts and the FSM suggests 13.2-14.8V is within spec. I do a lot of short trips, not long drives.

So, the idea is to swap the alternator with a reman to see if this helps. Who makes the most reliable one?

I was thinking O'Reilly since they are like 5 miles away, have the Denso 100A reman for $130 and a $65 core, so I'd be out $200. I have an Autozone, Advance, Napa and Pep Boys close enough that I could get anything from there. I know I could swap with a Sequoia 130/150 with a wiring change but I want to go stock. I've read a lot here and don't see a real reason to upgrade on a daily driver.

I am not desperate because my 100 starts and drives normally, has zero alt bearing/diode noise, but I'd like to do this in the next month or so, to try and up the charging voltage to 14+. I am keeping the core and I'm going to take it apart and try to rebuild it for a spare if I can... i.e. brushes or whatever is wrong, and get it bench tested to see if it works better.

Given that it the DIYs say it's a three hour process, I want to get a quality reman. Time is money.

Thoughts?

 

[LWA55DAL]

If you have the factory alternator with no other issues than low voltage do the BRUSHES! They are about $15 and it is a very simple job. Pull the belt, pull the power steering pump, alternator bolts, and then remove the back cover on the alternator and install the new brushes. Toyota is one of the very few manufacturers that allows the brushes to be replaced. It drives my insane to hear people talk about replacing an alternator with a reman when the factory DENSO is designed to have the brushes replaced. You can do all of this without removing the pump or alternator but make sure and disconnect the battery as you have a live feed on the alternator. I have done a number of 100’s, a 08’ Sequoia and just did the 11’ LC a couple months ago and each have gone another 50k+ without any issues. If you have a bad bearing then that’s a differ t story but low voltage - go brushes.

I’d even go so far as to suggest that anyone doing a water pump shou,d do the brushes st the same time. It’s cheap insurance and very easy when you have to pull everything anyway.

I spent 5 summers in a Porsche, BMW and Mercedes shop and we rarely ever replaced a factory alternator. 90% of the time we could do brushes and away you go. I saw many cars with 300k+ on the original alternator and new brushes every 50k.

Please note that dust alone can cause issues so make sure and use comlpressed air and blow out the entire area before you install the new brushes. If you have been on dusty roads - you can also try just blowing out the area and seeing if that helps, but with the miles - likely brushes.

 

[Pyrenees]

If you have the factory alternator with no other issues than low voltage do the BRUSHES! They are about $15 and it is a very simple job. Pull the belt, pull the power steering pump, alternator bolts, and then remove the back cover on the alternator and install the new brushes. Toyota is one of the very few manufacturers that allows the brushes to be replaced. It drives my insane to hear people talk about replacing an alternator with a reman when the factory DENSO is designed to have the brushes replaced. You can do all of this without removing the pump or alternator but make sure and disconnect the battery as you have a live feed on the alternator. I have done a number of 100’s, a 08’ Sequoia and just did the 11’ LC a couple months ago and each have gone another 50k+ without any issues. If you have a bad bearing then that’s a differ t story but low voltage - go brushes.

I’d even go so far as to suggest that anyone doing a water pump shou,d do the brushes st the same time. It’s cheap insurance and very easy when you have to pull everything anyway.

I spent 5 summers in a Porsche, BMW and Mercedes shop and we rarely ever replaced a factory alternator. 90% of the time we could do brushes and away you go. I saw many cars with 300k+ on the original alternator and new brushes every 50k.

Please note that dust alone can cause issues so make sure and use comlpressed air and blow out the entire area before you install the new brushes. If you have been on dusty roads - you can also try just blowing out the area and seeing if that helps, but with the miles - likely brushes.

Thanks for the info. I was not aware that you could partially disassemble things to get the brushes out. Every DIY I've seen so far requires complete removal of the alternator to remove the brushes. I haven't seen any crazy voltage fluctuations, so I'm guessing that the voltage regulator isn't dying (the last time I had a regulator die, my Volvo alternator fluctuated between 11V and 14V randomly). I just did the TB/WP a thousand miles ago.

It sounds like you're saying I don't have to fully remove the alt for the brushes. I've never done brushes but I watched a couple youtube videos where the alt was on a bench. Would it be easier to just remove it and put on a bench at that point? Or can I really do the brushes quicker on the car? I might give that a shot instead.

 

[Hokie LX]

FWIW, I did a Denso on my 2003 LX when my stock one died. That was 2 years ago and haven't had any issues so far. I kept the stocker though and have been meaning to put new brushes in it but haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Choosing anything Else would be UN-civilized............

 

[abuck99]

Your charging rate seems normal, not warranting an Alt change IMO. If youre driving mainly lots of short trips your battery will never fully charge, and over time will loose some Ah capacity as a result.

Suggest that you invest in a good battery management charger and plug it in every few weeks to condition and fully charge your battery.

CTEK makes a very good line of smart chargers.
https://smartercharger.com/

 

[Pyrenees]

Ordered the OEM brush assembly 27370-75060. For $25 and an afternoon, it's worth a shot. Will report back.

 

[LWA55DAL]

There are 4 bolts (10mm I think)that hold the cover on the back of the alternator. Once you have those removed you just unscrew the two philips heads that hold in the brushes and replace them. It can easily be done with the alternator still connected to the battery cables but you will need to pull the bolts to get good working access. Make sure and blow it all out with air before you reassemble.

Make sure and disconnect the battery otherwise you may get a nice spark when moving the alternator around.

Good luck!

 

[SHIfTHEAD]

"I noticed that with the doors open and keys in the ignition I drained the battery rapidly (an hour) three times recently"

That sounds like a weak battery as the root of your problem. However, if you only tested your alternator at idle then I'd recommend you test at higher RPMs too. The output of the alternator will increase as RPMs increase, putting a higher load on the regulator/rectifier. So if you are reading 13.3v at idle but have a diode that is failing at higher load, theoretically you could be seeing lower voltage at a higher RPM (if that diode is sending that phase to ground all the time at higher RPM). Purely theoretical, but easy to test. Have someone rev to 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000 and hold them there while you check voltage at the battery. Or position the voltmeter so you can see from the cabin and do it yourself.

 

[Pyrenees]

Many thanks to those who suggested I just replace the alternator brushes rather than the whole thing. I just followed this guide for my 2001 LX 470 today: LC or LX470 Alternator replacement how to

The brushes were very easy to replace, although getting the alternator out was a huge PITA. Part number 27370-75060 for the brushes. $25 from the toyota parts counter and I went from 13.2V at the terminals to 14.1V while charging. The old brushes were very worn down and looked to be original at 172k miles.

I decided to take a chance and replace the brushes based on this logic...

- If it were a blown diode, it would have been whining.
- If it were bearings, it would make noise and/or not spin smoothly.
- If it were the voltage regulator, I would see inconsistent voltage output readings.

Since I had a consistent 13.2V (low but steady), that could only mean the brushes or some kind of internal failure. It was the brushes after all!

 

[nissanh]

I got 3 toyotas (over 210K miles) and all with factory alternators with new oem brush kits.
Check out Timmy the tool mans 3rd gen 4runner brush kit replacement video on you tube.

 

[TXLX100]

It's charging low at 13.3v at idle. While it's acceptable, it's not the best a OEM alternator can do. On first start up, should see 14v+, maybe drop to 13.8v when it's warmed up (for whatever reason). I just replaced alternator charging in low 13's at idle.

 

[Pyrenees]

Yep I’m up to 14.1V now and I’m happy with that.

 

[AstRomroMan]

If you have the factory alternator with no other issues than low voltage do the BRUSHES! They are about $15 and it is a very simple job. Pull the belt, pull the power steering pump, alternator bolts, and then remove the back cover on the alternator and install the new brushes. Toyota is one of the very few manufacturers that allows the brushes to be replaced. It drives my insane to hear people talk about replacing an alternator with a reman when the factory DENSO is designed to have the brushes replaced. You can do all of this without removing the pump or alternator but make sure and disconnect the battery as you have a live feed on the alternator. I have done a number of 100’s, a 08’ Sequoia and just did the 11’ LC a couple months ago and each have gone another 50k+ without any issues. If you have a bad bearing then that’s a differ t story but low voltage - go brushes.

I’d even go so far as to suggest that anyone doing a water pump shou,d do the brushes st the same time. It’s cheap insurance and very easy when you have to pull everything anyway.

I spent 5 summers in a Porsche, BMW and Mercedes shop and we rarely ever replaced a factory alternator. 90% of the time we could do brushes and away you go. I saw many cars with 300k+ on the original alternator and new brushes every 50k.

Please note that dust alone can cause issues so make sure and use comlpressed air and blow out the entire area before you install the new brushes. If you have been on dusty roads - you can also try just blowing out the area and seeing if that helps, but with the miles - likely brushes.

So-- I have a 2004 LC-- I can do this with the truck up on ramps, and from underneath? Why do you unbolt the alternator, when the work must be done on the back side of the alternator? Do you basically unbolt it completely, or just loosen it up-- so yo can get the rear cover off? Thanks!

 

[Pyrenees]

Look at both of the DIYs listed in this thread. You can technically replace the brushes on an 01 LX without 100% removal (as I saw yesterday while doing it) but at that point you are 90% there.

 

[AstRomroMan]

Thanks