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Just realized my $12 junkyard alternator swap on a 1998 Civic took 40 minutes and saved me $180
Last month my battery light came on while driving to my sister's place in Boise, and the shop quoted me $195 for a new alternator plus install. I grabbed a used one off a wrecked Civic at Pick-n-Pull on Franklin Road for $12 with a core charge, and it bolted right up with a 12mm socket and a breaker bar. The only tricky part was the belt tensioner, so I watched a 4 minute video on my phone in the parking lot first. Anyone else swap used alternators, or do you just eat the cost of a reman?
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palmer.henry4d ago
The bit about watching a 4 minute video in the parking lot is the real money saver here, not the $12 part. Half the cost at a shop is just paying someone to figure out the job while your car sits there. But here's the thing nobody talks about: a junkyard alternator is a total gamble on the brushes and bearings, and you have no idea how many miles are on it. What I do is grab two of them when they're that cheap, keep the spare in the trunk with a socket set, and swap it on the side of the road if the first one dies. Twelve bucks each means even if one is junk you still come out way ahead of a reman. Just make sure you check the pulley spins free and doesn't grind before you hand over your cash at the counter.
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