Altenator preference

[Nargles]

Just did a quickish search of the forum threads and didn't find any information on alternators really. Just trying to find out if anyone has a specific alternator they like or one that has out preformed others and what not. I have a 2010 1500 5.7 Laramie, I just replaced the battery because it wasn't holding a charge at all and the "good/bad" machine at auto zone told the wrencher my battery was bad. So now my batt. light has just popped its ugly head up and my gauge will drop down and pop up again fluctuating slightly and giving me pause. At this point I am suspecting my alternator might be up to no good and I would like to switch er' out. So in short I'm just looking for someone else's experience to help me make a decision.

 

[ChrisJr]

Having same issue on my 13 ram. Looking for recommendations...

 

[Fitz-0518]

My experience. We have two choices. Inexpensive on line or over the counter crap with the lifetime warranty BS. The reason they offer that is they know they are crap. They will gladly replace them 6 times with a receipt if that is what you are willing to do. Most people have figured out that after the sweet taste of a cheap price is gone, the bitter taste of poor quality last a long time. Next choice OEM. Expensive but will be a direct replacement. When I replaced the alternator on my 03 and 07 5.7, I looked at what is the OEM brand or manufacture. What can I buy that same alternator for either on line or from a professional parts store. For my 03 I got the alternator from partsgeek.com and the 07 from NAPA gold box. The supplier for NAPA was VDO and partsgeek was denso. On partsgeek you will see several choices from cheap to expensive. Pay attention to brand name and where they are either manufactured or assembled. My experience has been some where in the middle is the best value. In both cases they were well below my local dealer.

 

[OCDTech]

The only thing i have to add, is my boss once had an 08 F250 diesel. Bought a parts store alternator. Worked great. All except the battery light on the dash stayed on...forever. Guess thats how the OEM says Gotcha! Of course that may be the only case of that ever but could happen. I'm sure enough research someone has tried it on a ram.