In my quest to catch up with maintenance at the 92,000-mile mark, I am next going to do a serpentine belt change.

So far, plugs, air filter, 4 new tires, roof, and window weatherstripping, and transmission filter have been replaced. Also extensive MAF and throttle body cleaning.

Anyway, my thought, looking at the alternator was to assume it has never been changed (by external appearance alone, it looks like an ancient artifact), and while I'm doing a belt change go ahead and swap out the alternator.

So far, the options; look dubious, either spend 350 to 400 on a new Denso with a limited lifetime warranty or go with a cheaper, unbranded component OR a used working one.

f anyone has swapped out an alternator doing a DIY exchange, did you find a lower-cost alternative to the 400-dollar Denso, or is that pretty much the only "safe" option?

Thanks for any responses.