I have a 2008 dodge ram 2500 with a 6.7 cummins turbo diesel that has been completely deleted it has 253,300 miles on it, I have replaced everything over the last couple years from the power steering to the water pump ect, my truck still has the factory alternator on it, should i replace the alternator befor it leaves me stranded somewhere? How long will an alternator last? Just trying to stay ahead of any problems i may run into.
I guess ill leave it until it leaves me on the side of the road lol
Providing your battery light works, there will be an alert via the instrument cluster when there's a problem with the charging system before it leaves you stranded on the side of the road. If your charging system is having a problem, the battery light with turn on and indicate that the battery is not being charged. Check it with the engine running. It should be at max 14.7 volts when it's cold outside. Anything higher, the alternator is overcharging the battery.
How long will an alternator last?
There's no way to tell. One of my cars is 38 years old with 300K miles and still has its original alternator. On the other hand I have vehicles that are only 25 years old or so that have already needed their alternators replaced.
How long will an alternator last?
too many variables to say.
If it still charges the battery, and the pulley doesn't feel loose, then I'd leave it.
I guess ill leave it until it leaves me on the side of the road lol
My 2005 Matrix Alternator went about 205k miles, as of six months ago. I sold my 98 4Runner at 21 years old and 225k miles with the original alternator working fine.
My friend has a 2016 Honda Odyssey van, and that one went out at 100k miles about 6 months ago at the same time as my Matrix.
Just random when they go, the better brands tend to last longer of course.
One thing to keep in mind, if the light come on, and you can tell it is not charging, or not charging fully, you can tap on it with something, and it may get it going for a while. A friend had a 2016 Yaris with about 240k miles on it, his alternator started going out, I told him to try tapping it, and it would last several days at least. He didn't have much money, and he did that for about 2 months! I don't suggest waiting that long.
