I too replaced the factory alternator on my wife's 2.4L 2006 Camry circa 2015 when it began making an obvious whining noise. Probably same whining noise as you. Yes it is a distinctive whine. I think it's made by a shorted turn in one of the alternator windings. I didn't have an obvious charging problem (even tested with meters etc) but replaced it anyway and noise went away.

I used a maybe $70 rebuild from Advance Auto Parts. I will agree it's hit-or-miss with quality of cheap rebuilt alternators. But still doing OK.

If you found a parts search engine that gave you a dozen choice I'm will to bet that's a dozen different choices of alternator rebuilders. Olathe lists a $220 rebuild and a $250 rebuild but that is very much on the high ends of rebuilts. And just because it's a more expensive rebuild doesn't mean it'll actually do any better. On other cars I've had the cheapest rebuilt alternators last less than 6 months but that always meant "free rebuilt alternator" thanks to part warranty. Of course I h ave to scrape my knuckles again to change it out but it's not the toughest job.

I'm a little surprised Olathe doesn't list any new Denso alternators but for a 14 year old car, maybe they just stopped making them new because there's so many cores out there to do rebuilds with now.

 

By the way... I had one Toyota dealer parts desk claim up and down that alternators never ever fail and they don't even keep them in stock.

I don't believe that at all! I will agree that Toyota alternators are much more reliable than GM alternators but they do indeed fail in different ways. Sometimes the alternator/battery light comes on pre-emptively but in my experience it's far more common for the light not to come on. This seems to be true no matter what the brand of car, that the idiot light isn't particularly useful until total car-is-dead failure.

 

I had my alternator go out on my 2009 Camry SE 2AZ-FE, 5-6 years ago and bought a remanufactured at autozone , the reason I went with autozone is because mine started to whine and then died. So I needed the part and fast because I needed my car for work the next day. I did not have the time to wait to get something online and never had a problem. I agree with N3QE with buying from Olathe Toyota for $200-$220 is not bad at all for a remanufactured alternator. You could always call them with your year Camry LE to get the correct part. Another alternative is www.rockauto.com they have remanufactured from $120-$300. Yes the alternator and water pump are on the same belt
Glenn

 

Correction... that Ola


Yes a Serpentine belt. I have been dealing with single serpentine belt cars for 30+ years or so now but man that tensioner is a PITA on the 2006 Camry. What really helps is a shorter-than-normal-depth 19mm socket on a breaker bar. There's not really enough clearance for a full-size ratchet. And if you go to put on a brand new serpentine belt it really helps to pre-stretch it a bit. I do this by hanging from my garage door with a bucket and some old pulleys.

Maybe I'm living in the past but $200 for a remanufactured alternator seems very much the high end! Of course I had several GM cars where the Delco alternator never lasted more than a couple years.

ALSO... I went and checked the Denso website and they list no new alternators for 2006 Camry 2AZ-FE at all. Only remanufactured are listed anymore.

 

I have heard many people breaking that tensioner , it is a p.i.t.a. I don’t remember back when I replaced my alternator if there were new ones available, I just went with I could get fast and what I could afford. I know that I paid somewhere north of $150 iirc.
Glenn

 

Denso, alternators and starters can be rebuilt and if Denso is not making any new ones they at least will have rebuilt ones. Gen 5 Camry's should be a bit easier to work on as I believe they have just a little bit more room compared to the Gen 6. Just note that it seems that official Toyota documentation says to remove the belt from the bottom and not from on top despite how seemingly easily it looks. Another thing to note is that as far as I know the Gen 5 belt tensioner uses a hydraulic tensioner instead of a spring tensioner like the Gen 6 and from what I remember the key to relieving the tension is to pull slowly (from on top), you can't force it otherwise the nut will break.

• Unhook battery
• Remove belt
  • Pull tensioner slowly (if on top)
• Remove alternator

2006 TOYOTA CAMRY 2.4L L4 Alternator / Generator | Shop Now at RockAuto

Electrical Parts and More for Your 2006 TOYOTA CAMRY at Reliably Low Prices. Fast Online Catalog. DIY-Easy. Your Choice of Quality. Full Manufacturer Warranty.

www.rockauto.com

 

Check price of alternator at sparkplugs.com Remanufactured Denso unit. Don't purchase from parts houses as the rebuilt units are not reliabel. Regards

 

I'd get a denso remanufactured alternator. That's what the mechanic used in my camry (2004) and my brother's (2006). Both are 2az-fe engines too, same as yours. No issues since with the alternators since they were replaced with those. I feel like this is the best balance of cost and quality. Denso makes a lot of parts from toyota, so expect similar to OEM quality for a lot cheaper.

 

Another alternative is to try to find a mom and pop local auto electrical rebuilder in your area. In my opinion they do a better job of rebuilding these things than the bulk rebuilders the auto parts stores use. They are becoming harder and harder to find these days.

Michael

 

Thank you all for your responses!

After speaking with the seller on eBay I was guaranteed that the rebuild is very good quality and rarely ever have issues with Denso alternators.
This is the alternator I purchased:

Pardon Our Interruption...

Also after watching a YouTube video on how to replace, I will be buying this serpentine belt kit: Serpentine Belt Tool Kit

I saw the guy struggling and I was like sheeeeit with my big hands? Guess I’m gonna have minor cuts on my hands this weekend.. until he produces the tool which then blows my mind. And it’s going to my tool collection.

Thank you all guys, if you feel anything is off or need more details provided, please let me know!

I’m hoping I can return the $200 battery too but maybe I’ll just keep it and return the one in my car for a small return ($17).

 

Lol had to use the new battery.
Also for some reason now my RPMs are dipping. Soon after replacing the battery, my RPMs, while the car was in Drive and idle, the RPMs dipped from 800ish to 400 and stalled out at a red light. Turned the car back on with no issues though.

Anyone know if the alternator would be playing a role in the RPMs diving and causing the car to stall?

 

completely normal after disconnecting the battery. The ECU just needs to re-learn some operating parameters, the most noticeable is idle.

 

• Buy MAF cleaner & throttle cleaner
• Remove MAF
• Spray MAF cleaner into MAF
• Clean/brush throttle with throttle cleaner
• Reinstall everything
• Unhook battery for more than 90 seconds
• Start car (it won't start)
• Start car again

 

Hmm.. good one.

Would have never thought it would be the MAF sensors. I’m actually surprised I didn’t even get a CEL.

I’ll work this in when I swap the alternator.

 

@GDM, don't forget to take some pictures or draw a diagram of how that belt loops around all the pulleys. That little somebitch can be a chore to get on the right way.

 

Oh man..

From the YouTube video, if prepared, this looks to be a 45-60 min job.

Going to be soaking all bolts in WD-40 today and Thursday again. Then will begin Saturday morning.

 

Not answering anyone in this thread.....
Just for future reference.... to someone trying to figure out their problem....in the future:
Most of the time a parts warehouse is going to want the numbers off of the old alternator. The Alternator in the ebay link has a special serpentine hub/clutch....which is were some noise can originate (if bad). It is like a one way clutch so that when the engine decelerates it does not slow the alternator down as fast as the engine.

How do Clutched Alternator Pulleys Work

Most modern vehicles have clutched or so called one-way or decoupler pulleys. Proper operation of these pulleys is vital to alternator health and the health of other components, especially the ser…

idpartsblog.com

Future reference: First, if your serpentine belt tensioner has failed, it is likely that the alternator pulley is faulty as well. Typically the failed pulley is the cause of the tensioner failure. This is especially true if you replaced the tensioner and experienced another failure – a stuck pulley probably caused the first tensioner to fail in the first place and certainly caused the second one to fail.

 

Out of curiosity are you saying that the 5th Gen has at least two different alternator models?
That would be ridiculous.

The alternator that arrives should the numbers stamped onto it match 100%?

I’ll check it before I begin.

By faulty pulley, you mean a seized pulley? If that’s the case, I’m clear here.

How would I diagnose a faulty or soon to fail tensioner? I assume slack in the belt?

 

With that said, I’d like to replace the alternator, however not looking to drop $700+ for a brand new OEM alternator more importantly, not even sure which Part# I need for my replacement.
When I search on an online Toyota database using my VIN, it produced a list of like 15 different alternators, part numbers that is.

Out of curiosity are you saying that the 5th Gen has at least two different alternator models?
That would be ridiculous.

The alternator that arrives should the numbers stamped onto it match 100%?

I’ll check it before I begin.

By faulty pulley, you mean a seized pulley? If that’s the case, I’m clear here.

How would I diagnose a faulty or soon to fail tensioner? I assume slack in the belt?

Most of the time a parts warehouse is going to want the numbers off of the old alternator.

A faulty pulley is a seized pulley.
A good tensioner would be smooth and not jerky though it's range of motion.
The number off of the old alternator is the best number to start with, but now that you have one on the way, if it matches up and fits, then use it.

 

I changed out my alternator about 8 months ago after it crapped out on me. I ended up getting a Denso remanufactured off RockAuto, and I've been pretty happy with it so far. I would definitely recommend it over the lifetime warranty O'Reilly or Autozone alternators because my Ultima alternator only lasted about 2 years. I ended getting the O'Reilly warranty replacement and just selling it on Ebay.

I'm on my 3rd alternator so far. I'm hoping that my Denso remanufactured lasts a lot longer. I don't know what it is about the Gen 5 Camrys, but the alternators do seem to be a problem. I never seem to see these alternator issues with my old Gen 3 Camry.

 

Completed the replacement. Took 1 hour and 45 minutes because I’m a tard. I tried putting the belt back on the alternator pulley... when.. I could have just used the smooth surface pulley(?) right below it.

Not to mention that at some point the belt decided to fall off the far back pulley.. and with my big hands it took about 5 almost 10 minutes try to maneuver the belt onto the pulley while adding tension at the other

Whining is gone. Camry of course doing its thing with low RPMs. Thinking tomorrow I’ll do the TB cleaning.

PS Typing messages/replies on this forum board on mobile phone is extremely strange. Not a fan.