You guys are scaring me. I just bought a remanufactured alternator from Pep Boys for my '95 rodeo and now I'm reading all these posts about aftermarket, rebuilt & remans not working 90% of the time. I went to the dealer first, but they wanted about $500 including installation. Pep Boys did it for half that - while I waited. Plus, it's a remanufactured Bosch and came with a "lifetime limited warranty." How can you beat that? In any case, isn't an OEM unit from Isuzu likely to be remanufactured? After all, I find it hard to believe that they would manufacture 10 year old replacement parts from scratch if there was an easier route.

There have also been many posts about Rodeos being very sensitive to system voltage. This is absolutely true and my own experience proves it! If you have weird electrical problems or the transmission shifts bad or the engine runs rough, get your charging system checked first. After replacing the bad alternator on my Rodeo a variety of symptons disappeared.

Some rebuilts work fine. You never know. Like you say, they are such a PITA to r/r that you want to get it right the first time! Hopefully it lasts for the long run for you!! I think the OEM units are BOSCH anyway.
G/luck
Joel