Originally Posted by Dash01
If you're semi-handy with a soldering iron, you can replace the brushes for about $3, by removing the regulator from the back side of the alternator. Disconnect the battery first, keeping in mind that you'll then need the radio anti-theft code upon re-connection.
Or, while you have the regulator out, just replace it for ~$13 at NAPA for a knockoff, or several times that for a Bosch original from BMA.
I replaced my brushes and put the old unit back in about 15 months ago, with no ill effects. I keep a NAPA knockoff regulator in the glove box, as a backup.