TheSamba.com :: View topic - On my 73 SB I tried to remove the generator brush plate ?

Sat Oct 31, 2015 5:07 pm

It's from the old generator 12 volt . I removed the 2 long screws and the one that has a screw that is accessed through the opening in the brush side housing to the field on the insulated brush . I could not pull this cover off. I tapped from the inside and it moved some but the bearing seems to be stuck on the armature shaft because I came see the bearing trying to come out of the housing and not off the shaft.

I was only trying to do this because on the rebuilt generator I have the brush holders are a bit loose on the back plate or brush plate housing .

I have tried penetrating oil no go . I don't see any way of using any sort of puller since there is nothing to force any pullers shaft against. This old generator must be the one that came original on this car.

Do you feel it's worth it or should I just live with the rebuilt slightly loose brush holders ? I don't want to screw up the rebuilt or I will have nothing . All I could find were type 1 brushes so I need to file the slots for the springs on the other side of each new brush.

Sun Nov 01, 2015 12:01 pm

I guess this is another one of those questions that is not a question .

Maybe no one has run into this or does not have a suggestion.

Sun Nov 01, 2015 4:05 pm

I think it's just one of those things you'll have to decide for yourself. We can't do much to help you decide without seeing it in person.

Sun Nov 01, 2015 5:05 pm

Donnie strickland wrote: I think it's just one of those things you'll have to decide for yourself. We can't do much to help you decide without seeing it in person.

All I know is I never checked the brush holders when I got the rebuilt generator . They were most likely this way when I got it in 97 . I only noticed this when I took the better bushes out of my old generator and put them in the rebuilt . I have the brushes that came out of the rebuilt and they were new once and are worn at a slight angle .

I see some photo's on here of people putting in new bearings yet they must not be as old as my old generator is . I'll know when I remove the brushes in it now if they are worn at the same angle then they have not become more loose so I'll live with it. My old generator has a good deal of commutator wear and the field paper looks pretty old and dry it has to be the one the car came off the assembly line with. The bearings were not noisy yet sure are stuck on the shaft .

Sun Nov 01, 2015 11:26 pm

blues90 wrote: It's from the old generator 12 volt . I removed the 2 long screws and the one that has a screw that is accessed through the opening in the brush side housing to the field on the insulated brush . I could not pull this cover off. I tapped from the inside and it moved some but the bearing seems to be stuck on the armature shaft because I came see the bearing trying to come out of the housing and not off the shaft.

Have you tried stripping everything off the other end, so you can pull the armature out with the back plate? It might give you more room to get the bearing out of the rear cover.

Mon Nov 02, 2015 11:50 am

Bobnotch wrote: blues90 wrote: It's from the old generator 12 volt . I removed the 2 long screws and the one that has a screw that is accessed through the opening in the brush side housing to the field on the insulated brush . I could not pull this cover off. I tapped from the inside and it moved some but the bearing seems to be stuck on the armature shaft because I came see the bearing trying to come out of the housing and not off the shaft.

Have you tried stripping everything off the other end, so you can pull the armature out with the back plate? It might give you more room to get the bearing out of the rear cover.

Bob, I have everything off the pulley end as well . I cleaned that shaft of and removed the key was . I was looking at the Bentley and in the text they mention a spacer ring on that end that states it needs to be pressed on the shaft. I looked at it last night and it seems like the shaft is coming out of the brush end bearing I can see the lock ring and splash shield with some space so it appears the bearing is not moving like I thought. I set the generator brush cover side down on a small tin coffee can and dripped more penetrating oil through the gap of the lock ring while rotating the armature in an attempt to get the oil in there. I can't use heat that's for sure. The pulley side is not budging either I didn't want to pound on the shaft . I would imagine the bearing inner race to the shaft would not be a loose fit maybe snug that one could at least pull it off . I've never had one apart yet have changed bearings in ford alternators and in my wood working router with the same type of bearings and the inner race took a puller to get the bearing off the shaft . From what I can find on this forum it appears people just take out the 2 long screws and pull the cover right off the shaft and have a battle getting the bearing out of the cover bore.

You have had them apart does it take effort to pull the cover with bearing off the shaft?

Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:48 pm

blues90 wrote: The pulley side is not budging either I didn't want to pound on the shaft . I would imagine the bearing inner race to the shaft would not be a loose fit maybe snug that one could at least pull it off . I've never had one apart yet have changed bearings in ford alternators and in my wood working router with the same type of bearings and the inner race took a puller to get the bearing off the shaft . From what I can find on this forum it appears people just take out the 2 long screws and pull the cover right off the shaft and have a battle getting the bearing out of the cover bore.

You have had them apart does it take effort to pull the cover with bearing off the shaft?
Yes, it does take some force, as the bearings are a light "press fit".
Yes, that's a way to do it. You use grease in the bearing, then something the same diameter as the shaft to force the grease to push the bearing out.

Mon Nov 02, 2015 10:55 pm

Bobnotch wrote: blues90 wrote: The pulley side is not budging either I didn't want to pound on the shaft . I would imagine the bearing inner race to the shaft would not be a loose fit maybe snug that one could at least pull it off . I've never had one apart yet have changed bearings in ford alternators and in my wood working router with the same type of bearings and the inner race took a puller to get the bearing off the shaft . From what I can find on this forum it appears people just take out the 2 long screws and pull the cover right off the shaft and have a battle getting the bearing out of the cover bore.

You have had them apart does it take effort to pull the cover with bearing off the shaft?
Yes, it does take some force, as the bearings are a light "press fit".
Yes, that's a way to do it. You use grease in the bearing, then something the same diameter as the shaft to force the grease to push the bearing out.

You are saying the bearing is a light press fit on the armature shaft? I get the bearing being more difficult to get out of the housing bore .

I went through the Bentley and they only mention a press and drift and make it seem like the bearing just is a hand pull off the shaft and Haynes makes it look like the bearing cover is a simple pull of a broken wrist hand and the bearings stay on the shaft and only show partly like the Bentley the old plug in harness generator yet show a blowup of the later ones that still are on this planet.

I didn't want to force it since the covers are aluminum from what I can tell , I was afraid I would distort the cover , I already made a few marks near the inside where the long bolts come through.

This seems tighter than it should be to me . I thought of using a few bar clamps I have and with a piece of pine protect the end plates and push the brush end cover plate back on hoping to force the penetrating oil between the bearing and shaft then try pulling it off again.

I put a bearing in our crappy Sears vacuum but I could access the shafts end and tap it through the bearing. This generator has been sitting since 97 in my garage on a shelf I took it off and just set it there , looking at it I can clearly tell it's never been apart I only replaced the brushes in it once way back . I think this one has just enough surface rust on the shaft between the lock ring and behind that splash shield that I can't see or get at and that is binding the bearing from sliding off.

Tue Nov 03, 2015 7:52 pm

Haven't tried to do any more to get the gen cover off .

Just for info , I called Bosch to find out what brushes they offer . The fellow I spoke to knew the old VW's well he said all they offer in one brush for a 12 volt BOS 11008. It has the spring notch on the wrong side like a type 1 .

I filed a notch on the other side . I hope these last as long as the old ones did. I got that notch at as much of an angle as I could , You can make just like the old brush yet if you do you lose about 1/16 inch meaning the spring sets down into the angled notch 1/16" deeper which doing so you will lose spring tension as if the brush wore that amount.