Alternator bearings

[schadenfreude]

just look, but not all gens have them.
some have springs that park,
on old 68 you lift the spring and set over to side parking it.

or have no way at all to get them retracted.
so many years and makes, who knows? till you look.

in some cases, you can used rods and bailing wire to hole them back.
some you must remove the brushes, but will be obvious.
ive tied them back with string.


if the brushes seem long and still good, i just run them. (and protect them during install of armature.)

the new brushes may spark a lot , until they break in. (not ALTS)
really on mine here, the hard parts is getting all the grime out..
what a lil piggy mine is. done.
http://ac-vw-remove.com/How_to_fix_it/electrics/generator/gen.html


now if i can only find all my starter parts (guts)
pinion clutch and a new solenoid, for less that $100
hard to find parts for vw starts and mine is OG, id like to keep it.

[bcampagnolo]

[Ian Epperson]

[bcampagnolo]

[schadenfreude]

go to harbor fright(pun name) see the section of pullers.
buy the 3 size kit and put it in you tool box.
now you are ready for bear.
all mechs have gear pullers. all. the generic set. if not
beg,barrow ,steal or rent them. (joking about steal)


if you have a gen, or alt.
consider the bearings. if they are bad it will vibrate
put in new bearings. (if you dont have the feel , then buy new ones)
inspect them
inspect the rotor /armature for damage.

no missing parts
fan not loose.
damage to fan shaft
damage to pulley shaft
forgot to set belt tension by the book, GOT BOOK?
fan not cracked or bent?
someone put wrong size fan in stock fan housing.
armature bent?
segments loose in armature.
bearings gone.

all this is obvious to an experienced mech. (DAMAGE)
the only thing not obvious is missing parts. that is why books are so amazing with the nice blow up drawing showing all those lil pieces.

bent. ?
i put the armature across 2 V-notch blocks and spin it, see wobble.
or chuck it in a drill press and spin it. wobble.


this subject and part is the most important part on the car
not the generator function
the FAN DRIVE.
do not gloss over it, make it all 100% perfect end to end with
new bearing and not burn up the engine. and a new Gates belt.

[GLHTurbo]

When spinning the alternator shaft by hand, should the bearings make any noise? Mine has a fairly audible whir. The shaft does not wobble.
_________________
1957 Beetle
1966 Bus

[schadenfreude]

gen in hand or at bench
or on car, with belt dropped only?

on gen, the brushes do that,
but a gen, no,it has smooth slip rings and the brushes are silent
you could have debris in the fan. or its loose or same with front
pulley and its washers floating around loose.

[GLHTurbo]

It's a new (maybe 50 miles?) Chinese alternator. It has a welded fan on it also. It's from Chico (CPR), came on his turn-key engine.

When I spun it by hand strapped to the stand and bolted on the engine it makes the same sound has when I remove the alt/fan assembly and spin it in my hand. It seems like it's coming from the fan side. Think it's just the brushes?
_________________
1957 Beetle
1966 Bus

[schadenfreude]

the brushes, push on perfectly smooth slip rings. how can they make noise?
new alt, new brushes, etc..?
i use and electronic stethoscope to listen to all bearing

id take it apart and put in real bearing , the kind not made in china.

here are the steps.
koyo, FAG, Timken, NSK, National, etc. the top brands,
if you never heard of the brand, then pitch them.

go here, and click the top link, on page, Alternator.
http://ac-vw-remove.com/How_to_fix_it/electrics/generator/gen.html

[Cadaver]

Late to supper.

the 30 minute gen pull ( a new record?)

http://ac-vw-remove.com/At_Wits_End/Gen-Pull/index.html


the brushes park, by moving the spring up the back and park them
on the sides of the holders. the spring coil side (fat) now you can
push in the armature with no grief.

i added the 2 videos. for bench testing the gen.

http://ac-vw-remove.com/How_to_fix_it/electrics/index.html

look, ma, no car.

sorry i posted to dead link ,just wanted to add 1 link to a gen video
this has all the conditions stated. none on youtube do.
_________________
for sale now.
in Samba classifieds....1968 T1.

[Wiskow]

I noticed today after starting up (note: I have a steep driveway and like to push start, don't know if that causes anything) that the alternator seemed to be making more noise. In the youtube video you can see it appears wobbly.
https://youtu.be/-tj7Q42_Aao

I removed the belt and can just barely feel some play in the alternator when I try to move it side to side.

Is my bearing bad?

[runamoc]