T4 alternator question

[Keith Park]

Well the 2056 has 4Kmi on it now and sounding good, except for a rumbling lately, and fortunately I know a bad roller bearing when I hear one and some probing around pointed to the alternator.

two questions.

I put this new (rebuilt) alternator on here with this build because the Bosch I had on it had a lot of end play in the shaft, maybe 40 to 60 thousands, still worked fine but they are such a pain to replace... Is end play in this range a problem with a T4 alternator?

question 2, can I wrestle this pig out of there or will I have to drop the heaterbox? Its a 72-4 bus setup.

Thanks

Keith

[busdaddy]

If it's in a bus yes, it can barely be gotten out with the heat exchanger in place, if it's in something else I can't guess.

End play isn't surprising, Bosch doesn't mean squat lately, it shouldn't effect a bearing though, just means whoever built it skipped the shimming step, one day it may pound the case out though, or damage the brushes when the slip rings wear. Beware of replacements, most have a D+ stud that's too long and touches the back (front) cover, or a washer that touches the side and grounds, both make big smoke and frowns.

If you have a local rebuilder have them fix it, or change the bearing yourself. "New", or "rebuilt" often means it's marginal right out of the box lately.
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[raygreenwood]

Agree with BD...get your old one "refurbed" locally.

Yes...its not too bad getting one out if you are using 411/412 heat exchangers.

They are a little smaller than some buses especially the 2.0L late heat exchangers.

If memory serves I usually have to remove the locking arc steel strap where it bolts to the HE on the bottom ...and at the top where it connects to the shroud.

The rubber air boot is always fun and sometimes it helps to loosen the front sheet metal part. Ray

[Keith Park]

Yea, I should really expect to have to re-rebuild anything I buy,
Ill try and shim up the Bosch one, and check the bearings on that
when I have it apart. I know there is a little spring washer under the rear bearing, but should the shim be there too or is it between the front cover and the front bearing?

Just the fun I was hoping to avoid.

[busdaddy]

Usually there's a stack of super thin washers on the shaft, sometimes they are large diameter and go under the bearing in the case, but most are on the shaft between a bearing and the rotor. Then some just use one bearing as the fore/aft lock, those bearings are secured with a screwed on plate or circlip, they rely on the pulley nut being torqued up and pinching the bearing between the spacer sleeves, etc...
Bearings are usually available from local suppliers, they are a fairly common size used in many things, dig it out and read the numbers on it.
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[Clatter]

[url] https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=698805&highlight=alternator[/url]
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Keith Park]

Ok, Ive found another alternator I removed from this engine in a previous build maybe 10 years ago, dont remember why... but probably because these units never seem to give me the rock solid 14.4 that the T3 generators did with a good mechanical or electronic regulator on them, I probably thought it might be an alternator issue as Ive tried both kinds of regulators.

Anyway... that is a discussion for another time.

so I have 2 spares, the one with the end play but worked fine and this other one that I think worked...

Pulled the end play one apart, spring washer under back bearing was missing, no stack of shim washers anywhere, new looking slip ring surfaces but the clamp holding the front bearing in place allowed it to have some end play in there.

Pulled the other spare apart, no end play issues but that kinda squeaky when you rotated the shaft... slip ring surfaces were SHOT! bearings had a bit of rust on them, felt fine and were tight in there, no shimming washers.

SO... I pulled the retainer plate for the front bearing off the tight one so now the front bearing on the end play one is tight, will check the diodes tonight and put it back together.. if no end play now, Ill use it to replace the one on the car with the bad bearing.

Definately a case of do it yourself or take a chance, if you dont have someone you can trust with these.

Keith

[raygreenwood]

[Keith Park]

Yes, lets do that. Ive got a couple final tweak topics to post yet on this car and one of them is about the charging system, but I need to take some measurements and verify some things first.

The alternator I rebuilt is on, started it up and its charging. Had to remove the muffler and tin in that area on my setup but didnt have to drop the heaterbox.
Still a bitch of a job.

The old one's bearings feel a bit stiff, Ill get the numbers and order new ones and rebuild it. It was a Remy.

Keith

[raygreenwood]