Date:         Fri, 13 Jan 2017 08:56:44 -0800
Reply-To:     Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Subject:      Quickie alternator fix
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Dennis is going to love this :-)

Alternator has been whistling the last week or so, getting louder every day. I knew what was wrong.
Confirmed it yesterday, felt the play in the pulley (belt off).

This alternator owes me nothing. It's the one that came on the 92 Jetta 1800 I4 I put in my 82 westy back in 94. I've already replaced the brushes twice and the bearings once.

I have a parts alternator in bits and pieces in the barn. I had cleaned up the slip rings on the lathe and I figured the rotor was good enough as a back up.

Yesterday at lunch I went to the local Napa and bought replacement (2) bearings. They were no name bearings. Oh well, hoping they will last for as long as it takes me to get a spare alt together.
I pulled the whistling alt from the van. Got it apart and and confirmed pulley end bearing shot.
The the bores in the frame where the bearings sit were tight, no wallowing. The bearings were tight on the shaft. So it was just the bearing itself that had failed, worn out.

I put the new bearings on the rotor that I had cleaned up ( btw, slip ring diameter was about 26.5mm). All went back together easily with only one "oh darn it" moment when I dropped the woodruff key.

And back in van and back in service.

Total cost was 26 bucks for the bearings, plus one and a half hours of my time.

( noticed my brushes were close to wear limit. I think I might try soldering new brushes as this particular reg is an adjustable one.)

And after I had put it all back in van, and was mulling it all over, realized I should have pried up the rubber seals on the cheap bearings and given them some extra grease, or at least check if there was enough grease in them.

Alistair