alternator rebuilding .. bearing seat areas worn..

i rebuilt my 77 vw bus alternator twice and it now has 212000 miles on it.....

i replace the brushes, clean things up, and then reinstall the alternator..

however, this last time the brushes wore out too quickly.. it is only

25,000 miles since the last rebuild... there are worn grooves in the copper slip rings which the brushes keep in contact with. it appears that the brushes got bound up in these grooves and becasme distorted in shape, no longer making good contact with the copper, causing the alternator warning light to come on.

it seems a contributing factor to this binding is worn bearing housings/seating areas which wore out when old bearings decided to spin their outer races in their seats.... i can feel a slight lip at the edge of the rear bearing seating area, and there is radial (?) play along the rotor axis (casued by belt tension over time...)

so my question is: how can i restore these bearing seat areas if they are worn, or must i just give up on rebuilding this unit? . as far as the copper slip ring/brush grooves, i filed them down so the slip rings now are "grooveless" (or "not groovy"!)

i am afraid to buy a cheap no name rebuild as i think thye just reuse old junk housings from returned cores probably similar in conditon ot mine.... am afraid they won't last any longer than my own rebuilds..

any suggestions? maybe it is time for a brand new alternator...

thanks

snipped-for-privacy@prodigy.net

Reply to
hyubso
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It is tough to find any used alternator for the T4 buses that hasn't got this problem. The cooling air duct that comes in tha back end was supposed to solve that problem. Maybe it did and we all just overtighten the belts and that's what really causes the wear! Anyway, if you have it welded and re-machined it will probably distort so badly as to be not usable. What I have seen work for lotsa miles is JB Weld. Make sure you have the suface prepared well and the bearing centered properly. I had an alternator a couple years back that was still a virgin. Had new bearings put in, new brushes, had to get the rotor rewound a few months later and about a year later, the rear bearing seat was shot like yours. The ones I have had with JB Weld have lasted probably in the area of 75,000 miles anyway. It's worth a try. If you're in Seattle area I've got a great rebuilder for ya... R&L Repair in Bellevue. Tell Rick that Dave Pearson sent ya.

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reinstall the alternator..

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. as far as

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just reuse

conditon ot

own rebuilds..

alternator...

Reply to
Busahaulic

thanks for the tips.. i might try the jbweld fix, which should work better than wrapping hte bearing with electrical tape like i did the last time!

my bus is garaged in the canton ohio area.. so seattle is a bit far.. anyhow, i called for "new" rebuilt alternators.. looks like i can get a bosch for about $125.00 + core charge, warranty unknown, or get a lifetime warranty PPR rebuild for $110.00 + core

.. but i w> It is tough to find any used alternator for the T4 buses

Reply to
hyubso

Don't bet on it! I used to buy Bosch re-man starters. Bought one every 13 months! I KNEW what the problem was but couldn't find anyone that would sell me a solenoid. R&L sold me a solenoid and I haven't had a failure yet! (MANY years!) I don't know how they could get 'em to last 13-14 months every time, but that was it. If you're buying "NEW" then why is there a core charge? Somebody is pulling your leg there, IMO.

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Reply to
Busahaulic

i undertand what you are saying about core charges and rebuilt units.. but i figured bosch would maybe machine the worn out seating areas adn add a spacer, or do something ot he rear bearing in its seat so it doesnot wear out the aluminumn housing, adn so it keepsd teh axis of the rotor p[erpendicular to the brushes so the brushes wear evenly..

I am wondering if bosch would do nothing about worn seats and just let the rear bearing spin in its loose seat on a rebuilt alternator..?

tomorrow i go buy some new bearings.. got he unit 90% disasembled.. am a slow worker...

thanks

Busahaulic wrote:

Reply to
hyubso

Bosch rebuilds are usually as good as new units. Their warrantee is either 3 or 6 months, but that's not an indication of how long they might last.

I don't know if Bosch has a fix for this, or if they just replace the end castings. I'm afraid electrical tape doesn't have any chance of working. It might be possible to machine out the casting and press in a sleeve. This would make a good repair.

I know that in some cases, Bosch refused core credit for cores that came in with certain defects. I have no idea whether this might apply to the bearing bores, but I would be surprised if it did.

-

----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

-----------------------------------------------

Reply to
Jim Adney

What Bosch is it. I am just about to replace one that gives low voltage but the mechanics are first class. You may be able to use it? Mine is the ALN

52 I think

Reply to
Michael Stevens

The warranty on the starters was 12 months a few years ago. Don't know who's right, but was told by an otherwise very knowledgeable source that Bosch outsources their rebuilds - "Bosch licensed remanufacturer." Could be wrong on that, but I definitely have had better results from the guy I can look eye-to-eye across the counter! He also has a one year warranty and I have only taken him up on it a couple times over the years. Once was when I brought an alternator in and had him go through it. After disassembly and inspection he found that it needed nothing. He put in new brushes and cleaned it all up. He charged me nothing for that service, but guaranteed the unit's serviceability. A few months later, the rotor needed rewinding. He covered it on warranty. This is a company I just cannot say enough good things about. R&L Repair in Bellevue, WA.

- Dave

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Reply to
Busahaulic

i don't know if you were offering me your old alternator, but i won't need it... jsut got in from the garage.. finished rebuilding mine with new bearings, new brushes, filed down slip rings, and I took the back off another old worn out junk yard alternator i was carrying as a spare adn used that good back end with its much tighter bearing seat area to rebuild my original alternator.

now the bad news.. i did not start the bus tongiht after finishing.. too tired, did not wantot ofill the garage wiht fumes.. so I only turned the key ot the first notch, adn the oil and alternator lights did

***not**** come on.. usually they do.. so i think i have another problem adn maybe hte alternator was not bad after all (even though the brushes were distorted and worn at an angle).. possibly the problem is the voltage regulator... woill have ot do further troubleshooting..

on my last big trip last thrusday and friday, driving form florida ot ohio, i got stumbling in hte engine in south carolina.. many miles later, i checked the engine and discovered the #1 spark plug wire had "blown off" from the plug adn was laying on the engine compartment sheet metal.. so i guess maybe loose sparks might have arced in that area and might have penetrated the alternator wiring or fried the voltage regulator mounted several inches abve on the gas tank compartment wall.. (scares me ot think what would have happened had i had gas fumes in the engine compartment with that loose spark plug wire.. before this trip i replaced my cracked filler neck rubber elbow with a new one and thank god no more fumes in the engine compartment)

i am guessing on htis../. and rammbling.. no replies necessary... when i get it all running right will share my experiences + knowledge gained,, . will find out in the morning if it works right after starting.. maybe the new brushes just have ot spin a bit and seat on the slip rings..

hyubso

Michael Stevens wrote:

Reply to
hyubso

my alternator in the bus is running just fine.. the oil light adn alternator light issue of not coming on a when the key was turned to first notch was related to a corroded fuse in the fuse box, so i just cleaned up all my fuses and replaced those that were corroded to the point of falling apart. (some of them must have been 25 years old!...).. there was nothing wrong with my old voltqage regulator.

hubert snipped-for-privacy@prodigy.net

hyubso wrote:

Reply to
hyubso

I just read in the Haynes manual that with some of these old models the charge is routed thru the dash light so just a bulb blowing can make you think the alternator is bad. When I had this problem I tested the alternator on the bench by turning it with an electric drill.

Reply to
Michael Stevens

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