[Vwdiesel] alternator Q's

[Lee Hillsgrove]

Shalyn wrote:

The
>alternator belt was indeed loose, but it seemed to have more to do with
>the pulley end of the thing flopping around in the case.   I presume
>that means that there's a bearing in there that has self-destructed,
>probably because I finally got the belt tightened up good with the other
>repairs.  This leads to a few questions.  1) can I replace just that one
>bearing?


  A qualified yes. The pulley end is a ball bearing, and should be
replacable. IF you have access to a good spare or new one.
IF you have a press with which to press the old one off and the new one on.
IF you can get the pulley off without destroying it or the shaft.
IF the old one did not chew up the shaft when it let go.
And, IF you can manage to get the screws out that hold the case halves
together. Been there.

Another IF concerns whether or not the rotor ate the armature when it was
flopping around in there. If it did, the whole matter of repairing a bad
ball bearing is a moot point.

I've had these apart before, and from experience, I'd make plans on
replacing it. If you are able to save it, so much the better, but plan for
the worse so you won't be disappointed.  :-((

Diesel alternators are, as you probably know, quite scarce. However, the
guts are the same as a gasser, so if you can scare up a donor alternator and
your pulley end of the case is salvageable, you may be able to Frankenstein
one together. I managed to make one myself out of three doing just that. A
hand-held 1/4" manual impact tool (the type you hit with a hammer) is an
invaluable ally in a case like this.



2)anyone have an ingenious plan on how to get by with only a
>battery charger and no alternator in the car if I have to get the
>alternator rebuilt?  I understand that the alternator is an important
>part of the circuit to run the whole system.  If not, that's fine too.


  As long as the battery is in reasonably good shape and you drive only
during the day, you should be able to drive from place to place, recharging
from AC power whenever the opportunity presents itself. I don't see why you
wouldn't be able to insulate the main lead and run like normal. You would
not have the tachometer signal which also means that the dynamic oil
pressure warning circuit would not behave as it was intended to, but I think
you could live with it on a short-term basis.

 Since you have A/C, the altenator belt runs nothing else so you'd be fine
there. If you didn't have A/C though, you'd be stuck since the water pump
belt needs the alternator in place to do it's job.......


>
>    So much for that tournament I had planned to go to tomorow.  Having
>only one car is not a good thing.
>


  Amen to that. Having a spare vehicle, even if it's a spark ignited gas
sucking POS winter beater, is better than hoofing it!  :-))


  Lee
  Oo-v-oO
  PP-ASEL
  KB1GNI