Re-buliding alternators

anyone ever do this?.. my buddy was lookin' on e-bay and he found these rebuild kits.. looks interesting..

I was about to but i stopped when I found a local mom and pop that does a great job for a price I couldn't compete with.

Notes:
1. You will need a press or at least a careful setup to get the bearings out and in.
2. Do not screw up the stackup of the electronics in the back or you will fry them.
3. You may need a thinwall impact socket on an impact wrench to get the pulley off.

Honestly, most of the failures on these alternators are bearing failures.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

I was about to but i stopped when I found a local mom and pop that does a great job for a price I couldn't compete with.

Notes:
1. You will need a press or at least a careful setup to get the bearings out and in.
2. Do not screw up the stackup of the electronics in the back or you will fry them.
3. You may need a thinwall impact socket on an impact wrench to get the pulley off.

Honestly, most of the failures on these alternators are bearing failures.

or brushes,.clean the armature add some brushes good for 50k more,.

i was lookin' to upgrade.. and i found a 220amp rebuild kit for 135bucks.. or a 180amp for 90bucks.. or just a new 140amp alternator for 180.. so just wondering if the rebuild kit was worth it..

Have you dyno-tested yours? Mine put out 174 amps at 2000rpm after the local shop tested it post-rebuild.

Piece of cake. Like Joel said, it is usually the bearings. Take a look Here for few pictures.
If you don't have a press, just use punches/sockets to drive bearings in/out, you have to support case half right under the bearings otherwise you'll break it. The brush block has a hole to keeping the brushes in with a paper clip when reassembling.

Unless you are running a killer sound system and you have to occasionally jump start your car because of a dead battery, the stock alternator is plenty. I can't imagine that the vast majority of aftermarket units would match the reliability or construction quality of a stock unit either. The one benefit of a non-stock unit is that it is prettier to look at. Sorta like those stupid Optima batteries. Upgrade your charging circuit wiring before you worry about the alternator.

I went with the stock one.. But my lights kept dimming when i would turn up my sub.. two weeks later.. my battery died!.. im thinkin it might have been the battery to begin with.. but then agian it could be to thin of a gauge wire.. or maybe even a bad ground..

jimbeau wrote:

Unless you are running a killer sound system and you have to occasionally jump start your car because of a dead battery, the stock alternator is plenty. I can't imagine that the vast majority of aftermarket units would match the reliability or construction quality of a stock unit either. The one benefit of a non-stock unit is that it is prettier to look at. Sorta like those stupid Optima batteries. Upgrade your charging circuit wiring before you worry about the alternator.

Now when you say charging circut.. do you mean the cable goin to the alternator to the battery or the amp wire for power?..

Im only running one 10inch woofer.. no crazy power here..

Hey, I like my stupid optima battery. It's proven exceptionally reliable.

Hey Sting wish I could say that about my Optima red top battery.Been discharged a few
times due to the back cargo lights and is always hard to recharge even using a seperate
battery in series with the red top.Even sitting for a week or less its turns over very slowly
when starting the car and thats when its not that cold.Wont be buying another Optima.
M H O
Jim Gordon

Hey, what do you know, stingeroo got one of the few good ones. lol

Regarding the wiring, upgrade the the wire size (with good quality crimped or soldered terminals) of the:
* alternator-to-battery-positive wire (red is nice).
* battery negative-to-engine-block wire (red would not be smart here).
* the wire that grounds the body (not the frame) to the battery negative. This wire should go to the negative battery terminal, but can go to the same bolt on the engine block as the other ground wire if it's more do-able. On a stock vehicle, this wire isn't very big because it doesn't have to be. But if you have added some aftermarket big current drawing items like an amp or amps or inverter, you might fry this wire because almost everyone grounds their huge amp to the body metal at some point near the amp. The amp grounding wire should go to one of the seat mounting bolts where the sheet metal is more than one layer thick and the bolt gets tightened down good and solid. The wire from the negative battery terminal to the body that you are upgrading should also go to a spot on the body metal at an overlap seam or somewhere where the sheet metal is more than one layer thick. This will insure that you don't waste power trying to run a hundred amps intermittently through thin sheet metal.
#4 or #2 gauge wire is good to use for the upgrade.
If you are noticing dimming of the lights when the bass is thumping, it's a weak battery or weak wiring from battery to amp (neg AND pos), not your alternator. Only if the alternator can't keep the battery charged up, is it inadequate.
Check the condition of the body-to-frame strap ground, wherever it is on your vehicle.
Make sure that the metal is bare and clean wherever you are bolting on a wire, and cover all surfaces with a heavy grease and use lock washers. Tighten them good.

Amen.

Yeah mine died because of those damned cargo lights too. I finally did the sensible 0-watt upgrade (pulled the stupid things LOL). Mine's just out of warranty too.

Also, all this talk of wiring has me exhausted. And to think, I want to upgrade my sound system. lol

The wiring is easy. The explanation was hard.

I've heard that one before... lol Unfortunately, I don't have a mechanical bone in my body (yet... I'm working on it).

jimbeau wrote:

Hey, what do you know, stingeroo got one of the few good ones. lol

Regarding the wiring, upgrade the the wire size (with good quality crimped or soldered terminals) of the:
* alternator-to-battery-positive wire (red is nice).
* battery negative-to-engine-block wire (red would not be smart here).
* the wire that grounds the body (not the frame) to the battery negative. This wire should go to the negative battery terminal, but can go to the same bolt on the engine block as the other ground wire if it's more do-able. On a stock vehicle, this wire isn't very big because it doesn't have to be. But if you have added some aftermarket big current drawing items like an amp or amps or inverter, you might fry this wire because almost everyone grounds their huge amp to the body metal at some point near the amp. The amp grounding wire should go to one of the seat mounting bolts where the sheet metal is more than one layer thick and the bolt gets tightened down good and solid. The wire from the negative battery terminal to the body that you are upgrading should also go to a spot on the body metal at an overlap seam or somewhere where the sheet metal is more than one layer thick. This will insure that you don't waste power trying to run a hundred amps intermittently through thin sheet metal.
#4 or #2 gauge wire is good to use for the upgrade.
If you are noticing dimming of the lights when the bass is thumping, it's a weak battery or weak wiring from battery to amp (neg AND pos), not your alternator. Only if the alternator can't keep the battery charged up, is it inadequate.
Check the condition of the body-to-frame strap ground, wherever it is on your vehicle.
Make sure that the metal is bare and clean wherever you are bolting on a wire, and cover all surfaces with a heavy grease and use lock washers. Tighten them good.

Amen.

AMEN BROTHER!.. thanks a million!.. i will be investing in the wires very shortly