I'm investigating doing some preventative maintenance on my alternator. It's original OEM, seems to have a little bearing noise.

Need, front/rear bearing, brush(es), and shaft seals if available. I've looked at the online suppliers but most of the stuff seems Chinese - which may not matter.

Looking to see what others here have done. Also need confirmation if two brushes or one - FSM is a little unclear.

Thanks

Looking on Rockauto it looks like 2 brushes, no other info, but I hope that helps a bit, they also have a drive end bearing.

I checked RA first but as you say only front bearing. I might as well replace rear as well. The only reference to two brushes is an FSM pic on how to use an allen key to hold the brushes in place to get the rotor in place, only one brush is listed in parts exploded view.

There are two shaft seals listed in FSM but so far I see nobody that carries them.

Looked at a few online suppliers but had a problem with most, either incomplete parts or slow to useless web connection. Ended up HERE. Great service that shipped same day as order placement. I phoned to get some parts confirmation and got great service there as well.

I was concerned about bearing quality but this supplier provided WBD which is manufactured by WAI (unknown to me). They are made in China but are world wide with several locations here in U.S. Front & rear bearings with two brushes was just over $10, the shipping though was about $8. All internal parts as well as the pulley were also available. My local alternator repair could have done it but I'm saving the labor. I will not purchase rebuilt units from parts stores as these are notoriously poor quality.

I'll report back after the rebuild to let everyone know how easy or hard it was.

So I have the alternator apart, needed an impact gun to remove the pulley nut. Have run into a couple of snags - not insurmountable.

First the rear bearing needs a small bearing separator (bearing is about 3/4") unless you cut it off with an angle grinder. I didn't want to risk cutting into the shaft so I ordered a separator from Amazon for about $22. I'll have to fabricate my own puller for the separator though as buying a "kit" is too expensive.

The front bearing knocks out easily.

Second problem was an attempt to de-solder the three stator wires from the rectifier. It's the only way to remove the stator from the rectifier and the brush holder to replace the brushes. I could not get enough heat from my two soldering guns as the wattage is just not high enough for the solder and the large wires that conduct a lot of heat away from the solder. So for $21 I ordered a 200 watt large soldering iron from Amazon. I would not attempt a butane torch as the diodes are right next to the solder joints.

The brushes are also soldered in so I'll need the bigger iron for that as well.

So for now I'm into this for about $63, without a $28 rectifier. Reman alternators at RockAuto run between $80 and $130 (Denso). Ahead so far.

If this works out though and I can use the tools on future alternators then it's be a good way to save some money as the replacement parts are very cheap.

I just checked what's included in the Denso reman alternator ($130).

1.Bearing 100% tested to OEM specifications and repacked with OEM grade lubricant.
2.Stator Insulation tested to 600 volts.
3.Rotor Performance and insulation tested to 600 volts.
4.Housing Re-tapped to OEM specifications and damage-checked for heat warping, corrosion, or improper surface alignment.
5.Hardware 100% stripped and replated.
6.Rectifier Performance tested to 300 volts.
7.Voltage Regulator 100% voltage tested to OEM specification.
8.Slip Ring re-machined to an average of 8 microns (20 micron run-out maximum).

It appears the rectifier/volt regulator is just tested, not replaced. They also state the bearing is just repacked, not sure how they'd do that as it is a sealed unit. One bearing is referred to so maybe only the front is looked at.

Just a reference in that I'm further ahead on the $$ game.

Today I cleaned the front cover with diluted muriatic acid. Other cleaners/degreasers/wire brush did not get all the 20 year old crud off. I was careful to start with very diluted and slowly added acid to get to a strength that got most of the dirt off without getting a violent reaction. Kept the hose handy to rinse quickly. The acid loosens the crud so that afterward a wire brush worked a lot better.

I also installed the front bearing. From an demo online I heated the cover (275F) and put the bearing in the freezer. The video showed only hand insertion was necessary but I had to add a little soft hammer taps to get it seated in the machined cavity. Be sure to support the front cover under the bearing so as not to crack it and only tap the outer race.

Waiting for my bearing separator delivered tomorrow when I'll make a puller for it. 200 watt soldering iron not here til Friday.

Used the 200 watt soldering iron to remove the rectifier wires. Definitely needed the bigger heat to do this. The brush wires came unsoldered with my smaller iron.

Unsoldering the rectifier is difficult as there are ears bent over the wires. So just heating the solder will not release the wires, you need to bend back the ears as well - takes a bit of struggle.

Removed the rear bearing with the bearing splitter and re-installed with hammer and proper size drift, which was a deep socket.

Having looked at many videos on alternator rebuilds, this alternator is one of the more difficult because of the way it is soldered together.

Moving on to re-assembly soon.

Alternator is now re-assembled. Soldered in the new brushes. The old ones were pretty worn down so I'm not sure how long before failure would have occurred.

To solder the brushes in you need to determine how long to make the copper wire as it holds up the brush against the spring. I had no idea how much of the brush needed to extend below the brush holder. I ended up just using the wire length of the OEM build. That worked out well with enough brush extending to the slip ring with allowance to compress the spring and wire inside the holder and enough to extend the brush as it wears.

The rectifier wires soldered in easily as those same ears that prevented easy removal of the wires held the wires tight as I soldered. Again the 200 watt iron was necessary.

Torquing the shaft nut was tricky. It needs to be 70 - 80 ft/lbs but the only way to hold the rotor is with a vice - with care not to do damage, not a good design. Some alternators I've seen on YouTube use an allen key in the the shaft to hold it while the nut is torqued.

Installation of the rotor into the case was difficult as I could not figure why it went in part way easily but got stuck half way in and would not come out again. It's necessary to use a small wire or allen key to hold the brushes in the retracted position to allow bearing, slip ring and shaft installation. I finally just used a rubber mallet and the case screws to set the outer cover and rear shaft bearing home. Be sure the align the back and front case so mounting holes line up.

Alternator spins smooth so maybe tomorrow I will re-install it and see if I get charge power.

This has been a good learning experience and I think I will do another one as I have learned what to expect from this one.

Sounds Great, and an informative writeup.