Battery no charge

[BodybyFisher]

I will post photos of the alternator teardown.

[BodybyFisher]

And here is how vehicles end up with bad reputations, clowns that dont have a service manual or direct experience and fail to do research. Luckily in the comments many have highlighted this 'mechanics' R&R

There are so many youtube videos of people doing this job wrong and pulling the radiator.

[KHE]

That guy was a hack - 2.4 hours to R&R the alternator. Then his comments as well as the other cretins in the comments section - it's obvious they have never R&R'd a starter on one of these engines...

[BodybyFisher]

I know, this is how negative bias gets started so called mechanics are this engines worst enemy.

[BodybyFisher]

I know, this is how negative bias gets started so called mechanics are a manufacturers worst enemy. He will tell a bunch of people and so on. I am always stunned at how bad some mechanics are. I once got into an argument with a guy at the gym who was a mechanic who did NS head gaskets without timeserting and insisted it wasnt necessary.

I think either the app is buggy or I am buggy dont know how I posted twice.

[Cadillac Jim]

I didn't drill down into where the video was made, but the voice and accent reminds me of "Hey y'all, watch THIS!" When I realized that the narrator was enthusiastically describing removing a Northstar alternator from the top, and removing the radiator (A/C condenser? Power steering cooler?) I stopped watching.

BBF, sometimes when the Internet is slow (server on IPBoard's side, too much traffic in the routing path, your IP's server being busy or slow), the handshake between the browser and the IPBoard server gets out-of-sync and people have multiple posts. That has happened to me a few times and I've seen it occasionally.

[BodybyFisher]

Thanks Jim

[Cadillac Jim]

If you need a huge laugh, click the link again and read the comments!

[BodybyFisher]

That is very funny, I think I know Tammy!

[BodybyFisher]

I have not disassembled my alternator yet, this one shows a needle bearing at the rear, I was under the impression it was a roller bearing, we will see. Here is a nice summary of the rebuild on a unit that has a needle bearing. Not 100% sure I like the peening process after the aluminum is broken away on the drive bearing.

[KHE]

That is very funny, I think I know Tammy!

[Cadillac Jim]

Hello, Tammy.

I watched the first three minutes, cringing every few seconds, then cut it off. Using a steel hammer on aluminum parts, or to "tap" apart pieces that can be worked apart by hand just as quickly, strikes me as... not thoughtful. I've used plastic hammers (clear yellow plastic) to tap aluminum parts, but not often, and not as a first approach. Bigger items may need a rubber hammer. But a hammer is not a universal tool.

[BodybyFisher]

I agree, I am not a big fan of hammering aluminum either but he did support the case with a properly sized socket to minimize the potential for damage, very much like I did when I replaced the case seal on the left tranny output shaft. Would I use the PULLEY as a support, nope, I have other sockets and pipe that will suffice. He did need to break that rolled aluminum however so that took some force. Personally I would rather press those bearings out than hammer them out. I have a deep c-clamp and that may work to press them out or I can use a threaded rod with proper sized sockets like I used to do with the 60's upper control arm bushings to press them in and out. It is a good primer of what is involved in disassembling and reassembling the unit though and it is the same model alternator that we have, the CS-144, it was not presented as the manner in which to do the job. I would tap rather than slam the hammer and I am not thrilled with the peening process, its a shame there is no retainer but the condition is, what the condition is. I am not 100% sure it needs peening but if it does, I will do it at 45 degree points not like a clock face as he did. His tips on heating the case, using red thread lock and freezing the bearing may come in handy. He gets the job done but he is typical of what my dad referred to as a slam bang mechanic but he was effective here and didn't damage anything. Its nice to see potential pitfalls like the 4 case bolts that can seize up not unlike the case on my Hayward pool pump motor. Its nice to know what you are in for before you jump in the deep end of the pool. I scanned the FSM and unless I missed it, I didn't see a detailed breakout, but I was looking in the powertrain section, need to look at the other volume. While I don't mind flying by the seat of my pants, the last alternator I rebuilt was on my 91 Seville and getting the pulley off was tricky without an impact wrench.

He did mention how oil on the brushes can cause damage to the slip rings, so its good to see that oil ingestion can be an issue as I believe winterset and I have experienced. Winterset said this "The brushes were buried in an oil like tar and it was so bad, i could only see one brush where the rear brush was pushed down into the slot and covered in grease". Given that my alternator is covered in oil and the vents are clogged with oil and dirt, I personally am happy to see an independent third party comment on the impact of oil within the unit, my Feb 5th post here spoke of oil ingestion. As a matter of fact here is the photo of the area, the oil cooler o-rings, oil lever switch and oil pressure switch were leaking, nothing from the cam covers though:



When I swapped the engine back in November I saw how badly the alternator was oil logged and it was on the list of things for me to do before the high summer temps as a lack of cooling would cause a failure for sure. I am so happy I got SKF bearings for it...

All and all I think the video was supportive of my and wintersets, experience and showed that an oil leak must be resolved asap.