john,

i repalced bearings in 90 amp alternator some years ago, timken i
think, i wrote part number down in manual. the bearings were not hard
to find, local industrial supply house.

what was an issue was the rear bearing fitment into housing. it was
loose and i had to shim. If you had a lathe you could machine housing
and  a sleeve and use different bearing.

as to the electrics, brushes or of course available, diodes too (i
think). re winding may not be.

alistair

'86 syncro 7  passenger
'82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94
http://www.members.shaw.ca/albell/
http://shufti.wordpress.com

On 17-Nov-09, at 1:16 PM, John Rodgers wrote:

I have three alternators - 4 including the one on my daily driver (it
works) and those three are dead. They turn freely, excess play, smooth,
no sounds from the bearings - sound perfectly good - but perfectly dead.
Two of these are the typical Bosch units on the Vanagons that get
rebuilt but one is a a Beck/Arnly rebuild.

Are parts available for these alternators? When active in Aviation along
time ago - Cessna and others switched over to alternators that look
pretty much  like - and mount just like - these Bosch and Beck/Arnly
units. Mount on a bracket - belt driven. The ones that came on the
Cessna aircraft had "Ford" marked on them. Back then, I could rebuild
the alternators in the shop. Didn't take much. Almost always if the
alternator failed before the engine reached overhaul time - the
alternator failure was the result of rectifier failure or brush failure.
Any decent A&P Mechanic could fix that and send the aircraft owner on
his way in short order.

So, my question is -  Are parts available for these alternators on the
Vanagons? Most likely the problem is the same one as on the airplanes -
if the bearings are still good. Anyone know of sources?

BTW - in my experience the Beck/Arnly rebuilds hold up and last a lot
longer. Of course the prices is greater for the Beck/Arnly rebuild too.

Finally - the back of a Beck/Arnly rebuild has the same components as
the Bosch but there is a third little do-dad and I haven't decided what
that is - voltage regular, filter, or what.

If anyone knows a parts source I sure would appreciate hearing of it.\

Thanks

--
John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com