I've gotta go with Dennis on this one.  Sure its pretty easy to get
those $3 brushes from Napa (or $13 elsewhere) and do a quick repair on
the road, I even keep a couple of sets in my spare stash in the Westy
or GL on road trips (and a spare regulator too). Remember, this is
just to get you home and burn it into your mind to replace it with a
fresh remanufactured unit (Bosch preferred of course) as soon as
possible. It goes back to what my late father said: A patch job is
like stopping the clock to save time.
-- 
Jim Thompson
84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
75 914 1.8 "Nancy"
Full Timing Since March 1999
oldvolkshome@gmail.com
http://www.oldvolkshome.com
***********************************
On Sun, May 15, 2011 at 5:27 AM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote:
> From new the brushes should last for the useful life of the alternator. The
> slip rings are also worn at this point and at some point the rear bearing
> will start to go bad and spin in the housing. This will wipe out that rear
> sleeve and at some point the rotor will rub on the stator etc. Point is the
> brushes wearing out is an indicator for overhaul. If the alternator bearings
> crash and you lose the belt and then overheat the engine the savings on not
> getting the alternator rebuilt can be used for the tow home.
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Jim Arnott
> Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2011 11:32 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Voltage at alternator blue D+ lead?
>
> People don't replace brushes anymore???? �$3.00 from NAPA. Ten minutes with
> a soldering gun. I always buy 2 sets. There are probably 3-4 pairs in my
> toolbox right now.
>
> Jim
>
>
>
> On 5/14/11 7:38 PM, "John Rodgers" <inua@CHARTER.NET> wrote:
>
>> � A caution. If the brushes in the regulator pak are worn, you can get
>> replacement paks for anywhere between $13.95 and $30.00. I bought mine
>> off of E-bay for about $15.00.