Rebuilding Alternators

[Sharecropper]

My 1984 Arizona National Guard M1028 has only 12,945 miles and the 30-year-old alternators have never been rebuilt. Those of you who have followed my rebuild thread know that, since 2010, I have rebuilt or restored just about everything on my truck and have only driven it approximately 600 miles. I am now to a point of performing preventative work, and the alternators are next on the list of things to rebuild. They seem to be working perfectly. Many would say "if it ain't broke don't fix it", however I may drive the truck out west elk hunting next fall and would rather go ahead and rebuild both alternators in the comfort of my heated shop instead of possibly dealing with an issue on the road later on.

So here are my questions - Should I, can I obtain the correct parts and rebuild them myself, or should I simply send them out for rebuilding? What comprises a rebuild? Assuming I rebuild them myself, where can I obtain the correct parts? Are the parts for the passenger-side isolated ground alternator different from the non-isolated unit? Is it difficult to do? What things, if any, should I watch out for? Are there step-by-step guides or You Tube videos to help me through the process? After rebuilding and reinstalling, how will I know they are working to their maximum potential? If I decide to send them out for rebuilding instead of rebuilding them myself, is there a reputable SS vendor who specializes in such work?

As always, thanks in advance for everybody's help and advise with this project.

 

[ralbelt]

I rebuilt mine just for the challenge then took it to a local shop to have it checked, all was good. Keeping in mind I do use this shop for all my starter and alt work on my civilian vehicles, some shops won't want to help. If you are really worried get a spare and have it ready to go.

 

[emmado22]

My local auto electric shop is great, and prices are very reasonable. I like to things myself, but somethings I "know when to say when" and let the professionals do. They have my stuff in and out in a day or two, and I have never had a failure on anything they have rebuilt from my WWII Jeep to my HMMWV starters/generators. I like the peace of mind knowing it was done 100% the right way by a guy who has been doing it for 20+ years instead of my total lack of experience in rebuilding items like that.

 

[Warthog]

The rebuilding of the alternator is easy as long as you are paying attention to what you are doing. The internal replacement parts are just like a regular alternator. The only difference is the fiber washers for the mounting screws.

Inhave rebuilt many of them. First one took a couple of hours as I took pictures and documented how I took it aparts. Now in can do one in about 20 minutes.

The procedure is outlined in the TM 9-2310-289-34 manual. A couple of steps in the testing phase can be skipped as you do not have the test equipment.

You may want to buy an extra alternator and play with it.

Two things you want to watch out for are: make sure all the fiber washers are returned to their proper location and when removing/installing the rear bearing you want to make sure you support the housing as it will crack of you don't.

 

[Warthog]

www.aspwholesale.com is where I buy most of my starter and alternator parts.

 

[xenocath]

i did a search and downloaded the procedure and the 27si manual read all the posts i could find and all four i have done turned out perfectly before this truck i always had a shop do mine now that i have done it i will never pay someone to do that again.

 

[evldoer]

Do it yourself. Do one at a time in case you have forgotten how to put the first one back together. Once you do them you will tell yourself there is no way I would pay someone else to do such a simple rebuild. If you have brought that truck this far on your own, dont stop at the alternators!!!