Starter & generator rebuilds

boomerusmc

boomerusmc

Member
My club is hosting a small parts day, including "HowTo's" for rebuilding generators and starters. I want to do both (mostly for the experience), but I'm unsure if I should get just the standard rebuild kits (from either Bratton's or Mac's)...or should I spring for the armatures and field coils as well?

I have no real issues with either the on generator or starter on my coupe, but she's still just a project...I haven't had her on the road yet. Any advice?

Thanks, Dan
 
boomerusmc said:
My club is hosting a small parts day, including "HowTo's" for rebuilding generators and starters. I want to do both (mostly for the experience), but I'm unsure if I should get just the standard rebuild kits (from either Bratton's or Mac's)...or should I spring for the armatures and field coils as well?

I have no real issues with either the on generator or starter on my coupe, but she's still just a project...I haven't had her on the road yet. Any advice?

Thanks, Dan
Click to expand...

Dan, Check your E-Mails.. Fred..
 
I never replace good parts, so you don't need the armature, as you said it's working.
Most generators need a good cleaning and paint job and possibly new brushes and front bearing. The rear bearing or bushing carries very little load and is often in excellent condition. A lot of generator armature commutators need to be undercut and polished. I like to use my Atlas Hobby Saw that I bought at the train store to undercut the armatures. About 5 to 10 thousanths is a good undercut.

Starters may need the bushing replaced on the drive end, since it carries a heavy load while cranking. I usually find the ground brushes may need to be replaced about twice as often as the field brushes. If you replace the field brushes you need a good sized soldering iron or gun. I use a WEN 250 soldering gun for the job. The starter has copper brushes and strong brush springs and you should NEVER undercut the starter commutator.

The starter Bendix spring should have clean even coils that haven't been sprung out of shape from forgetting to retard the spark while canking. Also make sure the longer Bendix bolt goes in the end of the shaft and make sure the lock washers have the flat bent tight to the flat of the hex bolt. Also make sure the small pin and spring move freely on the pinion gear. This small spring loaded pin helps the pinion stay out of engagement when the starter is off.
 
If you guys use the advanced search and type in "Generator rebuild" and add Tom's name to the "posts by" field, you will get a wealth of information that he has posted previously. Good stuff
 
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