Fan mounted Generator question

19ED30

19ED30

Senior Member
Hi , has anyone used a 32-36 V8 generator with a cooling fan mounted to it
As a dayly driver ? If so have there been any Issues with bearing failure ?
Is there any concern with bearing failure ?
Is the bearing for a 2 blade & 4 blade the same ,
How about the bearing in the later generator ( 49-53) are they same as the bearing in The 32-36 generator .
Can 32 -36 be converted to 12v
 
Eddy, I would say that the bearings in those generators are stronger than the generator mount itself. I know of several mounts that have been destroyed by an out of balance fan blade, but which did not hurt the generator bearing. Those bearings, whether holding a fan or not, must still be strong enough to withstand the belt on its pulley, which itself can be more torturous than the fan. Of more concern than the front bearing would be the rear bushing. A spring loaded cap atop this bushing at the rear of the generator is to be opened at service intervals to drip oil on the felt inside. Failure to do so will destroy that bushing, which will then squeal like a stuck pig.

I don't know, but would expect that the bearings would have changed over the years, and by the way, the generator mounted fans continued through 1938 and 1939 Standard Fords. Yes, many from all those years are daily drivers.

If I knew of any 12 V conversions for these generators, I would keep that nasty little secret to the grave.
 
Eddy, The bearings in those early ford V8 generators with the fan mounted on the generator pulley itself are a twin tapered roller setup simular to your front wheel bearings on your car. The reason for this is to absorb the end thrust of the fan trying to pull forward. Normal ball bearings are not so good in this application. The big worry here is all these modern alternators used in the 12 volt conversions on an early Ford V8 which bolt the engine fan on to their pulleys. Those alternators have only ONE small ball bearing doing all that work and end thrust they were not really designed to handle. How long will that bearing last ? Who knows ? Those early generators will handle a six blade fan as used on the Ford V8 trucks. A 32-38 ford generator can be converted to 12 volts by changing out the field coils to 12 volt ones. The reason for changing the fields is twofold in that the six volt fields on 12 volts have a lower electromagnetic field strength than 12 volt fields would have. Also the voltage regulator contact sets would be handling double the current with 6 volt fields and the contacts life would be shortened considerably. A 12volt matching regulator to the generator would be required. The 6 volt armature can be used BUT will be less efficient than a 12 volt wound armature. Now some here on the Barn say that you can use a 6 volt generator on 12 volts as it is but there again it will be less efficient and require more RPMs before it starts charging. Nothing wrong with a 6 volt system if everything is in good order as Henry built it. Later ford generators have only a ball bearing in the front but don't generally have the fan mounted on the pulley. Regards, Kevin.
 
I run a stock, 3 brush 36 generator on my 32. It came off a running 6 volt car that I had and I put it directly on my 32 with a Fun Projects cut out for a 12 negative ground system which is what my 32 has . All I had to do was polarize the gen for neg ground instead of pos ground. it has only been on the engine for a little under 2 years but I have had NO problems at all. We have been to Canada,Los Angeles, Tahoe , and countless other 200 to 600 mile trips in the last year and a half . I would say it has over 8000 miles on it. This generator was on the previous 36 I owned for many years also .
There you go :D
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Thank Ford38v8, my old lath has oil wells ,
I am thinking of using a 57 or so 12v gen & take
The front end plate Machine down the ears
To be used on my 8ba mount . I also was thinking of machining
A pully to exsept a fan , I have NOS 8ba fan it's so light & I do not know if
The gen fans are as light also,
I'm doing a Av8 build , so I am trying not to cut up the firewall nor move radaitor
I would like to run a gen fan but I do not know if the 57 up gen bearing can Handel
A fan , I would hate for the fan to brake the shaft and hurt some one or me ,
I have not purchase a gen yet , trying to plan a head to see what can work ,
Also wondering if a single 3/8 belt will be ok to run all.
 
Charlie NY has a double row front bearing with spacers for the early generator, the bearing is sealed so no more oiling. His bearing will take a lot more stress that the originals.
 
On my 1932 generator I replaced the original bearing with a 5202-2NS angular contact bearing which is a higher load bearing than the original bearing and I have had no problems.
 
I am looking @ a fan mounted Generator ( 32-38??))
But there is no place for a CutOut on the case,
Did all fan mounted gen have a CutOut?
 
Some '37's, all '38's, & '39 Standard had a voltage regulator on the firewall if the car was equipped with a radio. The generator for that application and all later applications starting with the '39 DeLuxe have two brushes, the earlier ones have three brushes. The visible difference can be seen on the earlier three brush units having a strap around the aft end for access to adjust the third brush. Those early generators had a cutout on top.
 
Thank every one for your knowledge ,
As soon I have the Gen in my hand
I will reply ,I think its a 37-38 because
it has a fan pulley & no cutout mounting holes
On case
 
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