Cleaning an Alternator
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Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,394
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From: Moundridge, Kansas
Cleaning an Alternator
Ok heres the story I was doing some accidental wheeling (sight seeing after Kansas tornadoes) and I ended up in sandy water up to my bumber (maybe higher) I ended up fouling 2 plugs and a noisy alternator what is the easiest way of cleaning this thing or should I just replace it?
Jeremy
Jeremy
Junior User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 61
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From: Shreveport Louisiana
it sounds like sand in the bearing,I would try a premium degreaser like Castrol Superclean on it (avoid paint) then blow it out with compressed air. Should quiet the bearing when you get the muck out of it
Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 11,932
Likes: 181
the bearings are sealed and should not get sand in it. if you think you have sand between the rotor and stator, i would take it off, wash with warm water in the sink and shake it to get out everything you can and looosen up the rest. then blow out with air. spin it to see how it sounds. let it set outside in the sun for a few hours, then reinstall when you see no moisture.
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 252
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From: North Pole, Alaska
The alternator will always have a rubbing sound to it do do the brushes contacting the rotor. As previously stated the bearings are sealed so they should be good. I would think if you get enough water to wash out the bearings in an alt it would also fry the voltage regulator.
