So, at Truckstock I put on a new generator and on the drive home it started squealing. The pully began rubbing against the housing. The idiot at NAPA in BFE Illinois convinced me it was left handed thread. That got the pully good and tight.
I finally got it off this evening. Remember, I'm a proud member of the Procrastinators Club. As I want to get it back on in the right location, I was wondering if I should put any spacers behind the pully to keep it from pushing down.

Thoughts?

 

So I got to thinking. The key is angled is my pulley stretched so the key is not doing its job?
I might pull the pulley from my other generator and take a look

i have a 12 volt generator as well maybe I should convert to 12 volt. That would solve my charging problem

 

The key doesn't control the depth of the pulley. I believe it is a woodruff key, 5/32" x 5/8". They are half circles that need to straighten out when mated (usually on their own)

As for the pulley, is it the correct one for the generator? Which generator do you have?

There are various ones that have various depths to them from ~1.35 to ~1.70 and wonder if that could be your issue...

 

I would have to look. I bought it from Kevin (bigwin56) I’m sure he has all the right pieces. He is far more knowledgeable than me.

 

Measure the depth of the recess of the generator and the length of the shoulder on the pulley past the point of contact. Compare the two measurements and if the amount of shoulder is less than the depth of the recess, you'll need to find a suitable spacer or a different pulley. As long as you have sufficient thread for the nut to secure it properly, and the pulley still fits onto the woodruff key, you can use as much spacer as necessary. The hard part will be finding one with the correct inside and outside diameters to fit. You'd likely have to have one custom machined.

 

observations... The pulley will not screw itself on tighter (with a key) as you might already know. Be careful with those guys behind the counters, a lot of them only know what they can look up!

Second, your woodruff key is inserted at an angle... and they dont always straighten up, particularly if it is tight in the shaft and rotated. And it is possible to jam the pulley keyslot against the angled key ...and stretch the key slot outwards by tightening the nut.... which it appears has already happened to yours. Depending on how much of the keyslot and hub is pushed out, the pulley might still be usable. Be sure to tap the key back down flat or parallel to the shaft using a brass hammer or aluminum block ...trying not to burr the edges of the key. Also be careful if the key is loose in the shaft and tight in the hub, the hub can then push and rotate the woodruff key while sliding the hub onto the shaft. ... with the same end result ...stretched keyslot in the hub.

Since the pulley did rub the housing, you will need to sort that out.... you need to add a spacer (making sure there is enough thread left for the nut and the pulley is in alignment) or make sure you have the right pulley ....as 52 Merc stated above. good luck

 

I have no idea. But there are 30 more on the floor here still

 

It may be an optical illusion but in your picture of the fan it appears to not be round. In the pic it looks as if it is pushed out at the keyway. If that is the case that could be part of your problem as it would allow the fan to wobble on the shaft and rub your generator case. Just another idea.

 

It easily slides all the way down to the generator case.
I will straighten the key and see what that does. Not sure how a spacer would work. I can't put a nut under the fan because the key goes below the threads.

I'm looking at my original generator and discovered I have bad brushes. The brushes aren't attached to the wires. Of course brushes aren't stocked at auto parts stores.
I could pull the brushes off this generator, but that would leave this one totally dead. Napa can get them and they are pricey. $25 each. O'Reilly as some that look correct for $13 each but they say they don't fit my 239, but they do fit other Y-blocks so I assume those work.

 

You can get the brushes much cheaper elsewhere. They are .86" high, 1" wide, and .29" thick:


https://www.ebay.com/itm/235904273170
https://www.waltstractors.com/acatal...69A-71620.html

 

I do not believe a spacer will work. I believe a spacer will lock the pulley shaft up against the generator housing which will either lock the shaft or create a heck of a grind. i would try different size woodruff keys. 5/32X3/4. Also, a thought would be to cut the inside 90-degree flange to say a 60 degree instead of the 90 degree

 

bmoran4, Thanks! I have a set on order.

That is what I was thinking. I will look for a different key. I'm not knowledgeable enough to understand the 90 degree to 60 degree flange comment.
Looks like O'Reilly's had the woodruff keys in stock.

 

If I knew how to draw those red lines on a computer pic it would be a simple answer for me, but my computer skills are limited. I called the part a flange, Let's call them fan blades, (on the pulley) the end towards the shaft, that 90 degree bend up, cut the corner off to a 60 +or - 60 degree. I say this because from what I see in your pictures I believe it shows scratch marks where it is hitting the housing of the generator, so by playing with that cut the pulley could go further down without hitting. Hope I helped

 

To me, bending/modifying the fan blades is more of a hack than a real solution...

There should be a tag on the generator that identified it and then we can match it to the proper pulley setup.

 

Harrier... the fact that your gen pulley is rubbing the housing means at least a couple of things....you have the wrong pulley or a spacer is missing. I see some parts diagrams show a spacer while others do not. It might be worth identifying your generator and looking at a parts diagram. Also, I don't think you mentioned how well the gen pulley aligns with the other pulleys? It needs to align fairly close within reason.
Assuming that the pulley alignment is already good, a spacer could be added to move the pulley away from the housing slightly. A thin spacer should not impact the alignment enough to hurt anything. The spacer we are suggesting would go behind the pulley...which in turn would set the pulley further away from the gen. housing increasing the fan to housing clearance. It will not jam up the blades even worse! The spacer would be about the same I.D. and O.D. as your pulley hub and maybe about .100" wide (as an example). You will need to remove the key and slide the spacer on and then re-install the key (unless the spacer has a keyslot cut in it). Using the same ID and OD spacer will not bind up anything against the housing!!!. Pic below shows a spacer. (This is for information only...we have no idea which generator you have





Judging from the photos, you probably already have the correct key. The key needs to match the radius cut in the shaft. Going to a larger radius key will raise the key up higher and then the pulley won't go on.
If the key you have is 5/32 x 5/8, then the key need to protrude above the shaft by .0781" . You stated the hub slides on...therfore you probably do not have any issues with the woodruff key.



Pics do help, can you get a close up of the hub where the key may have pushed it out? if the damage is slight, you probably can use it as it is.

Gerrymoe's suggestion is to bevel off the corners of the blades so they dont hit. You could use a grinder to do this. As small of a radius as it is, balance may not be an issue. Could be a cheap fix. I personally would try to see where the issue was coming from....although I have removed about 1/8" from each of the 4 blades on a radiator fan a while back on another car. I did it in a lathe to keep everything true and remove same amount on each blade to avoid upsetting its balance. If you go this route, still check the pulley alignment.

Is yours the flathead V-8? I might have a 6 volt and 12 volt generator off of the truck in which I could check to see what pulley and spacers I may have.