alternator wet

[kizz81]

hi,
i have recently changed the alternator on my landrover 90 after a wet trip to holymoorside where it got soaked and packed in, i was wondering if there is any way to protect the alternator from getting so wet and breaking
thanks
kieran

[Range Rover Blues]

No because it needs air circulating all the time, I think you were a tad unlucky though.

[extreme90]

yeh your lucky, have to change mine every 3 months  
just spray it in wd40 before a dunking helps it a little bit,
everytime on mine the bearings give way due to mud ingress ect
dan

[simonred90]

i got 2 alternators on my truck. fortunately they are both right on the top of my engine so are the last bit to get wet. they last about a year and a half before failure and there is not a lot that can be done to prolong the life of them. i believe in a hard steam clean after a dunking, not sure if it works but a clean one must be better than a dirty one.

[extreme90]

nuffing i can do, those simex kick s*** everywhere  
and its the sany water around by me that grinds everything down  
thing is i get of lightly compared to my friends disco  :shock:
im gonna make a shield to cover it up just for when offroading, then remove for road work so she stays cool  :roll:
well, when i get around to it :roll:
dan

[kizz81]

thanks, if theres no way of keeping them dry do you no where the cheapest place to buy them from is and what price?

[Dave B]

If you are using the old type Lucas alternators (AC/AC-R type) you can replace the bearings with identical size parts, but sealed, so they keep the mud out, of the bearings at least...  Any decent engineering factors place will be able to supply them.  I've done several in the past, still have one here, but a low power unit (40A) but now you cant get replacement brushes, oh well.....

Out of interest, they are identical to those used on the front wheel of my old MT bike too.

Lada used to use fully waterproof alternators I seem to remember, on the Niva at least.

Dave B.

[simonred90]

the bearings are not critical to alternator life and they charge regardless of condition so i would disregard them all togethger. it is usually the brushes and or the regulator on back of the alternator body that fail. these parts cost only a few quid and can be repaired at any specialist auto electical shop. some places atually specialise in alternators. i put a new regulator and had one fully tested with guaranteed parts for only 30quid

[extreme90]

yeh true but the bearings always collaps on me
its never not charged
its just a fact of life, alternators simply wernt designed to be submerged in s*** and get caked in mud
not even marine alternators survive a season on some 3lt gm engines i see  :shock:
just spray with wd40 to aide it and let it be
im gonna make a shiled to to protect it abit, when its done ill send u a few pics
dan

[kizz81]

so whats the best thing i could do?

if the shield works let me no :)

[extreme90]

grin and bear it just spray it with wd40 before you go for a dip
be coursious of what you go into water wise, if its nice clean wter than no probs at all
i wont go in sandy or muddy water unless i have to or im on a competition cos that what does the damage
also wash of thouroghly after a dunking doesnt matter bowt getting drenched just ge the crap out of it
dan

[Eeyore]

Some good clues and hints to stopping the alternator getting quite so wet can be found in this sister thread:
http://forums.mud-club.com/viewtopic.php?t=34584

Although the alternator can be veiwed as a weak link, there are a few tricks that can be played to mkae life easier for them. As RRB has said, it's full of holes, but not without good reason. Crank case gases bleed into the alternator body via the drive shaft arrangement and the vacuum advance has it's requirements too.

HTH
cheers
 8)
Eeyore

[Xtremeteam]

got an alternator for my 90 today as the one on it was only charging 13.2, £35 i paid for an exchange  :lol:

[joker777]

If you think the alternators are the week link on a defender you want to try off roading a 2.5 pajero, i went through 3 on mine with the final one starting to wine just as i sold it but i know a couple of folks that have gone through 7 or more in a couple of years :shock:
it seems that once the OE mitsubishi one gives up the ghost then you can expect to be changing them on a regular basis.

[land-def-90]

i remember reading about camel trophy land rovers having a big problem with having to replace alternators on a very regular basis only one team had no problems (austrailian) there secret was to pour clean water over alternator after wading

[kizz81]

does that work the australian method?
my dad keeps telling me that getting the alternator wet is the problem is he right?

[hingmy]

i suppose the theory is keep it clean and when it dries out it will be ok as opposed to keep it dry but fullk of silt and then it will be a bit poorly.

[Eeyore]

....and if I learn to read properly I would have realised that I was yattering about distributors, not alternators!  :lol:

So, ignore my post, I was being a muppet!  :lol:

Soz for the confusion!

cheers
 8)
Eeyore

....Donkey by name, donkey by nature.......

[kizz81]

dont worry bout it  :D
had me confuesed a little bit
heres what finnished off our alternator
http://members.mud-club.com/profiles/kizz81/gallery/holymoorside/0/1566d494c1d92c0284fa6264b578ed6b.JPG/
and nearly flooded the engine i now have a snorkel!

[hingmy]

a mere puddle - but then you probably have more brains than i did on sunday

[kizz81]

why what you do on sunday?

[extreme90]

dont worry bout it  :D
had me confuesed a little bit
heres what finnished off our alternator
http://members.mud-club.com/profiles/kizz81/gallery/holymoorside/0/1566d494c1d92c0284fa6264b578ed6b.JPG/
and nearly flooded the engine i now have a snorkel!

 :shock:  lucky [!Expletive Deleted!] your intake is on that side  :shock:
and what does mine is when im litrally up onto me windscreen in water at hill n ditch, that scared me lol  :roll:
waterproofing worked  :shock:
o ye the ausie method does work, washes all the sand/muddy water out with nice fresh clean stuff so no grit 2 grind stuff down  
dan