Hi all... I was curious as to what I need to rebuild an alternator? I know I could go out and buy a rebuilt alt for $100-150 but if I can buy the parts for less and rebuild it myself, why not?

First... this is for my '88 LeSabre. I have access to 3 alternators that have issues (one has squeaky bearings, one has a dead voltage regulator, one just quit charging). I'm sure I could pull them all apart and assemble one good alt but I'd rather just find a kit to rebuild them with all new guts. So... what is the correct model number for the 87-91 style alternator?

I found this chart on this ebay ad that says its a CS130 (I think, if I'm reading it right) which in that case the rebuild kit is about $40 shipped: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Car-Tru ... 240%3A1318

Thoughts? I've never opened an alternator before so I'm kinda lost when it comes to rebuilding one.

_________________
-Eric
"Energy and Persistence Conquer all Things" --Benjamin Franklin
-1989 Buick LeSabre T Type: 220k miles
-1987 Fiero GT: 224k miles
-2012 Honda Civic (boring, but its a good DD)

I buy my parts at a local automotive electrical repair shop. Some auto parts stores sell individual parts, but most of the time I’ve tried them they end up selling me the wrong part. Rock Auto also lists some parts.

The $40 kit price sounds good, but rarely do you need all those parts. The typical wear items are brushes and bearings.
Regulator, rectifier bridge and diode failures are usually caused by external electrical problems in car or from alternator getting soaked with water or coolant. Stator and rotor almost never go bad. After disassembly, you can check rectifier bridge / diodes with a multimeter. Bearings and brushes are pretty much self explanatory when you get it apart.

To disassemble, remove the 4 screws around the back of the alternator. Ther front and back casing are assembled with the stator sandwiched between. Pry the front casing loose with a screwdriver and pull it off. The stator should remain attached to the rear casing - if there are wires preventing you from pulling the two halves apart then the stator is stuck to the front casing and you need to pry it loose with your screwdriver.

The only part on the front assembly to change is the bearing. Occasionally these are stuck and very difficult to remove. You also may need to use an impact to get the pulley off.
On the rear assembly you can change regulator, bearing, brushes and holder easily. The rectifier bridge on CS130 is not as easy to change as earlier models because they switched from screw terminals to welded wire connections (remans have crimp connections). It usually takes a pretty heavy short to fry a rectifier though – so you might not need to change it.
The main trick to putting it back together is to use a paper clip inserted thru the back casing and holes in the brush holder to temporarily hold the brushes in place while you reassemble.

Usually when I just change the couple bad parts I find and correct any problem with the car that caused the failure, I am good for another 50k to 100k+ miles. As with everything on my cars, I try to stretch the most life out of the original parts rather than replacing with aftermarket. After having been thru a couple junk Chinese regulators, I would take a good OEM used one any day.

If you don’t run into the front bearing problem, these can be fun little projects for you.

First, it is a CS-130 style alternator, so the kit you are looking at is correct for the alternators you are trying to rebuild.

Next, you know you have at least one with bad bearings, so between the two you have to rebuild you will probably use everything in the kit. Not a bad deal, and you can write down the bearing sizes and any other markings on the other parts (to finish up the 2nd rebuild with only the parts you need.)

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Bye Bye 1990 Bonneville LE... Now it belongs to my daughter
In the Garage: 2009 Subaru Outback, 1987 Camaro, 2006 SV650S, 1995 Regal 182 "ASANAGI", 1962 Ford Galaxie 500, 1995 Ford F150 XL 4WD, 1953 Farmall Cub

Good info... I've been poking around online and it is indeed the CS130. RockAuto has individual parts but I was originally looking for kits. I found only two places:

Ebay: http://stores.ebay.com/AUTO-REPLACEMENT-PARTS-INC
"Iceberg" Kits/Normal kits: http://store.alternatorparts.com/cs130alternator.aspx

The ebay link is for just a plane jane rebuild of a 105A alt for around $40 shipped. Not too bad, I think I'll end up with this. The second link is a list of kits sold by that company. They have a kit to rebuild the alt with parts that help with cooling (iceberg), kits to up the amps of the alt, and then just a regular rebuild kit for $40 plus whatever shipping is. It would be cool to have a beefier alt but for my application (NA 3800, no super duper audio system or anything) I think the standard 105A kit will be fine.

I also found a really good video(s) on youtube where a guy rebuilt his alt and took a video of it:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqpE9Xxh76M
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyYnU0MNR8k

Its very much worth watching!

I do have an alternator with bad bearings and another that's just dead. I think if I get the kit I may go ahead and apply the entire kit to the completely dead alt and then just buy the bearings for the squeaky alt as it tests good otherwise.

_________________
-Eric
"Energy and Persistence Conquer all Things" --Benjamin Franklin
-1989 Buick LeSabre T Type: 220k miles
-1987 Fiero GT: 224k miles
-2012 Honda Civic (boring, but its a good DD)