Gen 4 alternator not servicable ?

[jp928]

Mate has 2007 3.0Rb wagon 6mt. Alternator seems to have died and he is being told they are not repairable, must be replaced. Anybody been here able to verify or advise a work around please?

jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon

[BillyCorgi]

The GEN 4 factory service manual provides instructions for disassembling, diagnosing and rebuilding the alternator.
What more can a person say?
Cheers!

[Surge]

Surely you can find a spare h6 alternator pretty cheap second hand?

Would save time.

$20 ends in an hour:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/EZ30-subaru- ... 1a032f182c

Not sure what year that's off though.

On Gumtree I've seen one ez30 and one ez30r sell for under $500 complete. Surely an alternator isn't work much.

[Craw]

I put new bearings in mine because the old ones were shagged. It was a bit fiddly because I didn't have a bearing puller that was really small enough. As has already been mentioned, the service manual has all the instructions you need. I didn't replace the brushes because they had heaps left to go.

[Russ59]

There's plenty available on eBay probably a cheaper option than trying to repair what he has

This one here for example $100 but postage and comes with 12 months warranty !!

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SUBARU-OUTBA ... 2c9bca45da

[jp928]

Very helpful, but if he wants to rebuild his, can you get parts like the rectifier pack? Bearings should not be an issue. Why would auto elecs tell him they cant reco ?

tks
jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon

[Russ59]

As far as parts go, I'm not really sure but I don't think the parts are probably available from Subaru dealers and if the Auto Electrician made enquiries that's probably what Subaru would tell them My son had the same issue a little while back with his H6 Liberty starter motor and the same response from the Auto Electrician too. There is a place he may be able to get parts if they are available - https://partsouq.com/ They are pretty much the cheapest place we have found and shipping is super fast (eg - ordered parts last Wednesday, they arrived this morning Monday this is from Dubai !!! ) If he enters his VIN # in where the search asks for it, it will bring up a full list of available genuine parts. Prices are in USD and even with the low AUD value at the moment it is still the best value around for genuine parts and the added bonus is knowing that they will be guaranteed to fit

[Liberty Wagon]

Mate has 2007 3.0Rb wagon 6mt. Alternator seems to have died and he is being told they are not repairable, must be replaced. Anybody been here able to verify or advise a work around please?

jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon

Hey mate,
Totally dependent on what is wrong with it. A lot of new alternators / starter motors are now classed as non-repairable because replacement parts are unavailable, too expensive (I have come across multiple cases where a replacement regulator costs more to buy than a complete replacement alternator, how crazy) or simply because customers are unwilling to pay for them to be reconditioned because they can buy one cheap secondhand or some cheap aftermarket rubbish (and that's all it is) from eBay.
Then there is also the chance that there has been a major malfunction that has resulted in the alternator been unable to be repaired (such as a bracket been flogged out or collapsed bearings causing the rotor to damage the stator).
As said earlier, it totally depends on what has gone wrong inside the alternator.
I am speaking from experience (I run an auto electrical business, I should know )

[jp928]

OK. Detailed diagnosis required, then check what parts are needed.

jp

[jp928]

Symptom - noisy under load, increasing volume with load - sound sort of bearing noise. Removed, opened up. Bearings feel fine - smooth anyway, if a bit stiffer than I would expect at 110k kms. 8-10mm of brush sticking out, same on both, cant see a limit mark, (but the hole for pinning back is gone) slip rings just marked, not rough.
Very slight slop in front bearing, but its the slightly sticky one. Bearings and brushes look like they are easy to get (Autobarn list all of the parts), so I think I will replace them and see what happens.

Any comments please?

Anybody know if there is a difference between the unit on the 3.0 and a 2.5T engine ? I was told that the 3.0 unit is controlled by the main ECU so it doesnt take load right at startup, so you dont get belt squeal...?? Sounds dubious to me.

jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon

[jp928]

All apart and parts on the way. Bearings are NOT staked in as one guy told us - front has a retaining plate with screws. AS WSM says , need to heat rear cover to release the rear bearing. Brushes are $4, and proper bearings for an alternator are $22. Only soldering so far is to remove the brushes, which are about half worn at 100k kms.

The unit on the 3.0 is Mitsubishi A3TG0591, the unit on my 2.5T is A3TG0491. Cant find anything on the web as to what the difference is.

jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon.

[jp928]

Oops. Despite listing the brushes, Autobarn are unable to find a set. Might have to source from O/S. They are 8x5x23.5 mm, with a hole sideways near the tip(to hold them back while assembling). Available in UK and US, sometimes with crazy postage costs - working on that now.

jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon

[jp928]

One set of brushes on the way - from UK! Still looking for a better cheaper source. With bearings it should be done for around $40, and < 2 hrs work. The unit provided as a replacement for the A3TG0591 had to have its pulley swapped from the original unit - it came with a pulley for a 5 rib belt (4 ridges on pulley), but the 3.0 unit has a 6 rib belt (5 ridges on pulley). On my 2.5T motor the belt has a 4 ridge pulley, so I am betting thats the only difference between the two alternators - A3TG0591 and A3TG0491 - both are 110A and some rotation. Also research into 'soft start' alternators would indicate that the soft start feature (load isnt applied to windings until a few seconds after start up and rpm are up) is implemented in the voltage regulator, not in the car's ECU. It seems to be a common thing over the last few years.

jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon.

[jp928]

All back together now, waiting for a car to put it on. If anybody needs to do one, the bearings are relatively easy to get, the brushes take a bit of finding. CAES in Christchurch NZ do them for NZ$3 a pair + GST without springs of the bits of tin that you solder to the brush carrier. I had to get them shipped via a local NZ address, as they didnt seem able to post them here. Cost me NZ $8 altogether, plus A$24 for the bearings.
http://caesltd.com/

jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon