Oil leak from Alternator

[ScottW]

My alternator has been leaking oil ever since I installed it (it was new). I figure it must just be an o-ring out of place in the vac pump. Is it simply a matter of removing a few bolts and replacing the o-rings or is it likely to be a much bigger job?

[bob10]

TD5? Just looked at RAVE,the alternator has an oil supply pipe, sealed with an O - ring, and an oil return pipe, which looks like it is a rubber pipe , sealed with clamps. The supply pipe is smaller than the return pipe, if the alternator is new, can't see any reason why it would not be a quick fix, my guess is you left out the supply O - ring. Bob [ get yourself a RAVE DVD, makes it so much easier]

[Bearman]

Could be the o ring behind the vac pump or it could be the seal on the shaft which you have to remove the alternator to fix. Take the rear half of the casing off the alternator and you will see the seal. If it is a new alternator it is unlikely to be the seal, i would think.

[ScottW]

It's an isuzu, but I upgraded the alternator and can't remember what it's from so it was more of a generic alternator question. I do have a rave somewhere but I haven't seen it for a while.
I guess I'll pull it apart and see what I find.

[Bearman]

Before you pull it off clean all the oil off it and have a close look at it while it is running. If it is the oring you will find oil on bottom of the vac pump assembly. If it is the seal you will see the oil drip/run off the rear mounting leg of the alternator as they have a drain hole in the rear casing and most of the oil that gets past the seal will drain out there and run down the leg.

[ScottW]

It's coming off the vac pump. Hopefully I have the right size o-ring in my collection.

[flagg]

Make sure oil isn't getting on the starter motor. Oil got in mine and killed it.

[ScottW]

After much procrastinating, and time spent cleaning up the yard after the Aus day storms, I finally pulled apart the vacuum pump. From what I can see, it's missing an o-ring altogether.

There was an o-ring between the vac pump and the backing plate, but no o-rong between the backing plate and alternator. There is nothing stopping the oil from getting past the plate through the hole where the shaft goes and there is a recess in the rear of the alternator, so something is obviously wrong. Hopefully I have the right sized o-ring in my collection.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/02/552.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/02/553.jpg

[Bearman]

Yes, there should be an o ring there. It is a very thin viton type one so hopefully you will have one that will fit.

[luke68]

Where did we go wrong when we have OIL leaking from an alternator? What happened to the good old days of having everything seperated so you can fix it easy without costing the earth! Oh! Thats right they used to be 200/300tdi

[justinc]

Where did we go wrong when we have OIL leaking from an alternator? What happened to the good old days of having everything seperated so you can fix it easy without costing the earth! Oh! Thats right they used to be 200/300tdi

:D They still leak from the vac pump!!


JC

[ScottW]

Where did we go wrong when we have OIL leaking from an alternator? What happened to the good old days of having everything seperated so you can fix it easy without costing the earth! Oh! Thats right they used to be 200/300tdi

This is an isuzu County, not one of those new fangled tdi things with their crazy turbos and electrickery. :D

[ScottW]

Yes, there should be an o ring there. It is a very thin viton type one so hopefully you will have one that will fit.

I didn't have one that fitted, so I used some rtv on the surface outside the o-ring groove that should seal it all up. It's not under much load so it should do. Either way, sealing it up it shouldn't make the oil leak any worse. :)

[ScottW]

The leak has now reduced substantially, but not stopped. It's down to a drip of two per day but I think I'll try source an o-ring to fix it properly.

Will the o-ring be a standard size or will I have to measure it up and hope for the best? If I don't have to remove the alternator to take it into the parts shop, I wont. If it's a standard size, I should be able to source one from the local auto electrician.

[Bush65]

The designation for O-rings are the inside diameter x the section size. It is very unlikely that the one you need is not size carried by the likes of a bearing supply shop. For this application viton is the best material.

[petmic]

The leak has now reduced substantially, but not stopped. It's down to a drip of two per day but I think I'll try source an o-ring to fix it properly.

Will the o-ring be a standard size or will I have to measure it up and hope for the best? If I don't have to remove the alternator to take it into the parts shop, I wont. If it's a standard size, I should be able to source one from the local auto electrician.

I have similar problem with oil leak from vacuum pump but the oil leaks from the front part of the vacuum pump.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/showthread.php?p=1891153#post1891153

Is there some kind of seal in the front of the vacuum pump (between the pulley and the vacuum pump)?

Peter

[ScottW]

This thing is still leaking. I have the vac pump sealed up, but after cleaning it up and having a good look, it's now coming out of the little drain hole at the rear of the casing that Brian mentioned. It's been getting steadily worst over the last 2 weeks, so it looks like I'll have to pull the whole thing and have a look inside... Not impressed by this 'new' alternator...

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/05/257.jpg (http://s97.photobucket.com/user/S_c_o_t_t_W/media/Landy%20Gearbox/2013-05-25-282_zps522dbcaf.jpg.html)

[ScottW]

I pulled the alternator off last night and pulled it apart. It was fairly simple to do.

Looking at the seal, it looks like the little spring that keeps the seal lip tight on the shaft has popped out of place over a quarter of the seal, so that'd be why the oil is escaping.

A new seal and a few new o-rings cost me $7.50 this morning, so I'll screw it all back together tonight and hopefully the slippery stuff stays on the inside from now on.

I also rang an auto eleccy yesterday for a quote if I dropped the alternator in. $88! Definitely worth diy'ing.

[ScottW]

I found out that the press in seal didn't press in tight enough. The pressure of the oil supply was able to push the seal out, resulting in oil everywhere once again...

So I pulled everything apart again, cleaned it up real good and used some black RTV to help it stay in place. I gave the landy a day off today so the rtv can cure. Hopefully the slippery stuff stays inside this time. I'm sick of cleaning it up off the shed floor. Who'd have thought something so simple would turn into such a drama.