Thread: Oil leak from Alternator

Originally Posted by 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

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

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

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.

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

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...53#post1891153

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

Peter

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...

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.