Reproduction Parts for 1916-1964 Chevrolet Passenger Cars & 1918-1987 Chevrolet & GMC Trucks


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#475405 10/23/22 04:10 PM
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1941 Chevy Master Deluxe

It left us stranded for the first time. The generator seized without warning. Loud squeal and that was it. Stopped charging, cause it to start to heat up as the belt was not spinning as fast as it should. Belt looks melted too. Only drove a mile like that too. With the belt removed the pully cannot be turned.

Is it most likely age that caused this to fail or could it have been something else? We have a few hundred miles on it since we got it on the road this year.

Sons and I agreed that at least it is near the end of the season so we are not loosing much due to the down time.


I have found that having an old car is a constant project that is never done. I think that is a good thing. Keeps me learning new things. Having two from different eras is just a form of higher education.
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I expect that the ball bearing on the front end failed. Sometimes the bushing at the rear will fail but typically it is the front that seizes.

There are oil cups on both end frames with felt wicks in the passage. The idea is that the wick holds the oil and lets it drip onto the bushing. When the wick is gone (they just disintegrate with time) any oil you put into the cup just flows out the bottom of the end plates.

Hopefully the electrical shop can pull the inner race off of the shaft and the armature is good. If the shaft is damaged they can probably spray weld it and turn it back to size.


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sounds like a bearing or bushing failure, lube is essential

Delco generators are cheap and easy rebuild for most shops, typically parts are readily available (minus the main housing). millions of them made and used on many vehicles and equipment. I recently had mine completely rebuilt with new bushings, bearings, armature, coils. took them about 2 days, and they even adjusted and set the output !! had hte other one rebuilt a year ago. so now both are fresh and good to go.


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Originally Posted by Rusty 37 Master
I expect that the ball bearing on the front end failed. Sometimes the bushing at the rear will fail but typically it is the front that seizes.

There are oil cups on both end frames with felt wicks in the passage. The idea is that the wick holds the oil and lets it drip onto the bushing. When the wick is gone (they just disintegrate with time) any oil you put into the cup just flows out the bottom of the end plates.

Hopefully the electrical shop can pull the inner race off of the shaft and the armature is good. If the shaft is damaged they can probably spray weld it and turn it back to size.


Would this explain why there was oil on the endplate since I put it on the road this year? I was attempting to oil it per the manual so I thought that was what happened when there was enough in there. I oiled it a week ago, must not have been doing any good.


I have found that having an old car is a constant project that is never done. I think that is a good thing. Keeps me learning new things. Having two from different eras is just a form of higher education.
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That sure seems reasonable. An easy substitute for the wick is a piece of pipe cleaner. The limitation is that unless you have a friend who is a pipe smoker you have to buy a whole pack!


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The last couple of times, maybe longer, my generator re-builder emphasized that the front bearing is sealed and the bushing is lubricant impregnated and they do not require preventive oiling. I do know that the last generator I had re-built was because the brushes wore down to a nubbin and the bearings were still good and I had never oiled them.


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...and remember that having the fan belt too tight ...can cause the front bearing to go out real fast... same with the water pump bearing... the belt should be adjusted just tight enough not to slip... for longest bearing life....


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I agree that the bearing and bushings used in rebuilds today could be the type that Mike Deeter describes. If a generator has never been rebuilt or was rebuilt with NOS parts they might not be what Mike describes.


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I'll bet they were exactly what Mike describes.

One thing I learned rebuilding some 30s Delco generators for other GM makes, is that the original front ball bearing, that I did find NOS, and that uses oil and a wick, is exactly the same dimensions as the sealed lubed for life bearing used in some extremely common Delco alternators like the 10Si. As I recall, even the retainer, screws and gasket were interchangeable. That modern bearing slides right in and the oil would never get inside it because it is sealed on both sides.

At the back there is a bronze bushing, an oil reservoir, and a wick that pulls up into a slot that is cut in the side of the bushing. The bushing has to have a wick pulled up into the slot using a little wire or something. One end of the wick lays in the oil reservoir, and the other end (in the slot) rubs directly on the armature shaft.

Several Delco generators of this period use a slotted bronze rear bushing of the same dimensions as an oilite one that fits a bunch of Delco generators on tractors and such well into the 1960s and possibly beyond. This oilite bushing has no wick slot because unlike the earlier generators, the ones that used it originally had no wick.

It would be easy to put the newer style bearing and bushing in, and oiling wouldn't do anything except potentially make a mess. The generators I rebuilt got original ND ball bearings, bronze bushings, and wicks. It was a little hard to source some of that. I doubt anyone else bothered when cheap common parts probably pressed right in and fit. If this is the case, then a "sealed for life" bearing just failed, and there was really nothing you could have done to prevent it.

One way to find out: Take it apart and rebuild it, See what kind of bearings and bushings you find in there!

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the rebuild kits i got had the sealed bearings. if of quality will last a lifetime. QUALITY is key, not the chinese ones. most bushings are oil impregnated/ embedded. these bushings are common place and last forever under normal use.

being in the mechanical pump field for the last 20+ years we used both sealed for life and open face bearings all the time. when maintained they last forever. same with the oil bushings.

maintenance is key, get a quality rebuild kit with quality bearings and bushings !!


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HA, no need to be stranded. In the early 60s, I was regularly driving my '53 back and forth from NC to MA for school, with the regulator tweaked to raise the max charge current to 50A to run my ham radio. Late one night, my generator ate its front bearing, with symptoms like yours. Still being 700 miles from home, late on a chilly night on the MA turnpike, I had to think outside the box a bit. I loosened the clamp bolt, swung the generator over toward the block, and went on my way. The fan and water pump take very little power and kept going, with the belt slipping around the stuck generator pulley. By sticking behind vehicles, mostly 18 wheelers, my lights out, I made it to VA about dawn. I stopped at a restaurant next to a filling station and had them charge my battery while I had breakfast. That charge got me home just fine!
WL


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Originally Posted by Wilson
HA, no need to be stranded. In the early 60s, I was regularly driving my '53 back and forth from NC to MA for school, with the regulator tweaked to raise the max charge current to 50A to run my ham radio. Late one night, my generator ate its front bearing, with symptoms like yours. Still being 700 miles from home, late on a chilly night on the MA turnpike, I had to think outside the box a bit. I loosened the clamp bolt, swung the generator over toward the block, and went on my way. The fan and water pump take very little power and kept going, with the belt slipping around the stuck generator pulley. By sticking behind vehicles, mostly 18 wheelers, my lights out, I made it to VA about dawn. I stopped at a restaurant next to a filling station and had them charge my battery while I had breakfast. That charge got me home just fine!
WL

I tried the same thing unfortunately with no luck. Was OK leaving the supermarket parking lot and then got stuck in stop and go in town. Saw the temp gauge rising and decided it was not worth the risk. Pulled into the 7-11 and called AAA. When I saw the gauge go a little high my first thought was you have an alternative use it. If I had to get home ASAP I may have made it.

As for the old generator My oldest son removed it and we took it apart. The felt that was supposed to be there was almost nonexistent. A few of the balls in the bearing had become shrapnel The inner race had cracked too. It was defiantly the front bearing that failed.

I received a replacement generator and it works per a test that I saw Jayhawker do on YouTube. I did oil this one and it seems good. I gave my sons the choice of putting it in and going for one last ride this season a few weeks back or to sealed bearings and new brushes in this one before placing it in the car. Both of them quickly wanted to rebuilt it so it does not fail going forward. The choice I was hoping for but I wanted them to make it.


I have found that having an old car is a constant project that is never done. I think that is a good thing. Keeps me learning new things. Having two from different eras is just a form of higher education.
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Christmas is past and we finally had time to get back to the generator. Lucky to have a rare 58 degree day in winter. My youngest son put the generator in. After that the car started up and we drove around the block without any issues. Gauge showed charging as it did with the last generator. Headlights did make it go into discharge at idle but with the slightest throttle they were charging.


I have found that having an old car is a constant project that is never done. I think that is a good thing. Keeps me learning new things. Having two from different eras is just a form of higher education.
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Originally Posted by Mr87Monty
Headlights did make it go into discharge at idle but with the slightest throttle they were charging.
That's the way of a generator.


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