How Can I Lube The Alternator Bearing

[smartme 6]

When I started my 2005 cdi last night, it did the engine shake thing and nearly stalled on me in the beginning whilst driving. It got better and the whirring sound quieted down a little but since my car sits for months at a time, I think I really need to lube the alternator bearing. I read on here before that there is a way to squirt it a little with lube, but I can't find the thread again. Can anyone find the link for me please?

[tolsen 630]

The bearings are not the problem. The clearance between stator and rotor inside alternator is almost nil. Build up of rust bridges the gap seizing alternator. Spray wicking oil into the windings from pulley side but do not overdo the treatment. Oil wetted iron is less prone to corrosion. You have to run engine at least twice per months to ensure any appearing rust wears off.

[smartme 6]

Yes, that was it thanks. I've never heard of wicking oil though.....could you help me out on where to get it and under what brand name?

[smart142 605]

Try ''Wurth HHS 2000'' spray.

[tolsen 630]

Bar oil and diesel mixed 50/50 is just as good.

[Alex 21]

Wicking oil/rust preventive. Generally a thicker clinging creeping oil thinned out with a light solvent. It'll flow, creep, wick into the crevices, penetrate existing rust then dry out, thicken into almost a waxy tough film. Krown, Waxoyl (sp?), Fluidfilm, that Wurth HHS 2000, many other brands. Any automotive supplier. BTW, an industrial supplier may have the food-plant approved low-odor low volatiles clean clear one by Fluidfilm, works well, dries less sticky than most and highly suitable for more visible areas. Not just alternator stators/rotors. By example, all the discussions about removing the top nut from the front shocks? One squirt after assembly and that nut would be rust-free and easy after 5 years Toronto commuting! Anywhere any rust is showing, stuff is great at stabilizing existing rust and preventing more.

[smartme 6]

Thanks all for the suggestion and thanks Alex for the detailed post. Will get some of that stuff then and see how it goes. Noise is getting more quiet as I drive more, but I need to make it slippery so it won't happen again and I bet it will quiet down more as well.

[smartme 6]

I can't seem to see the alternator? Is it accessed above or below to lube it? Any pics would be a great help!

[smartme 6]

Is there a trick to lubing the alternator? I can't seem to find an easy way to access it. Do I have to jack up my smart and get to it from underneath?

[dmoonen 54]

So in a nutshell there's two spash sheilds you can get acess to the alternator

[*]One is located on the passenger side in the wheel well, basicly jack it up remove the tire and the sheild is held on by two big plastic plugs. This gives bascily acess to the belts.

[*]The other splash shield is underneith the vehicle toward the front of the engine, basicly on by some plastic nubs that slide into a hole just take a screw driver on the one side and it should pop out.

Here's a picture of an engine I pulled, you can see the alt on the left side (passenger side)

Edited August 1, 2014 by dmoonen

[smartme 6]

Thanks dmoonen, that speaks volumes! When I lube the windings, do I just spray one of them and when I run the motor, it will slide around to the others, or would I need to try and lube as many as I can see? Sorry for all the questions, but that is about it. I can the alternator bogging down the motor a little and know I need to lube it.

[smartme 6]

Anyone know if I need to have the motor running whilst spraying fluidfilm in the windings? I'm working on it today.

[smart65 28]

You don't need to lube the windings at all. The space between the stator (the stationary part of the electromagnetic system) and the rotor, is so small that rust can "weld" the two together. It's this space that needs the lubrication in order to free up the rotor and prevent further corrosion. If the alternator is not seized, running the engine while applying the fluidfilm might distribute it around the rotor, but it would also fling it off, so I wouldn't think running the engine would be a good idea. Fluidfilm should creep into the space if applied to the gap between the stator and rotor.

[smartme 6]

That's why I originally thought, thanks for confirming that as i didn't feel comfortable just sparing in the windings as suggested before. I will pull the passenger rear wheel off and see if I can lubricate from that side.

[smartme 6]

I finally lubed the alternator today. Used fluidfilm with just two short squirts sort of above the winding. Not much space really to squirt there, but only two squirts since I was worried lubing too much. The second squirt I did see a lot of rust flowing back out mixed with the lube so that sort of tells me it went where it should have. After riding her around for 5 minutes, I can't hear that whine anymore so it seems like it really worked!!! Just hope I don't end up with a burned up alternator now

Edited August 3, 2014 by smartme

[tolsen 630]

I would give it a proper soaking. The brush gear is pretty well protected from ingress of liquids and dust so not much risk contaminating that with oil.

Image shoes cut away view of a typical alternator.

Something you ought to add to your planned maintenance schedule. Prevention is the best cure. Soak regularly perhaps before and after winter.

[smartme 6]

Thanks Tolsen. I guess before Winter I will soak it again but more than I did yesterday. I wanted to spray more in there but just wasn't sure enough.

[smartme 6]

Had a good run with the smart today. Seems to be about a 30% increase in power after lubing the alternator. It just fly's up the hills now like never before. I don't hear the whine from the alternator anymore and don't feel the drag when driving either. Next week I will take it over the steep pass south of Vernon on the 97 and see how she goes. If it continues to ride this good next week and does not revert to semi limp mode, then I'd have to say finally the weak motor problems that have plagued me for years is finally gone thanks to everyone here. Of course, now that everything is so good with the motor, the SRS light decides to stay on

Edited August 7, 2014 by smartme

[David_18 13]

When I started my 2005 cdi last night, it did the engine shake thing and nearly stalled on me in the beginning whilst driving. It got better and the whirring sound quieted down a little but since my car sits for months at a time, I think I really need to lube the alternator bearing. I read on here before that there is a way to squirt it a little with lube, but I can't find the thread again. Can anyone find the link for me please?

I have a similar problem with mine i think,,,

When I start it, the engine is shaking a lot for few seconds and my baterry light stay on too for fews seconds. Everything come back to normal atfer a moment.

I have a new battery, my voltage is good when the engine run.

I will try to do a video.

I feel that the engine is struggling to turn the alternator at first. Is it possible ??

[kdubya 34]

Mine is doing the same thing. I'll try spraying the alternator and see if it goes away. It has a slight squeak when idling too....

[David_18 13]

This is what mine do...

Samething for you ?

Edited October 11, 2014 by David_18

[David_18 13]

Had a good run with the smart today. Seems to be about a 30% increase in power after lubing the alternator. It just fly's up the hills now like never before. I don't hear the whine from the alternator anymore and don't feel the drag when driving either. Next week I will take it over the steep pass south of Vernon on the 97 and see how she goes. If it continues to ride this good next week and does not revert to semi limp mode, then I'd have to say finally the weak motor problems that have plagued me for years is finally gone thanks to everyone here. Of course, now that everything is so good with the motor, the SRS light decides to stay on

I will try mine too to see if that help...

Edited October 11, 2014 by David_18

[kdubya 34]

very similar yes. It gets worse with cold weather, sometimes not starting the first go around...I plan about a days worth of work on it sometime within the next week, I will let you know after I spray the alternator.

[David_18 13]

Ok. When i start it the morning for the first time the morning, the engine doesn't shake like in the video, almost like a normal start.

I get the worse when i take the car for diner, 2-3 hours after the first drive, even a 10-15 degres..

Video of the end of the last winter when i start to notice the problem... (-22 degres)

Edited October 11, 2014 by David_18

[kdubya 34]

That's different than mine. Even if its -30 outside, it goes away when the car warms up. Colder the start, the more it shakes, and harder it is to start. Last winter I ran 100% diesel too, not the oil blend I use now. It made no difference.