Alternator Refurb

[oldbikerdude]

So read the threads about resurfacing the alternator clutch plates,
I used a 50 grit to start and finished with 100 grit.
The one plate cleaned up nicely, with about 2 hour effort.

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But the plate with the slots has many / thousandths to go, and I spent a lot longer on this one so far. There is one quite deep groove that I don't think I can get out by hand, I even used a 24 grit and a lot of elbow grease to get this one down to where it is.

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This plate has about 11 mm of flat surface now. I'm thinking to stop and leave it as it is.
Is there a risk of leaving this one with reduced mating surface area?
What kind of finish is necessary? I'm thinking an ultra smooth finish wouldn't let oil pass through as easily as one with a rougher finish.
Do I need to add shims by the amount of material that was removed?
I haven't measured the spring yet, but will as soon as I hit the garage.

[Larry Zimmer]

I would stop there. Not much benefit trying to 'recover' that small area. I will recommend doing what the manual says when you reassemble: Put a good coating of moly grease onto both plates. I resurfaced 35000 miles ago. Still charging at 14 volts and no noise. And, original spring. How much material did you remove?
Side note: That plate is oem with a concave surface. Reason is to insure that contact is made at the outer diameter for maximum torque transfer. As it does wear any,, it will gradually increase contact over the entire surface. No benefit trying to perfectly flatten the surface except exercise or profit to a machine shop.

[hondaman160mph]

Oldbikerdude, how many miles are on those drive plates

[oldbikerdude]

35500 kms.

[oldbikerdude]

Popped the 6203 bearing out and removed the oil seal, cleaned the bores, also removed the old gasket material, what a pain that was.
You can see all the crumbled gasket material on the towel.
Ordered a new O-ring and gasket yesterday, apparently Honda still has them, along with small O-ring on shaft and the oil seal.

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Cleaned the alternator cover, lots of gunk in there,

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Also ordered a blind hole bearing puller set, to pull the blind 6201 bearing. The set will probably will come in handy down the road.
Tried with heat gun to heat up the area around the bearing and see if I could slam it out, but couldn't, so I ordered the puller set.

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Now to wait for the Honda parts, probably early next week, before I can partially reassemble, the cover will have to wait until I get the bearing removal set.
New bearings already on hand.

[oldbikerdude]

Larry, to your question above I measured both plates, and I have removed 0.1 mm off of each plate.
Basically .004" removed per plate.

[daves79x]

Your plates are just fine. Shim the spring with a washer equal in thickness to the original steel one, assuming your spring measures at least 30mm. You didn't get the cover hot enough. The bearing will slam right out if you apply enough heat. But the bearing puller will come in handy for lots of things. Hope the smallest puller will go into the cover bearing ID.

Dave

[Rick Pope]

I use a heat gun, (basically a hair dryer) and heat the cover on the outside until it's uncomfortable to hold your hand on it. Then invert it and slap it on a flat surface. If you heat it from the inside, the bearing also warms up, lessening the temp differential.

[oldbikerdude]

Here's what I found out,
Spring measures at 29.5 mm
spring with spring seat 31.5 mm
fiber washer 2.0 mm
steel washer 1, 1.5 mm
steel washer 2, 1.0 mm,
Looks like I have one additional washer compared to service manual. Manual states spring seat, spring, thrust washer, plain washer.

Tried again with the heat gun, this time from the outside, and heated it to the point where I couldn't hold it, gave it a few good slams but the bearing would not release. Wonder if it has something to do with the fact that my cover is chrome plated.
Thinking there may be some thickness added due to plating process, making the bearing really tight.
Looks like I'll have to wait for the puller set.

[daves79x]

Yes, someone has added a shim washer. That should really be enough additional shimming. You should be good to go.

Dave

[oldbikerdude]

Thanks, Daves79X

[oldbikerdude]

Got the blind bearing puller kit today.
Heated up the outside of the alternator housing a touch with the heat gun, and within 5 pulls with the hammer slide out pops the old bearing. Yay.

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Cleaned the bore, greased up bore and new bearing then In with the new bearing, this one was metal clad, with deep groove ball bearings.

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An interesting alternator cover gasket that I got from Honda with a rubber ring on the gasket.

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Added some MoS2 grease on both plates and added the large rubber O-ring.

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Forgot the final installed pic., but alternator is now installed and hooked up.

[daves79x]

Did you use the stock square-profile sealing ring? If you did, it's not square. The 'short' dimension goes into the groove, with the 'long' dimension gripping the cylinder of the alternator case. If you put it the other way, it will leak.

Dave

[hondaman160mph]

Dave, do you reuse that square sealing ring if it's not
damaged or do you use a new ring everytime you
remove the alternator? They are hard to come by.

[Jeff Bennetts]

Hylomar sealer is your friend!

Gaskets, rubber or paper based will last longer if you use a light coat of Hylomar on one or both sides of the gasket. It is non-hardening and will allow the gasket to release even years later for regular maintenance without the gasket sticking to the surface and ripping. I just put a small amount between my thumb and forefinger and apply it on the gasket.