Alternator/generator replacement, type 1 engine

[George Lyle <glyle@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, three months after doing my alternator conversion I found I needed
to replace the new Bosch alternator due to failure of the front bearing.
This did not leave me stranded, but I noticed that rocking the pulley up
and down revealed the play in the front bearing.  I had a rough idle a few
weeks ago that caused the play to create quite a racket when the vibration
was transmitted to the tin.

This was not all bad, as I wanted to replace the kludged 38A generator fan
hub with the proper alternator fan hub (suppled by Ronnie).  It also gave
me a chance to try out a different way of getting the alternator out with
the engine in the bus.  I forget who told me of this method, but it works
great!  I have no idea why VW didn't put it in their manuals, as it
lets you leave the fan shroud, thermostat, doghouse duct, etc. in place.

Here's the procedure:

1. disconnect battery ground cable
2. remove air cleaner
3. disconnnect electrical, throttle cable, and fuel line from carburator.
4. remove distributor cap, let dangle down near oil sender
5. remove carburator
6. disconnect wires from generator/alternator.  Mark wires as you go
7. remove rear half of alternator pulley.  Remove belt.  Let belt hang on
crankshaft pulley.  Reinstall rear half of pulley finger tight
8. with 36mm socket, reach around the front side of the shroud and loosen
the fan nut,
9. remove the fan nut, lock nut, and shims with your fingers,  Don't drop!
10. loosen the alternator/generator strap and slide it forward against the
tin, clear of the stand.
11. loosen the four bolts that hold the alternator/generator tin to the
fan shroud.  This is the hardest part of the job, as the bottom two bolts
are hidden by the manifold.  Keep at it, it can be done!
12. pull the alternator/generator aft, then tilt the upper edge backwards
and lift out.  Be sure to keep track of the shims and thrust washer on the
fan hub.
13. remove both halves of pulley.  Keep track of shims.
14. remove Woodruff key from pulley end of shaft
15. remove fan hub.
16. remove woodruff key from fan end of shaft.
17. remove tin from alternator/generator
18. pull fan out of fan shroud.

To reinstall:

1. put the alternator/generator and alternator strap around the
generator/alterator and install the tin on alternator/generator.  The vent
in the tin goes on the opposite side of the electrical connections.
2. install the Woodruff keys in their keyways on both ends of the shaft.
3. install the pulley on the shaft.  tighten the nut finger tight.
4. install the fan hub and whatever washers/shims you removed from it in
removal step 12
5. install the fan, and whatever shims and washers you found in removal
step 9
6. tighten the fan nut, making sure that the ran will rotate freely while
doing so.
7. measure the gap between the fan and tin.  It should be between .05 and
.08 inches.  If it isn't, move the shims from one side of the fan to the
other until it is within specs.  If you are converting a late type 1 powered
bus from a 38A generator to an alternator you will need to get the proper
fan hub for the alternator.  It isn't included in the conversion kit.
8. remove the fan from the hub.  Keep track of where the shims go.
9. use a tiny dab of stickum (I used Hylomar) to stick the shims and
washer that go on the hub to the hub.  You don't want these falling into
the shroud!
10. put the fan in the shroud, flat side to the rear.
11, maneuver the alternator into position.  You have to reach around the
front side of the shroud to guide the fan onto its hub.  rotate the shaft
to get the flats on the hub to match the flats on the fan.
12. install the nut, lock washer, and shims on the front end of the shaft.
Tighten finger tight, making sure that all washers are on the hub
properly.  You can't see them, but it's easy to feel them into position.
13. put the alternator/generator strap loosely into its proper position.
14. install the four bolts that hold the alternator/generator tin to the
fan shourd.  Again, the lower bolts aree a bear.  One way is to take a
piece of thin cardboard and punch the bolt through it.  You can then
guide the bolt into place and start the threads.  Feel free to cuss, but
remember that you haven't had to lift that danged fan shroud!  Tighten the
bolts.
15. position and tighten the alternator strap.
16. IMPORTANT!  DON'T FORGET TO TIGHTEN THE FAN NUT NOW!!
17. spin the fan and make sure that it doesn't make any scraping sounds
inside the shroud.  If it does, figure out why!
18. reinstall the fan belt and adjust normally.
19. connect the alternator/generator wiring
20. install the carburator, connect the wiring, throttle cable, and fuel
line.
21. install the distributor cap.  Make sure that all the plug wire guides
are correctly installed in the fan shroud.  They tend to get popped out.
22. ARE YOU SURE YOU TIGHTENED THE FAN NUT?
23. install the air cleaner.
24. install the ground strap on the battery.

That should do it!  Much easier than disconnecting the doghouse ducting,
thermostat, etc. to remove the fan and generator/alternator as a unit!

Hope this helps someone!

George Lyle