Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi Guys

As it says. WD40 seems to quieten it for a little while. Anybody have any fixes for this to keep it quiet until I get round to putting another alternator in?

Thanks

Stuart

A local alternator firm re-furbished mine when it was playing up. Might be cheaper than getting a replacement.

absolutly +1 its only the bearing and they are a standard generic metric bearing. If you are a bit handy you could easily press in a new bearing. Alternatively take the dismantled casing to a local engineering shop and ask them to press out the old bearing and press a new one in.

The Alternator bearing has been squealing on my S2 for nearly 2 years . Sometimes it won't squeal for a few weeks or months then when its cold it will squeal on start up. I usually let the engine idle for 2-3 minutes until the bearing stops squealing . If it wasn't for all the bloomin belts that have to be replaced I'd have done it . It is on the list for the garage to do when next in.

I wouldn't use WD40 which isn't primarily a lubricant because it will wash the lubricant out of the bearing.
The squeal could be the belt slipping. If the belt and pulley wheel look worn smooth try some sand paper on them as a temporary measure

Thanks, will probably get the bearing in it replaced.

What's involved in taking it off? I thought it was just the alternator drive belt that had to come off?

Stuart

no there is another belt in front of that . I think its the AirCon or steering pump plus the alternator fixings are a bit of a bitch to get to . Every time I look at it I think shall I do it myself ? mmmmm nahhh

Oh dear! Not up for any of that in this weather!

Someone over on PCGB suggested trying motorcycle chain lube. Sounds worth a pop. It is basically grease with anti-fling properties and comes in an aerosol.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_201627_langId_-1_categoryId_165742


Will report back on it's effectiveness unless someone tells me bad stuff about it before the weekend!

Stuart

excellent ! might give that a try myself. No point in trying to get the car into the garage until the new Year.

Motorcycle chain lube works well I use Halfords chain wax for my motorbike chain which dries white but does tend to fly off the chain however it works brilliantly as a car lube for those hard to reach places like the windscreen wiper hinges hiding under the windscreen edge, just dont use too much at one time and probably best to use it when the car has been running so the bearing is hot and helps the lube penetrate.

Well, after leaving the car for a week with the alternator bearing covered in WD40 the noise was worse than ever today!

I let it heat up a bit and then started to spray in the bike chain lube. It had a small effect at first so I put more in and it was still quite noisy especially when revving. I then turned it off and put in some more and left it for half an hour. Upon starting up again still pretty much the same so I kept it about 3k revs for 5 minutes and eventually it started to go quiet.

It now seems to be quite happy all through the rev range so must have took it's time to work it's way in and start working which I suppose is a plus as it should maybe stay in there for a while now!

Anyway, ok for now. Not going to use the car with all the salt kicking about so will start it up again tomorrow and see what's happening.

Oh, and definitely don't use WD40 for this job!

Stuart