Brush gobbler

[Ryan Wright]

Update: Looks like they sent me the wrong slip rings. My shaft & slip
rings have a bunch of tiny splines that hold it in place. The slip
ring set they shipped me has a large key-notch in it. Bummer - I'll
have to call them Monday morning and get this straightened out.

So far, though, folks, this looks to be a relatively easy repair
without taking the generator out. You just run the generator all the
way out on it's slide, then climb under there. I'm actually able to
sit up once I'm in there, so my head & upper body is in the cavity
where the generator sits when closed. Much more comfortable to work in
a sitting position vs. laying on my back. Take the back "vent" thing
off, remove the brushes, relays (I think that's what those two little
silver things are), voltage regulator and all other wires. Mark them
and/or take pictures so you know what goes where (I'll provide my own
pictures and a better write-up when I'm done). Remove all of the bolts
holding the rear "cap" onto the generator and remove that cap.

Now you have access. De-solder the two wires on the old slip rings and
carefully move them out of the way. Use a gear puller to remove the
bearing and slip rings. This is where I'm at. Then, just re-assemble
with new parts. No need to pull the generator out of the coach and
deal with fuel and coolant lines, oil, hydraulic lines and all that
entails.

Time spent: Probably 4 hours worth of actual work for me thus far,
much of it spent trying to get that darn cap off the back of the
generator. Finally took a long stick and tapped it out from the front
(thanks Ralph for the advice). Now that I know what I'm doing, I think
I could get to this point in half the time. In fact, with all of the
(right!) parts on hand, I'm guessing I could do the entire job in 4 to
6 hours start to finish next time. That assumes there are no gotchas
when I start putting it back together, but I can't see any from here.

If you've ever pulled the transmission out of a car, just dig in and
do this. This job is a piece of cake by comparison. Well worth doing
yourself - I've got a measly $100 into the parts. Very happy I didn't
spring for the 4 hour round trip drive and the $1600+ in labor to get
it done by the pros.

This is a simplistic explanation but it's a good overview for those of
you itching to tackle this. As I said, I'll have lots of pictures and
a more detailed write-up of the procedure available on my web site
once I'm done. I'll post a link at that time.

-Ryan
'86 PT-40 8V92, Yanmar powered Kohler 12.5kw genset


On Sat, Jun 14, 2008 at 2:30 PM, Ryan Wright wrote:
> Hi Tom,
>
> My parts just arrived Friday night. I spent several hours under the
> coach this morning and am heading back down there in a little bit.
> Yes, this can absolutely be done without removing the generator. It's
> not all that difficult, really. I'll have pictures and such ready here
> in another week or two. Should have mine finished up by tomorrow if I
> don't run into any problems.
>
> -Ryan
>
> On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 8:10 PM, thomas_sorrentino
> wrote:
>> Ryan,
>>
>> Any progress on this yet? Tips? Shortcuts? Does it seem like it can
>> be done without removing the generator? I'm getting ready to do mine
>> soon.
>>
>> Tom Sorrentino
>> 1987 PT38
>> Bedford Hills, NY
>