RebuildingtheAlternatorfora2007HondaAccord4CYL Disclaimer: I have benefited greatly from others who have taken the time to post auto repair

r videos/tutorialsonline.Totryandreturnthefavor,Ihavedocumentedafewofmyrecentrepairs.Itryto perform the work conscientiously in accordance with the Honda service manual, but I am not a professional technician by any stretch so please use this material at your own risk. I do hope this informationmightbenefitotherswhoarepreparingtodothisjob. Honda20074CYLAlternator(Denso)

This alternator does not have any semiconductor components in it (no voltage regulator and not even any rectifier diodes). The only parts that are subject to wear are the brushes and the front and rear sealed bearings (I suppose eventually the slip rings on the rotor could wear out but this probably isnt very likely). The OEM brushes and bearings are available for purchase online. On my vehicle with ~240k miles, the brushes had worn down to approximately 1/3 of their original length. If you only need to replace the brushes, that is a very easy job. If you need to replace the front bearing, that is also quite straightforward. However, if the rear bearing is bad, the job is significantly more difficult because removingtherearbearingisachallenge.InthiswriteupIshowthetechniqueIusedtoreplaceallthree.

#1Removethepulleylocknutusingastrapwrenchandbreakerbaroranimpactwrench.(Ifyouare onlyreplacingthebrushesthenthisstepisnotnecessary).Itisastandardthread(CCWtoloosen).

#2Removethe4nutsholdingtheendcoverinplace.Therearetwonutsonthewiresupportbracket (onetoholdthebracketandanotherunderneathtoholdthecover).

WireSupport Bracket

#3Removethetwoscrewsholdingthebrushholderassemblyinplace.

BrushHolder Assembly

#4RemovetheBrushHolderAssembly.

Brush Holder Assembly

SlipRings

#5Removethefourboltsholdingthealternatorcasingtogether.(Ifyouareonlyreplacingthebrushes thenthisstepisnotnecessary)

#6Useaplastichammertodriveoffthefrontcoverofthealternatorbyhammeringalternatelyon eachside.

#7Andpulloffthefrontcover.

#8Ifthefrontbearingneedstobereplaced,removethefourscrewsonthebearingretainer.

#9Toexposethefrontbearing:

Front Bearing

#10Todriveoutthefrontbearingyouwillneedareceivertosupportthefrontcover.Iusedapipe lengthfromaballjointremoverkit.

New Front Bearing

Receiver Cup

#11Andyouwillneedsomethingtoforcethebearingoutwith.Iusedasocketwhichfitinsidethehole inthefrontcovertopressdownonthebearingasshownbelow.

#12Idroveoutthebearingwitha20tonpress.However,itcameoutveryeasilyandIbelieveyou couldalsodriveoutthebearingwithahammerinstead.

#13Hereiswhatitlookslikewiththefrontbearingremoved.Icleanedupthebearingseatwitha scotchbritepadinpreparationforinstallingthenewfrontbearing.

#14Toinstallthenewbearingyouwillneedsomethingthathasthesamediameterasthebearing becausewhenyoupressthenewbearingin,youwillwanttoonlypushontheouterracesoasnotto damagethebearing.Iusedalargesocketasshownbelow.

Socket

Bearing

#15Andpressthenewbearingintoplace.Again,thispressedinquiteeasilyandIsuspectthata hammerwouldaccomplishthejobjustfineaswell.

#16Withthenewfrontbearinginstalled,replacethebearingretainerandfastenitinwithitsfour screws.

Bearing Retainer

#17IF Fyouneedtoreplacetherear r bearing,thenyouwilll havetoremo ovetherotor r.Youneedto obe verycarefultonotda amagetheslip pringsorthe eirplastichold der!Donoth hammerorpr ressontheen ndof therotor rshaftdirectl ly.Instead,use u apointedpunch p topus honlyonthe edimpleinthe eendofthes shaft (redarro ow)whichwi illallowyouto t putpressur redirectlyon therotorsha aftandnotth heplasticslipring assembly. a

#18Iusedapunchandhydraulicpresstopushouttherotor.ItcameoutquiteeasilyandIsuspecta hammerwouldhaveworkedfinetoaccomplishthetask.(Iknowitlooksalittleprecarious!Fortunately notmuchpressurewasneeded!).Besuretocatchtherotorasitdropsoutofthebottom!Ifitlandson theflooritwilllikelybedamaged!

#19Bytheway,whenpressingouttherotor,supportthehousingofthealternatorasshownbythered arrows(donotsupportitbythefieldcoilswhichcouldgetdamaged).

FieldCoils

#20Therearbearingcameoutattachedtotherotor.Noticethatthereisaspacerwasherbetweenthe bearingandtherearhousing.Itisallbendy(dontworry,youdidntmashitup,itissupposedtobethis way!).

Rear Bearing Spacer Washer

#21Useascrewdrivertoremovetheflangewasherbyevenlypryingallaroundit.

#22Nowherestherealkicker!Howdoyougetthatrearbearingofftherotorshaft?Theproblemis thattheflangefromtherotorcomesoutbeyondtheendofthebearingandtheremaininggapistoo smalltogetmostpullersinto.

Flange Rear Bearing

Rotor Shaft

#23Icouldntfigureoutacleverwaytodothis(Idlovetohearifyouhaveanyothertechniques!),soI endedupusingablindbearingpuller.Ibeganbyremovingthebearingsealusingapick.

#24Theblindbearingpullerhasaroundedendwithtwoshavedoffsides.Itisinsertedintothe bearingandthenrotated90degrees.Oncerotateditislockedinplacebetweentheinnerandouter bearingracesanditcanbeusedtoextractthebearing.

#25Thebearingcanthenbepulledoffbytighteningthepullerboltsshownbytheredarrows(and occasionallylengtheningthestationaryarmstogetmorereach).

#26Andhereiswhatitlookslikewiththerearbearingremovedfromtheshaft.

#27Topressthenewrearbearingontotherotorshaft,findasocketthatfitsonlyontheinnerraceof thebearingasshownbelow.Makesuretheinsideofthesocketislargeenoughthatitfitsfreelyoverthe rotorshaft(andsliprings).

#28Andpressthenewbearingontotherotorshaft.

Socket Bearing

Rotor

#29Dontforgettoreinstalltheflangewasher!

#30Cleanouttherearbearingseatwithsomescotchbriteandinsertthebendyspacerwasherinto thebearingseatbeforeinstallingtherotor.

Bendy Spacer Washer

#31Inserttherotorintotherearalternatorcasing(handpressurewasallIneeded).

#32Reinstallthealternatorfrontcover.

#33Insertthefourboltsthatholdthealternatorcasingtogetherandtightenthemdownalternating betweenthemsothatthecoveristighteneddownuniformly.

#34Ifyouarereinstallingtheoriginalbrushes,pressdownonthespringloadedbrusheswithyour fingerwhileinsertinganunfoldedpapercliporwirethroughtheholeinthebackofthebrushholder assembly.Thiswillkeepthebrushesretractedandallowyoutoputthebrushassemblybackinplace (onceinplacethepaperclipwillbepulledouttoallowthebrushestopushoutandcontactthesliprings ontherotor).

1.Push brushes down withyour finger 3.The frontof thepaper clip shouldgo through thishole.

2.Inserta paperclip through thishole tokeep brushes retracted.

#35Positionthebrushholderassemblyinplace,andfastenitdownwiththetwoscrews.

#36Oncethebrushassemblyisfasteneddown,pulloutthepapercliptoallowthebrushestoexpand outwardandcontactthesliprings.(Ifyouareinstallinganewbrushassemblyitwillcomewithametal retainingpinholdingthebrushesretractedasshown).

#37Installthebackcoverandfastendownthenuts.Dontforgettoreattachthewiremounting bracket.

#38Installthepulleyandtightendownthepulleylocknutto81ftlb.Turnthepulleybyhandfora whileuntiltherotorspinsfreelywithoutnoise(pertheHondaservicemanualitseemsthatittakesa bitofturningtherotortogetittopositioncorrectly,perhapsasthespacerwasherexpandstocorrectly positiontherotorfromfronttoback?)

Problemsyoumayencounter: As you can probably tell, removing the rear bearing is not easy and likely requires some kind of specialized tool (blind bearing puller or puller with very fine arms). However, if you only have to replace thebrushesand/orfrontbearing,thejobisquitestraightforwardandyoumightbeabletosaveyourself some money by repairing your alternator rather than purchasing a rebuilt unit. I suspect also that it is probably more common for the front bearing to go bad then the back given that the front bearing has mostoftheloadingoftheserpentinebelttensiononit. Hopethiswashelpful! JohnC.