Alternator/Brushes?

[jsbenami]

It seems my alt is going. I put a voltometer on it to verify, and using the dash light which is highly accurate. It deosn't charge for about the first 5 minutes and getting longer. The car has to warm up, or be revved way up while it's cold to get a charge and then it's fine. Sounds like the brushes are going out....has anyone ever replaced brushes themselves? Can you get them....might be worth it to save 150$ if I can open it up and replace them. Car has 110K on it.

[toyomoho]

Replacing brushes is pretty straight forward, the alternator may not even need to be taken apart to access the brush holder. The issue is finding the brushes.

Try the dealer, strangely the may sell them, also try www.rockauto.com.

A Google search using key words will turn up hits as others have been in this situation. This alternator may also be used on other model cars, thus brushes from another model would fit.

[TcmaBoy]

Just find a local shop that rebuilds alternators and starters. They will have the parts, or you can have them do a full rebuild.

[jsbenami]

Well #1 sounds good however I don't think I have the equipment to bust off that rusty old nut I realized and the belts won't hold that kind of torque. #2 is off the table because there are no shops like that here and the labor to have them do it would easily exceed the cost of a rebuilt one from the store. Labor rates here in D.C. are ridiculous for everything, especially cars. I'll try to google info about toyota alternators maybe somone out there has the answers......Seems like this is a similar setup for those that are interested:

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...nator_brushes/

If I can get to it from the back and not take the beat apart it should be simple as in that article. I hope the dealer has them. I don't know how pervasive our alternators are but allot of things simply aren't produced for our cars. Case and point Rockauto.com has a few (for 7MGE, I have a turbo GTE) but they are on closeout meaning they won't be carrying them anymore.

[supra saiyan]

I would just replace the whole unit with a rebuilt one from Autozone, they come with a lifetime warranty. No guessing in which parts to replace, or the additional stress of looking for rebuilders, or waiting for parts to come.

[jsbenami]

Screw autozone...I just saved 150 bucks by replacing the brush. It was too easy. The brush cost 22$ from Toyota, and I took the alt off the car, and undid 3 8mm bolts, and two more on the brush off the back of the alternator. It took in total about 45 minutes to get everything in and out. The old brushes were worn to a nub. They are spring loaded contacts that lightly press against the spindle. I bet that's basically all the rebuilding goons do to most alternators besides cleaning them up