Please walk me thru an alternator brush replacement for a '91 Integra gs

Like where is the alt? Is it driver or pass. side. Is it hidden by the
plastic baffles from below? I have the car jacked up one one side. Is
this the assembly?
http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/ipb/wizard.jsp?partner=ipb&clientid=
alleurasianautoparts&baseurl=http://www.alleurasianautoparts.com/
&cookieid=1L80TI5411L80TI540&year=1991&make=AC&model=INT-GS3-001&category=
F&part=Alternator+Brush+Assy. Is there a better place to buy it? Can't
find it locally. I threw in a new battery and the battery light and
antilock brake lights are still on. I've read here the alt. is
accessible from below and brush replacement is not hard, especially
with the entire assembly. The only manual I have is for my olde '78
civic. I'm in your hands. Cheers

 

Try this, you may have to paste it in.

http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/ipb/wizard.jsp?partner=ipb&clientid=alleurasianautoparts&baseurl=http://www.alleurasianautoparts.com/&cookieid=1L80TI5411L80TI540&year=1991&make=AC&model=INT-GS3-001&category=F&part=Alternator+Brush+Assy.

 

Jacked both sides of the car up and found the alt. I can see 2 nuts,
and feel a third. I'll pull off the neg battery pole, then try to get a
wrench up in there. I feel like I'm talking to myself. Well, whatever
works.....

 

Not available locally? Dealer?

Judging from the pic of it....I'm not entirely sure that can be done without
splitting the case. If it can, it's aVERY clever design

 

www.autozone.com under its free online repair guides has instructions and
drawings for removing the alternator from your 91 Integra GS. Once you put
in your car's year, make, and model, then go to the free repair guides, it's
under "Engine and Engine Overhaul." I didn't see anything on brush
replacement.

If the site doesn't come up perfectly, refresh several times.

But I am concerned that new brushes won't fix the problem. Are you having
other symptoms, besides the two warning lights?

 

Battery died and alt won't charge it. Battery guy said the batt. was
good but the alt wasn't. Threw in a new battery and the battery and
anti-lock lights still come on. Symptoms consistent with an alt.
problem. Lights stay on. If I can manage this repair (while waiting to
get a dealer app't) and it works, it's a cheap fix.
Win/win/lose(dealer). Teggar has done this repair in 2002. I found his
post. He had to unsolder the old and resolder the new brush in. His
Integra was manual w/o AC. It's tight in there. I have a manual tranny
with AC. The brush assembly should just pop in I suspect. I guess I'm
asking for some details. Best place to buy, what about insulating
washers, etc. Cheers

 

Why?

 

This car has eaten a battery every 4 yrs since '91. Thought I'd try the
usual fix. $40 for a battery ain't bad. They gave me back $23 since it
was waranteed. Probably the alt. has been undercharging all along? Now
it's probably given up the ghost.

 

Your site
http://www.alleurasianautoparts.com/ seems competitive.

For my 91 Civic LX, Majestic online wants at least $185 to ship a
remanufactured Denso alternator. The site says nothing about a core credit.

Your site wants $158 (shipping of the reman'd alt is free) + the cost of
shipping your old core back to them. This is for the same reman'd Denso
alternator. The alternator weighs about ten pounds, so the shipping charge
might be ten or twenty dollars (dunno).

I would call the dealer for this one, since the various shipping costs might
make the dealer about as competitive as the online sites.

I was shopping around for a fender for my 91 Civic recently, and since
shipping was so expensive, buying from the dealer was almost the same price.

 

Working from underneath, after unbolting, disconnecting, staring,
prying and getting covered with grease (this auto recently needed a new
oil pan as the drain bolt was stripped), I finally got the back? cover
off the alt.There's room for one eye and one hand under there. I then
spied the brush assembly I'd seen on websites. Didn't know what held it
in. I had to remove 2 screws to free up the brush assembly (one i
could see and didn't know if it held the brushes, the other I found
when the thing wouldn't let go on the other side. Afraid of stripping
the first screw and ending my quest it finally came out.
A diagram would've been helpful. Second one came out easy. Pulled the
brush assembly. Nope, camel hair they're not. Thick metallic
rectangles, spring loaded, and concave on the business end where they
must make contact with a shaft to exchange juice. Nope, I've never
taken apart an electric motor. I'll order the part and see if i can
slam this thing back together. Whether it works or not i will have
learned at least 3 things. One, if you work under a car yer gonna get
dirty, and two, if you stare at something long enough you can usually
figure it out while not necessarily avoiding eye strain. Then 3 the
most important. Persistence, the ability to focus on something long
after most people with good sense would've dropped. Wait! I already
knew both those things.

 

What I'm getting from this is that your brushes don't appear to be worn out?
If they still stick out above the assembly, that means they are getting good
contact with the shaft. In other words this points to a problem with either
the regulator, or an old glazed belt thats slipping without squealing.

If your brushes were worn, you wouldn't see anything over the assembly at all.


t

 

Don't know. One is really shiny and the other is carbony like it wasn't
making contact. You tell me? Is one enough to keep the alt running? The
shiny one is about 3mm above the housing, and the dark one is about
2mm.

Any tips for how to get the screws back in with the brush assy with one
hand in an obscure awkward position? I'll try tape. Magnetic
screwdriver? Glue?

 

There should be holes in the new brushes, and a corresponding hole in the
assembly. You can put a really thin wire like a paperclip or a sewing needle
through these holes, it make the installation a breeze.

Even if there are no holes in the new brushes, you can just push them below
the holes inthe assembly and do the same thing.

t

 

It's alot simpler than that. The assy pops into place with the screw
holes lined up. I have only to screw in the screws. Getting them up
there w/o dropping them is the issue. It's awkward, obscure, and
cramped up in there. One hole i can't even see. I will get it done
though. Cheers