The Ford Barn

russcc · 04-29-2017, 06:52 PM

Couple of vey good points by the Fordbarners.. The generator, through the regulator should be putting out 7.5 volts at the battery. I would use a stethoscope to determine where the squeal is actually coming from, front, rear, fan.

koates · 04-29-2017, 07:42 PM

Possible that the incorrect material bush is fitted to you gen. Might be straight bronze or brass instead of the correct sintered (porous) bronze type which has to be pre lubed with engine oil and some pressure. The correct bush is available from Macs or others. It should NOT be reamed as this tends to close over the pours and prevent the oil from lubing the shaft. Regards, Kevin.

koates · 04-29-2017, 07:53 PM

Also the sintered bronze bush should not be drilled for an oil hole for the oil wick. Replacement new modern (China) voltage regulators are not necessarily of good quality or even set correctly. The best regs are original Ford or Autolite units.. Find an OLD auto electrician to adjust your voltage regulator correctly. Voltage should be 7.2 to 7.5 with some revs up. Regards, Kevin.

SofaKing · 04-30-2017, 09:18 AM

When I went through my 6v gen, I put new brushes in and they squealed until they got seated. Could not hear when spun by hand but on start-up they were quite obnoxious. Once seated they quit squealing. 'just a thought.

WQ59B · 05-05-2017, 02:46 PM

Took generator out (again).
Removed fan & pulley- found something quizzical. BETWEEN the pulley and the front bearing in the generator were 2 LOCKwashers. They were perfect matches for the LW behind the pulley nut, but for the life of me I can't figure a reason to lock the bearing to the shaft.

Could this be the source for the squealing? Shouldn't these be flat washers- the only function for hardware here I can see is slight spacing of the pulley out from the body of the generator...

SofaKing · 05-05-2017, 05:52 PM

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Hard to imagine using lockwashers as spacers would ever be a good idea. I'd remove them and replace with something more suitable. You'll find out if they were the source quickly

WQ59B · 05-22-2017, 08:38 PM

Took generator to olde tyme starter/generator shop. In that I wasn't sure it was outputting correctly, I felt it was worth it.

They found that the front bearing was toast & scoring the shaft. They brazed the shaft, turned it, replaced both bearings and replaced the lockwashers with a proper spacer. Tested, and both the gen & 1960s voltage regulator are working well.

Put it back in the truck, ran it for less than 10 mins and the squealing came back.

I'm now in a low grade state of panic that's an internal engine squeal. Thinking since it takes maybe 10 mins / things get warmed up, it's related to that- expansion due to heat and :squeal:. I never run it more than a few seconds when it starts making noise.

Distributor & water pumps both done over my Skip. Dual pulleys/belts- there is no slippage. I cannot think of another cause. I'm at a loss on this one...

Bubsyouruncle · 06-22-2017, 02:49 PM

Have you tried getting the engine up to temperature. And then when the squealing starts shutting it off. Remove the fan belt and start up again. If it is the generator the squeal should be gone. If it is internal, then . . .

A short time w/o water flow should not be a big deal.

04-29-2017, 06:52 PM	#21
russcc Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 2,871	Re: Generator blues Couple of vey good points by the Fordbarners.. The generator, through the regulator should be putting out 7.5 volts at the battery. I would use a stethoscope to determine where the squeal is actually coming from, front, rear, fan.

04-29-2017, 07:42 PM	#22
koates Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Melbourne Australia. Posts: 2,078	Re: Generator blues Possible that the incorrect material bush is fitted to you gen. Might be straight bronze or brass instead of the correct sintered (porous) bronze type which has to be pre lubed with engine oil and some pressure. The correct bush is available from Macs or others. It should NOT be reamed as this tends to close over the pours and prevent the oil from lubing the shaft. Regards, Kevin.

04-29-2017, 07:53 PM	#23
koates Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Melbourne Australia. Posts: 2,078	Re: Generator blues Also the sintered bronze bush should not be drilled for an oil hole for the oil wick. Replacement new modern (China) voltage regulators are not necessarily of good quality or even set correctly. The best regs are original Ford or Autolite units.. Find an OLD auto electrician to adjust your voltage regulator correctly. Voltage should be 7.2 to 7.5 with some revs up. Regards, Kevin.

04-30-2017, 09:18 AM	#24
SofaKing Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 756	Re: Generator blues When I went through my 6v gen, I put new brushes in and they squealed until they got seated. Could not hear when spun by hand but on start-up they were quite obnoxious. Once seated they quit squealing. 'just a thought.

05-05-2017, 02:46 PM	#25
WQ59B Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: NJ Posts: 69	Re: Generator blues Took generator out (again). Removed fan & pulley- found something quizzical. BETWEEN the pulley and the front bearing in the generator were 2 LOCKwashers. They were perfect matches for the LW behind the pulley nut, but for the life of me I can't figure a reason to lock the bearing to the shaft. Could this be the source for the squealing? Shouldn't these be flat washers- the only function for hardware here I can see is slight spacing of the pulley out from the body of the generator...

05-05-2017, 05:52 PM	#26
SofaKing Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 756	Re: Generator blues Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Hard to imagine using lockwashers as spacers would ever be a good idea. I'd remove them and replace with something more suitable. You'll find out if they were the source quickly

05-22-2017, 08:38 PM	#27
WQ59B Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: NJ Posts: 69	Re: Generator blues Took generator to olde tyme starter/generator shop. In that I wasn't sure it was outputting correctly, I felt it was worth it. They found that the front bearing was toast & scoring the shaft. They brazed the shaft, turned it, replaced both bearings and replaced the lockwashers with a proper spacer. Tested, and both the gen & 1960s voltage regulator are working well. Put it back in the truck, ran it for less than 10 mins and the squealing came back. I'm now in a low grade state of panic that's an internal engine squeal. Thinking since it takes maybe 10 mins / things get warmed up, it's related to that- expansion due to heat and :squeal:. I never run it more than a few seconds when it starts making noise. Distributor & water pumps both done over my Skip. Dual pulleys/belts- there is no slippage. I cannot think of another cause. I'm at a loss on this one... Last edited by WQ59B; 05-23-2017 at 10:26 AM.

06-22-2017, 02:49 PM	#28
Bubsyouruncle Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Gurnee, Illinois Posts: 270	Re: Generator blues Have you tried getting the engine up to temperature. And then when the squealing starts shutting it off. Remove the fan belt and start up again. If it is the generator the squeal should be gone. If it is internal, then . . . A short time w/o water flow should not be a big deal.