Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Have been advised by a local Packard old-timer to replace the commutator bearing with a modern sealed permanently lubricated bearing. Says a bearing supply outfit should be able to provide a match. Anyone have experience with or opinion on this ?

Part of my Spring wake-up for my '34 includes a couple of drops of oil in the generator oiler; but sure, if you don't trust yourself to remember to do that, or just don't want to bother, the just swap the bearing for permanently lubed (sealed) bearing. I forget the bearing number (3202?) but its a common one, just get the # of the old bearing and ask for the sealed version.

It fairly common to do the same bearing changeout on the water pump bearings which were fed by an oil cup.

Thanks O-D. Any recommendations on what to replace the "through bolt" insulator tubes with? The ones on mine have crumbling ends and I'm afraid they're not long enough to protect the un-insulated field coil connections from the through bolt.

My commutator still has a lot of life, only slightly worn (maybe 1 mm of wear tops) with very fine striations. Should one smooth those out? Do i need to undercut the mica? Been told a guy should grind the sides of a hacksaw blade until it is the width of the mica and file the mica down until it is about 1 mm below the height of the commutator bars.

Short of chucking the armature in a lathe and cutting the commutator, you might just lightly polish with crocus cloth. And clean it making sure its totally clean of any oils. Using an old hacksaw blade to relieve the mica was pretty much the standard technique back to the days of Thomas Edison and it still works today.

For insulating sleeves you mught try your local hardware store for plastic sleeves or bushings or standoffs that you can cut to length and size as needed. My local store has quite an assortment in nylon which I prefer.

Nylon should be OK but since there could be situations resulting in higher temps or maybe stress thru and around the bushings I would go with a phenolic or bakelite electrical grade product.

Do a search at McMaster-Carr for electrical grade insulating spacers and also washers. There is a fairly decent selection but if there is not a convenient size spacer available bulk electrical grade Garolite is also available in both easy to machine and higher temp range rods, sheets and tubes. The high temps are a bit harder to work though. If the sleeving is a thin semi flexible or woven type then search for standard wire insulation sleeving

The original sleeves appear to be cardboard and it suddenly struck me that old-time paper straws might be just the ticket. Paper is a good insulator, won't melt and doesn't ignite until Fahrenheit 451, far higher than the temperature a generator should ever reach.

Went online and amazingly they still make paper drinking straws. They are a little different than the ones I remember from the drive-in as a child though. Made of thicker paper, they are quite stiff, more like a cardboard tube. (I guess they're made that way now for sucking up smoothies or the like without collapsing.) The regular, not wide, version is the perfect sized sleeve for the through bolts. I picked a style that looks like a black and white barber pole.

When disassembled I found my generator contained no felt "washer cup" aka bearing seal at all. If I opt not to replace the original bearing, any suggestions on how / what material to use to make a new one?

The best answer IMO is to just install a sealed bearing. Alternatively you could buy some felt and try to fabricate what you need.

Decided to go with a new sealed bearing. O-D, your memory serves you well. ND 3202 is the number on the original bearing. (ND apparently designates a magneto bearing.)

ND = the maker of the bearing, New Departure.