mep 003a armature movement

[hedgehog69]

Got the Mep003a pulled apart a few min ago. I am doing engine swap with rebuild Onan I got from Mechanicsburg year or two ago. The gennie I bought looked rough...even in the pictures....but it was engine that was missing stuff. When I split gen head from engine, I grabbed the plate on the armature shaft. I got some play in it. Thinking ruh-roh!! I never noticed any play when I did the engine swap on a Mep 002a. I was going to take gen head to Electric Motor shop....they were going to check circuits and such. I guess they can look at play in armature as well. Any knowledge out there??

 

[Speddmon]

That end play probably isn't going to matter a whole lot unless it's really excessive. The reasons I say this are,

1, You are not (probably) going to be using it nearly as heavily as the Army did, so intermittent use should mean it could last for several years.

2, The bearing on the end of the shaft is not a tapered bearing, more of a standard roller bearing so you will have some end play as the bearing wears. But the flex plate will hold everything tight while the engine is idle, and after you are running and producing electricity, the magnetic fields should hold everything centered for the most part.

If you are really concerned about it, it would not be too hard for the shop to replace the bearing.

 

[Keith_J]

There is only ONE bearing for the generator. The engine end is supported by the engine's rear main bearing. That is why the generator is connected by a flex plate.

The exciter end of the generator has the single, sealed bearing which is rated for 10k hours. Check for radial play there. There is minor thrust load which is handled by the engine's thrust bearing.