Mechman 370 hairpin shit the bed after 5 months..no warranty

[Mack187Murder]

So I bought my 370 amp hairpin mechman off of dropping hz in 2015. Because of family didn't have time to finish my daily driver install until summer 2018 ( this falls out of mechmans 2 year warranty from date of purchase. All tho the runtime on this alternator is only roughly 5 months. The fuses to the alt. The wiring. The connections were all tight. I check them weekly. Also the belt has proper.tention and installed a new Goodyear continental elite with it when I installed the alt. 

Since about a month after I installed it it started getting louder. And louder. And louder to the point where it's so loud it makes a 1994 Ford diesel sound quiet.

Today my vehicle has the red battery light on. It says vehicle charging system needs repair. And my batteries won't charge. The alternator is also the loudest it's every been. I have a feeling it could be the bearing. 

 

I've contacted mechman and am waiting for a reply. To see if there's anything they can do. I paid 850-900 Canadian for the damn thing just to have it shit the bed after 5 months from date of install. Considering I have the original packaging. Recepit. And a build log on the site here showing the date I installed it I'm really hoping they'll honour the warranty

However if they don't how hard are these to repair on your own? Order a new set of bearings? Maybe replace the brushes. Can't be that difficult?

 

Worst part is it's been installed.for 5 months but I drive.tk the oil rig for my hitch and the vehicle stays parked.for 30 days.. then I'm home for 10 and back for 30. So the actual run time on this alt.is maybe 1-2 months which makes this so damn frustrating.

[Mack187Murder]

Almost 100 percent it's the bearings. Took the belt off. Took the mechman out. Turned  the pully on my old stock one.  Sounds like butter. Spun the pully on the mechman. She just grinded grinded when she spun. Spun like shit.

Now if that's all it is. How do I get replacement bearings. And would the bearings being shot fuck up the rest of the alt?. 

[Ron36]

There are 2 bearings in a ALT , they are pressed on and depending on your skill level no disrespect can be tough but u can replace them. Maybe they will sell u bearings but after u crack that thing open all warranty’s are gone but since it already is might as well try.

[SkarredSierra]

I would wait to open it until mechman gets back to you. They are a stand up company and may work some kind of deal with you to get it repaired.

[Mack187Murder]

Thanks for the replies. Sound advice. Was a rig hand who changed bearings on pretty much everything on the rig just never an alternator. Will wait to hear back from mechman. I'm not salty about the situation. Shit fails sometimes. It is what it is. I'm sure we will find a solution

[WalledSonic]

Did Mechman hit you back yet?  I would call them... I've talked to them 2 times and always went directly to a human.  Good service.

Most bearings are labeled with an ISO number on the side (such as 6306, or something of that sort).  Order new bearings from either Mechman or literally anyone that sells bearings.  They are standardized across the world and not special.

[Kyblack76]

Free, replacement,  repair, for life of the unit FTW. Not to mention,  I can call my builder any time. Auto pick up. 

That said Matt is a good dude. I'd call and talk to then. No email, no fb  they will handle it, I have zero doubt.  Zero doubt. 

[kickass audio]

I had the same thing happen on my first mechman alt for my first car and the next alternator on the replacement vehicle. It was so loud it sounded like a diesel engine and finally it would only charge at idle, as soon as I gave the car any gas it would cut out the alternator. I sent it into mechman and they could not diagnose what was wrong with it and I was looking for another vehicle so they just kept it and gave me a credit towards the next alternator.

The second alternator on my suv worked fine for 2 years and then there was a horrible groaning noise from under the hood. I looked at the alternator and the rear bearing where the diodes are located had literally exploded so only the front bearings were keeping the truck alive with the belt on. I limped home with that one and put the factory one back on temporarily until I ordered a third mechman alt. That one was in for about a year and a half before I got rid of that truck, I still have the alternator but can't use it on my new truck since GM uses a custom design on the Envoy and my silverado cannot adapt to it.

I would do as others said and try to call them and see but if it goes anything like it did for me you will be SOL and will need to repair or replace it. If your bearings exploded like my second alternator did then I would carefully look at everything. Mine was so destroyed that it ground down the stator and rotor when they made contact and the contact area where the brushes ride was totally destroyed so the alternator would be worthless to try and fix. Also make 100% certain if your bearings are just dry and it didn't grenade anything else that you see what kind of bearing you have. Some alternators like GM will have the case of the alternator molded around the bearing so you can't just press out the bearing without cracking the case. You would need to first grind away at the lip on the case where it retains the bearing and then press it out.

[CleanSierra]

Reason number 85 I'll always go with Singer. I hope this repair gets taken care of for you and with minimum stress.

[Karkov]

I wrecked the charging stud on one of my alts from Mechman under my own error and it wasn't a big deal to ship it to them and have them fix it for a small price.