Oil leak from the alternator!!

[Tonka]

Hi there, well some months ago my Surf blew up on the motorway and I thought the old girl was a gonner at last! Due to other commitments I've only just found the problem, as per attached photo. This was a replacement alternator, only replaced shortly before the oil loss so I should have thought this was the problem. The pipe which has come away comes with the alternator - it just slides into the hole in the alternator body. It's a tight fit but maybe not enough not to come off with oil pressure. Can anyone advise whether it's a faulty piece of kit, or should I just seal it back in somehow?

Many thanks.

[Albannach]

That's the exhauster, it's what diesel's use to pull a vacuum for the brakes etc. It won't affect the engine. It's not faulty.

[Tonka]

That's the exhauster, it's what diesel's use to pull a vacuum for the brakes etc. It won't affect the engine. It's not faulty.

Hmm....ok, but there's oil everywhere which must have come from that pipe. You say it's not faulty? The pipe shouldn't have come away from the alternator, so there is some fault. It's failed where it shoud be either glued or soldered solid into the alternator's body.

If I understand these alternators correctly, they have an oil feed and return to lubricate the vacuum pump, could it be that the vacuum pump has failed internally, seals gone maybe, allowing oil to be chucked out of the exhauster?

Anyway, somehow oil got chucked everywhere, now there is a knocking/tapping sound coming from the top of the engine, probably due to the loss of oil.

Any suggestions/advice would be much appreciated.

[Tonka]

I see on YouTube someone with a video of a 4 runner making a tapping sound which turned out to be the vacuum valve?

Here's hoping.....

[Tonka]

Ok, this isn't the pipe which goes from the alternator to the vacuum collector on the bulkhead. That comes from the front of the alternator as you look at it from the drivers wing. This pipe which had come away is from the back of the alternator and I'm sure it's an oil feed pipe.