Has anyone re-routed their oil / trans dipstick?
 

I have to rebuild my alternator AGAIN after 2 years. The alternator guy suggest I put this military marine sealed alternator in, is designed for 4x4 action, is weatherproof. It fits, except my oil & trans dipsticks are in the way. Has anyone here ever done anything like that, re-do the dipstick? Someone told me with the race cars, they just cut them down to 2" and pull it out real low. I don't know if that would be convenient for me, or a good solution.

Dip stick
 

Yes in fact the tranny is collecting dust as we speak. It's on the patio right now looking for a good home. Anyway I cut mine above the top rim of the pan, I figured logically that would be NORMAL oil level. Just a few inches above that I think where the tube forms a bottle neck. And just so happens it's parallel Vertically with the firewall😉Cut off all you want or enough to bolt it to the Firewall. Remember to cut your dipstick the exact same amount that you cut from the tube, PLUS WHATEVER YOU USE FOR THE TUBE SLIP. All tubing welds should be gas or TIG they seem best for integrity. But mine didn't get welded where it slipped on, it kinda worked like an automatic high oil level overflow, but not THE EPA. Depends on where you cut the tube. BTW I'm using 80# 90# in my brand new junkyard 5 speed.

Ok thanks for the information. I'll wait until the end of my usual 12,000 mile oil change so I can check the level before and after the procedure. This way I can see if the oil level is the same using nice filthy rich carbon black oil with shiney speckles in it.

The Shinning
 

Well mine don't have that shinny stuff in it, but it doesn't like 2wd hi in Reverse, but works fine in 4wd hi and low. I figured it's probably that clutch thingy in the transfer case dohicky.. it needs a new home, comes with a New TRANSGO shift kit, still in the box, all levers, shifters flexplate, working ECU, $200 American

Erich, before you go cutting the dipstick tube, can you tell us why you have to rebuild your alternator? Are you getting mud in there? I've been in mud, been in water up to my headlights and my alternator survived. What finally seems to have gotten mine was the power steering hose was leaking onto it. I guess I'm just thinking that maybe you have a power steering leak dripping down onto it. Fixing the leak is much easier and cheaper than going with this military alternator.

Yes mud in the alternator. This is the second time I have to rebuild the alternator in 3 years. This alternator is junk - there is absolutely no protection from the splash mud water I drive through when I go trail riding. Sand, dirt, anything and everything is invited to get sucked right in this cage with no filter or guard. They spent plenty of real-estate with huge air boxes all over the side of the engine and totally dropped the ball with this grocery-getter car style alternator to suck sandy mud water straight in.

The guy who rebuilds my alternators showed me the sealed military one. It actually can still run if submerged under water, if actually needed to. The core is rare, not easy to find - and takes me some work to find it. All I need is the housing, we can machine the insides out of anything, put 130 amp output no problem.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...c28a99773b.jpg
Military sealed off-road alternator

Gosh, after replace inside ROTOR, brushes, diode-pack, bearings - this damned alternator finally works. I still saved money from buying rebuilt one. Unfortunately, it's still this crappy stock alternator. We tested output at 70 amps, even know the manual says "80 amps". The good thing is, we have the dimensions down and the bolt pattern. I'm going to begin building the sealed weather/waterproof version of this, probably make output 130 or 140 amps - so it can handle a winch, electric fans, and / or something else.

With no vents I'd imagine you'll be going through alternators at least as quickly, if not more so, except from heat damage rather than water damage. Googling this quickly it seems that that most sealed alternators are fluid cooled, oil or water. So you could invest in all that time and many hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for a sealed alternator and cooling system, or just carry an extra alternator with you for when they go every couple years.

Same here. In fact, only alternator I've ever seen die on the trail was my buddy's CJ5, only took a little splash too. Get enough muddy water in any production alternator and it'll fry.

They do not brake often. It is set & forget. Check out the ones they put on the old hum-v's. 100 amp, 28 volts all sealed.

Could sure buy a lot of Densos for that - https://www.meltons.com/product/n122...2920014209968/

And meanwhile, you have people looking to replace their stock Humvee alternators with an "upgrade" also, because they were having problems with them - https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showth...t-modification. Grass is always greener... This just came up searching for "sealed humvee alternator", wasn't even looking for issues with them. All the newer replacement units on Rockauto for the 6.2L are air cooled, BTW

I've worked with dozens, if not hundreds, of electric motors, and every single one has an integrated fan, and air passages. Heat destroys electronics. If you start from scratch with higher temperature rated diodes, magnet wire, and everything else, you could probably build one that'll last a while, but certainly not forever. If heat wasn't an issue they wouldn't be using coolant for most sealed units. You can buy a sealed, water-cooled Hitachi for a little over a grand, BTW. From the military's perspective, I'm sure they'd rather have one that they know will have to be replaced every three years during maintenance rather than one which might last 10 years or might fry in the middle of a field in Afghanistan. For me, it doesn't seem very cost effective but if you've got the money and want to give it a shot, go for it. I think you'd be better off shelling out $1100 or so for the Hitachi than trying to build and uncooled one ground up though.

I am not buying a new $1,000.00 alternator. I used the hum-v alternator as an example, to show that a sealed alternator exists. There are other alternators that are sealed, which can fit into a 4runner. I get more satisfaction from trying an upgrade or modification, than replacing existing parts.