I may have spelled Squeel Wrong but I hope ya get the Idea.
Last Night the ALternator started Making a Funny Sound and The Batt light came on for a Bit but Today the Squeel only happens when I first start it.
I am curious if it could possibly last long enough for me to get to the parts store and get a New one or if this is something that Requires the Vehicle to be parked until I can replace it?
I have another car but it hasn't ran for awhile so it may be hard to get it running although I do need to Drive it a bit.
I seen the 3.8 Uses the Serpentine belt to Run the AC, ALT, Water Pump and Power Steering, I do see a funny clutch assembly on the Alternator is that to allow it to keep spinning in case it siezes up or is the clucth for some other purpose?
Also should I replace the Idler Pulley when I replace the alternator?

 

From your description it seems more likely that the belt is slipping rather than the alternator failing. Alternator bearings tend to grumble and belts tend to squeal. Can you make it squeal by accelerating? Did you notice the power steering fail at the same time the battery light came on?

You can drive without an alternator, it depends on the car and distance before the battery ends up flat. (I did about 90miles once). But I'd be more worried about the power steering failing as that's a bugger to drive without or the water pump going.

For the price of a tensioner and idler pulley, it's worth replacing them at the same time as the belt.

Regards

Richard

 

Thanks, I guess it was my bad as you are 100% Correct a Squeel would be the Belt I meant more of a Grrrumm Sound Not a Weee or Squeel as a Belt makes.
No The Power Steering Never Noted any Issues nor does the A/C When it is on Defrost and Cycles No matter what RPM but the Alternator Does DO a Funny Grrr Sound and it nows seems to Hum or Growl (Per say) when Idling and is very Noticable in its Volume Increase when I Turn on the Lights, Fan's and Especially the Rear Defroster/ Mirror Heaters.
It sure sounds to me like a Bearing starting to Go Bad.
I did get a Replacement but Before I install it will Inspect the Aternator well and Think I will even take it to the Nearest AutoZone to have them Test it Prior to installing the new one Just in Case there is Something Else at Fault that will allow me to return the alternator Which cost a Pretty Penny let me Tell you .

 

A grrr sound (it's such fun trying to describe sounds via words) sounds like the alternator bearings, though that will not tend to affect alternator output until they totally seize and fail.

If you take the old alternator apart you'll usually find that the bearings are a standard off the shelf item from a company such as SKF. Try googling the part number or dimensions stamped on them. If you can find a replacement it will only be a few pounds and not too difficult to replace, and if you end up buggering the old alternator you still have the new one to fit. There are plenty of guides and videos available on stripping down alternators and most follow the same basic pattern.

Regards

Richard

 

I saw a youtube video by Gates about trouble-shooting serpentine belts. One trick they show is to spray water on the V-side. If the noise goes away, it is the belt not a bearing. Multi-V belts are very picky about alignment. I changed the alternator in my 3.8L thinking the same thing and it turned out to be the belt.

I too wondered about the clutch thing on the alt pulley. I recall reading it has to do with avoiding shocks during starting and stopping. I tried to remove the pulley to see if I could use the original alternator on one of my 60's Mopars, but couldn't figure out how to remove it.

 

i also had that sound year ago on my 06... seemed worse with a/c on...now makes sense... my mechanic put his stethoscope on the alternator and there it was... drove me nuts for awhile as i could not tell source of sound...had 80000 on van at that time ..