Having trouble with the belt slipping on my 99 when it is cold. Tension is fine. I pulled the belt off and spun over all of my idlers and pulleys, and my alt seems hard to turn by hand. Seems like it should buzz right over if I grab it and spin it. It just kind of turns over once and thats it. It charges fine, just hard to turn. Can I put new bearings in it? Don't want to spend $125 on a new one.

 

Yes, you might want to put new brushes in it also while it's apart.

 

I had a similar problem with my '99, spun hard and whined while running. When I removed the alternator to inspect it I found that the case/housing had cracked, causing a misalignment of the front and rear bearings. It still charged fine though.

 

my issue:
~new battery
~left lights on for a couple hours
~started right up but voltage was way low and she squealed somethin fierce till voltage was at 14 again
~now when cold start, voltage is low and it squeals till voltage returns to full.
~engaging fan makes it worse
~been this way since i left lights on about 2.5 weeks ago.

so its probably NOT the bearings on any of my pulleys, but the alternator itself, right? thanks.

 

rebuild kits and partshttp://www.alternatorstarterrebuildk...bargin_bin.htm

 

VT, you sure your belt is tight? Or you have a drain. Does the voltage drop overnight? Third guess, have you driven enough to get a good charge since you left the lights on? Sounds like the belt. Just 14 is a tad low, 14.5 is more like it.

 

VTJeep: that is what mine is doing intermittently, I figure the voltage drop is because the alternator isn't turning fast enough to charge because the belt is slipping around it.

Here's one more thought I had: it is possible that this car has a higher output alt because it was a police issue car. Do higher output alts turn over harder than standard ones?

 

I had an Issue with my 90 the alt just sized on me and broke the belt going down the freeway when I tore it apart the berings where rusted I went to junk yard and got another one for 40 dollars......I never knew that would happen

 

Supperdrag, you would expect it to be stiff it the field where energized with the key on. Usually a bad bearing will be rough and/or loose and noisy.

If it is stiff from bearing friction it will get hot there at the bearing.