DSM PImp

I pulled off my belt and randomly just spun the alternator pully and heard it squeak. It gives off a little chirp every turn or so. The pulley spins freely and does not have any play and the alternator voltage output seems to be fine. I was thinking it might be the bearing but it sounds like the squeak is coming from the middle or back of the alt when I spin it. Do you guys think this is something I need to worry about immediately?

MrCamu

How old is the alternator?
It could come from the bearing or from that the rotor slightly touches to the stator(is this the right word?) , or from the coils.
I wouldn't be worried if the noise comes from the rotor or the coils. If I was you and if the alternator is old I would change the bearings, I would worry about the old and worn-out bearing

DSM PImp

The alt has 90,300 miles on it unless it was changed b4 I got the car. When i put the belt on and got the car running there was no squeak that I could hear. Although there were some really small noises coming from the alt. Sounded like little scrapes, but like I said they were very low sounds, I was thinking the squeak would perpetuate but it dident. The problem might get worst later on down the road though. Like you said I probably will have to change the bearings. are there two sets of bearings or just the one in the front?

MrCamu

I think that there is one in front and one in back.

al 96 Ram Air T/A

I've got a similar problem, only my alternator has 43,000 miles on it.

How does one go about replacing the bearings? Is it something one can do with basic tools?

DSM PImp

You could do it your self. Might be a little hard without knowing all the little tricks n stuff. I rebuilt one in school some years back, but I cant remember. As long as you can find the step by step directions you should be able to figure it out. I dont know if its in the manual or not though. Thats what ill prob end up doing my self.