It comes and goes. Sometimes there will be no noise whatsoever, other times it's so loud it seems like something is gonna break. It's more of a jingle, kind of like something is rattling. I don't think it's the belt, and the alternator seems to be functioning fine. Any ideas?

 

Look at the belt tensioner and see if it tracking properly. If the torsion spring is weak/broken this can cause the belt to jump around when the engine is rev'd.

 

I have seen a few alternator bearings go bad. They will chirp/squeal quite a bit. A good alternator shop should fix you up on a repair rather cheaply if you take it off the car for them.

 

Thanks, but I already checked that, and it's good to go. It seems that it doesn't matter what rpms the engine is at because it can be very noisy at idle too.

Hmm, that is possible too. Thanks for the reply.

 

I've seen belt tensioners go bad that made noise at idle just as well as the rest of the rpm range so I would still consider it.

 

had to replace my alternator 2 times in the last 2 years (lifetime warranty). Once because it wasn't working. 2nd time due to bearings going out.

Also replaced tensioner pulley due to squeal (bearings).

Engine is quiet now...

Exhaust is another story.

JT

 

i know u fixed it but a/c compressors will make same sound and often overlooked

 

After looking into it further, that's what is is. The bearings in the ac compressor were pretty much shot. It'll run me about $160 total to get it fixed by a shop.

 

Or you can shed some pounds and save some money and get the 1LE A/C delete pulley.

 

 

its prolly not the bearing but its the a/c clutch hitting outer cover quite common on gm a/c comps

 

i just pulled off my ac compressor and put the delete pulley on , fixed my problem.

 

Considering how cheap the quote is it sounds like it's just the clutch they're replacing. Replacing the compressor would cost about $500+ if they use oem parts considering labor, parts and recharging the system.

 

Correct, that is what I meant. But I believe I'm going to put the ac delete pulley on. There's really no need for ac with t-tops...

 

Also, would it be alright to drive the car right now with those bearings going out until I can get it fixed? That is if I replace the compressor with the ac delete pulley. It's not going to cause any further damage to anything other than the ac compressor right?