What does it sound like when the car is running?

Uhm... it is very hard to describe. Mine was going something like "knockie, knockie, dink, dink" But the best way to know if the bearings are shot is to just remove the belt and spin the alternator by hand. If anything feels gritty or scraping a little bit, time to replace. Sorry I can't be of too much help on the noise description. Hard to diagnose over the internet. My mechanic is the one who told me the alternator bearings were shot, so you might want to do the same...

yep...take the belt off and turn the pulley. If it doesn't turn easily/smoothly or makes noises...well....then you know the alternator is the problem.

Note that the power steering pump also has bearings, the tensior pulley has bearings, everything has bearings ....so you'll probably just wanna take the serpentine belt off and check them all.

TOC Admin
Brando

Thanks guys, I'll give it a whirl. This ought to be fun.