Bad alternator bearings

[newguy11]

I have a nice 85C 10 2 Wheel Drive with a 350 engine. Recently noticed a squealing noise on start up. Within a few days it became constant and LOUD

Determined the alternator bearings to be bad.

Replacement alternator made worse noise. And fan/pulley were out of round

Replacement alternator #2 was also noisy and out of round.

Is anyone else getting getting bad parts from the parts store?

Iv contacted someone to get an old alternator from a parts truck that I’ll have rebuilt locally.

 

[newguy11]

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[fast 99]

loose belt will make noise, tighten belt. If still noisy trace that down.

 

[Broken85]

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Loose belt. They make worse noise when they are wrench tight (but not tight enough). You can’t apply enough pressure with your hand. Tighten it up, probably be good to go.

 

[Edelbrock]

I wonder if the alternator pulley rubbing against that metal hose bracket is what caused the alternator bearings to go bad...

 

[Redfish]

I recently replaced a noisy alternator that had less than 5K miles on it. I had paid extra for the AC/Delco alternator and it had lateral movement from day one. It just got worse. When I removed it I could duplicate the noise, although at a much lower frequency by turning the pulley by hand and pushing the pulley back "into" the alternator. At least 1/8th inch of lateral movement, completely unacceptable.

 

[newguy11]

thanks for the replies.

Belt howls with the slightest tension, belt is ready to fall off.

It’s not rubbing in anything except maybe itself internally

I’ll install a used one and report back

 

[squaredeal91]

I've gotten bad alternators before recently. Had my alternator guy check it and found it was missing a bushing and fan was scraping the housing causing some good noise.

 

[Edelbrock]

If you pull the belt, you should be able to feel if the alternator bearings are bad. They would feel rough when you spin the pulley by hand. As for defective parts, the only place I have ever gotten DOA parts from was an auto parts store. Now I buy all my parts on Amazon, and so far I have never had a DOA part.

 

[idahovette]

^^^^^^^^lucky^^^^^^^

 

[Redfish]

thanks for the replies.

Belt howls with the slightest tension, belt is ready to fall off.

It’s not rubbing in anything except maybe itself internally

I’ll install a used one and report back

With mine the tighter I put the belt, the more noise I had. Again, I had spent extra for the AC Delco and still got garbage. It lasted about 2.5 years and less than 5K before the noise became unbearable.

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If you pull the belt, you should be able to feel if the alternator bearings are bad. They would feel rough when you spin the pulley by hand. As for defective parts, the only place I have ever gotten DOA parts from was an auto parts store. Now I buy all my parts on Amazon, and so far I have never had a DOA part.

My bearings were never rough. There was just lateral play and it was there when I first installed the alternator. No lateral movement in the new one from O'Reilly's.

 

[newguy11]

On the first one bearing had noticble play and the pilot bolt got hit enough to burn me.

The second one felt smooth but I could see wobble in the fan

3rd one. I didn’t investigate much last the super loud noise.

The alternators all say ac del o on the case but came in plain cardboard box. At the end of the day my suspicion is a lot of this stuff all flows from the same sources.
I’d gladly pay more for a part that will last.

 

[Bloodhound1981]

At the end of the day my suspicion is a lot of this stuff all flows from the same sources.

This right here. AC Delco does not represent what it once did. The name is licensed out to all sorts of substandard manufacturers.

 

[Edelbrock]

This right here. AC Delco does not represent what it once did. The name is licensed out to all sorts of substandard manufacturers.

On top of that: "Studies indicate that a substantial portion of goods, potentially up to 10% of all branded products, could be counterfeit."

That's why I like shopping on Amazon for parts. If they have a feedback rating of 143,298 reviews with an 92% "5 star" positive feedback rating - then I don't care what the brand is. You are buying based on user reviews, rather than a name brand sticker that is on the side of the part.

With sales largely based on user reviews, the Amazon sellers have a major motivation to supply a good reliable product. Now the suppliers are competing to have the most reliable product, rather that the most well known name brand with the cheapest possible manufacturing practices.

Combine that with the best prices on the internet, free next day delivery, user feedback ratings, free 30 day returns (even free return shipping), and the overall convenience of it, I find it hard to go wrong.

If by chance somehow you ever did get a bad part, then Amazon will overnight you a replacement at no cost to you. Then all you have to do is drop the defective part off at any UPS store, and they will box it up and ship it back to Amazon for free. You don't even need a label.

Oh, and there are never any core charges with Amazon, so you can keep your old part, so that you have spare pieces in case you ever need them.

 

[Frankenchevy]

I’d gladly pay more for a part that will last.

If this is the case, get a TuffStuff or Mechman alternator. Both made in the USA. I have both and they have both been great. Very good output at idle.