02 T&C alternator squeaking?

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pishta

pishta

I know I'm right....
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My mommyvan alt is making a chirping sound , varies with engine speed. Dont know if it is the bearings or that stupid one way sprag "coupler" on the end that seems to work when I took it off to test, only rotates one way and locks when reversed. Can you lube these bearings without taking off that pulley/coupler or what? Coupler is $60 alone, rebuilt alt is like $180! charges fine, just makes a squeaking sound...
 
Have you tried squirting some WD-40 in the alt. towards where the bearings are. If it's the bearing/bushing it should quiet it down.
 
yes, I got the front but dont know how to get the back, didn't seem to do squat. I even shot WD in the sprag...?
 
does the alt make any noise when rotated by hand?
if so, well ... if not,

with engine running spray WD on the serp belt (flat side and grooved)
a small spray will do, noise be gone? time for a belt change.

also, ck for any erratic wear patterns on the idler pulley, tensioner (sp)
pulley, and water pump pulley --- an indication of running alignment issues...

change appropriate component and install new belt.

Hopefully its a cheap fix!!
 
Alt doesnt make noise with me spinning it, but there is no load on the bearings either. no bad wear patterns. Ill try the belt lube and will post. Thanks.
 
Just an FYI, I use a bar of soap to lube the belt while it's running.
WD40 softens the rubber.

But then if it's the belt you will probably change it anyway so it won't matter.
 
Those alternators are reallly really prone to making growling squeaking noises. The noise is likely coming from the clutch on the end of the pulley. I personally would rather have a factory denso altenator with a replacement coupler/clutch than any parts store rebuilt unit.
 
Is yours a 3.8L like mine? I had a squeaking sound too a few years ago, that I thought was around the alternator. Changed it with a new one off ebay (~$110) and same noise. I think I then changed the serpentine belt and no more noise.

One quick test is to spray water on the groove sides of the belt and see if it quiets down. I saw a video from Gates on YouTube about that. They were talking about checking for mis-aligned pulleys. Unlike our single V-belts which allow 1/8" mis-alignment, serpentine belts are very fussy.

BTW, do you know how to get that strange pulley off? I tried so I might fit a V-belt pulley to my old one to try on my A-bodies, but couldn't figure the trick. I pried real hard. I see no screws to remove.
 
I got to thinking about this, I'm assuming there is an idler pulley there somewhere, could it be that? I had a chirping noise on my Hemi and I thought it was the alternator as well turned out to be the idler pulley.
 
Yes it could be an idler pulley, yes it could be a chirping belt, yes it could be an ac compressor, but it really is very likely to be the alternators one way clutch/coupler. Give the pulley a twist back and forth and feel how it rotates after you compare to a new one you can see how much slop can develop. I used to work at a dodge dealer and we replaced many perfectly charging denso altnators on RS vans due to growling/squeaking/chirping/ratcheting clutches. I believe the reason that chrysler (and many other companies) installed that goofy little clutch on there is so that when the high load ac clutch kicks in there is something in the system with a little slip. I don't know that for a fact but I know that those clutches are now on toyota denso alternators as well.

My time at dodge convinced me to never buy anything made by chrysler from 1990-2009 except leftover models like rams and dakota. Any model changes made after 90 I wouldn't touch.
 
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