canucklehe

my 93 es300 parts car has a noisy alternator, like a squeal. hard to describe, but noisy. I see they sell bearings for these.

1)are they hard to replace? are there one or two bearings?
2) If bearings are noisy, does the alternator have much life left?
3) if yes to#2, anyone do the rebuid kit (looks like it also has a brush included), and what are they like to rebuild? (i've had ugly issues in past trying to get brushes on smaller electrical motor armatures).
4) should i just buy a used alternator for $40 ?
5) Can I check to see if alternator is putting out required charge voltage ? (my battery is dead and won't take a charge).

not sure how I came up with so many questions for something so simple, I don't want to sink money into this.

LexusFool

have you checked if the belt is good and the tension isn't too tight or loose? with the belt off you can check the bearings on the alternator pulley. I would buy a good brand or OEM alternator, from my experience I've bought cheaper alternators on a lexus and landrover and they've gone out a year or two later, just my luck they both went out of warranty and the second one was producing erratic voltage causing major electrical problems and a lot of troubleshooting to find the problem.