I have developed a squeal upon start-up with my 59AB, that goes away after a couple of minutes. I suspect that it is my alternator, but can't be sure. How can I tell? What is the failure mechanism, catastrophic or gradual? How tight should the belt be? If it is the alternator, can it be repaired or must I replace it?
Just slip the belt off and start it, to see if that's what is making the noise. Then just turn your pumps and alt. to find out which one is making noise.
Had an alternator seize on a 340 Duster years ago. Alternator pulley stops spinning, belt continues to spin till it melts off. It was a manual steering car so that was the only belt I had on so the water pump also stopped spinning when I lost the belt. There should be bearings in your alternator that can be changed.
Well Guys, I removed the alternator with the intent of having the bearing replaced. The guy that I brought it to said that the alternator was OK and that maybe the squeal was too loose a belt. He also noted that, along with the rest of the alternator, the inside of the pulley was chromed. He suggested sanding the inside with 150 paper. I thought that was a little heavy, but did use 400 wet paper. I reinstalled and now the noise is gone and all seems to work OK. Thanks for all the help and suggestions.
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