StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

My car has been acting weird lately .. Dieing completely and taking forever to jump then working perfect. My alternator is making some screeching noises like its taking a dump and dieing on me!
How much do our alternators cost?
Do I have to also buy a alternator pulley with it?
My car is 8 1/2 years old and has 160K miles , could it be the alternator or am I just parinoid and should just get a new battery?
Has anyone replaced there alternator yet, is it easy of hard?

nbennettksu

iTrader: (2)

if you were getting jumped off; if your alt was bad, the vehicle would die as soon as the jump was taken off. Thats really the only sure way I know of it being bad; I'm sure there are other ways to tell...

I'd suggest looking into battery issues first, as I know they are much cheaper.

chtrcy

Go have your Battery and alternator tested at Autozone or Pep Boys before you spend the money to replace it.

EL19

iTrader: (4)

check your belts too

lokijibber

go buy a multimeeter from sears or harbor freight.... cost is around $20-$40. You can use it to test battery strength, resistance of sensors, polarity and among other things, whether the alternator is charging correctly. If the alt is completely dead, it won't keep running after it gets jumped. Alt should be charging b/t 14 and 16 volts when running.

Be sure to check battery terminals for loose connections and corrosion too.

Good luck!