What- girlfriends 99 TJ with 4 cylinder and 19,000 miles

problem- weird clackity clack coming from under hood

did the old wooden dowel/stethescope test and it sound like it's coming from the alternator
it's still charging, but I'm guessing the bearings are junk

anyone else heard of this problem happening with low miles?

Any other similar problems that could be causing a noise like this that changes with rpm and would be coming from near the alt?

thanks
gott figure this out cause gf is :mad: and I don't want her to get any crazy ideas like trading this in on a jetta or passat:D

did you take the belt off and give everything a spin and a wiggle?:D

That's the sound of 4 squirrels bumping their heads together inside the engine trying to move it.:flipoff2:

Take the alternator out of the vehicle, it is really pretty damn easy on that engine no more than 10 min work. Bring it to a place like autozone or CSK(checker/shucks/kragen) and they will bench test it for free for you. Then you will know if it really is the alternator. Why screw around with all the other shit if it's that easy.

Ben

On 6 cylinder 99s and earlier, this is a commonm problem due to the mounting location of the alternator. It is bad enough that I carry a spare alternator. Any trip through a mud puddle puts the alternator at risk. It may be that you can pull it and clean it and be okay, but I just gave up and bought one from a place that has a lifetime warranty so I just pull them and swap them out.

Jackie