# Metallic friction sound from Cavalier

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/metallic-friction-sound-from-cavalier/17129>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** noises, alternators\
**Created:** [July 24, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metallic-friction-sound-from-cavalier/17129 "2008-07-24T00:53:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![BuickGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@BuickGuy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/BuickGuy)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metallic-friction-sound-from-cavalier/17129/1 "2008-07-24T00:53:29Z")

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Recently, I started driving a 97 Cavalier with 101,000 miles that had been, for the most part, parked for a year. Right away I noticed a constant metallic friction sound when the engine is running. I hate to call it a grinding sound as it doesn’t sound that loud, but that could be another way to possibly describe it. It does it whether the car is moving or not. I have listened closely under the hood and I think it may be coming from the alternator. Could there be a bearing going bad in the alternator? Or might it be something else turning with the belt, like the AC compressor? I do not remember it making teh sound before being parked last summer, so could something have happened during the last year to cause this?

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**Author:** ![hammrs1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/hammrs1/32/808_2.png) [@hammrs1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/hammrs1)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metallic-friction-sound-from-cavalier/17129/2 "2008-07-24T00:57:35Z")

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it could very well be the alt. or the belt tenioner.

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**Author:** ![wizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a87d85/32.png) [@wizard](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wizard)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metallic-friction-sound-from-cavalier/17129/3 "2008-07-24T00:57:48Z")

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If the noise is coming from around the alternator I would suspect that the bearings of this are failing.

If you have a long screw driver, place the tip on the laternator and put you ear on the end of the handle, if it is the alternator you will clearly hear it then.