Hello all. My grandpa's truck had a bit of a break down today. He was driving when he heard a squeal followed by a pop and then he lost power steering. He got the truck home and parked it.

I just checked things out and found a broken belt. Problem solved! Or so I thought. After further looking I found that the pulley on the alternator wouldn't spin at all. I grabbed on with my hand and gave it a decent hard twist and then it popped loose and is now spinning just fine by hand as it should.

Am I good to throw in a new belt and leave the alternator for now? Will this just happen again in a mile or two or might it last a few thousand more miles? Looking for advice here. Thanks all!

94 Ford ranger
2.3 l4

 

Assuming that it is the original alternator, it is 25 years old. If your looking for a guarantee that it won't break again or last another few months, It's a 25 year old part. Rockauto has alternators for less than $100. if it were me I'd replace it and move on.

 

replace it

 

Alternator may spin now but it won't work, so you will be running on the battery, so engine will die after a few hours, and you could ruin the battery by doing this

So as said above, replace alternator

 

I agree.

If you had to physically break the hold on the alternator with brute force, sum ting wong.

Bring it to local parts store for core.