I have a 1998 Bonneville with 70,000 miles on it. It just recently started making a whining noise when I rev the engine. We first thought that it was the power steering and that it might be low on fluid, but it was okay. When we looked under the hood with the car running, it sounded like it was coming from the alternator. Please help.

welcome to the forums. first off , it could be the alternator. remove the belt and spin all the pulleys. any that are loose or tight are suspect.

Please put you car info in you signature so we can tell what motor you have (do you have 1 or 2 belts.)

mechanics stethoscope, a piece of rubber tubing, or a long screw driver, all put up next to your ear can tell you directly where the noise is coming from.

i have a 3.8L 205 hp V6. i think this is what you were asking for. there is only one belt which we have changed this year. and thanks for the welcome.

Courtney..actually what he meant was to please put

1998 SE in your signature. It'* all good though.

One way of getting the alternator tested would be to stop off at your local parts store and ask them to test it . Most are free.

I would discourage you from buying an alternator at Autozone though... they have quite the bad repuation.

The GM altenators are well known for the rear bearing cooking and failing from heat over time. I'm on my third one now at 115000 miles. When the bearing gets rough and noisy it heats up even more and will eventually fry the electronics in the altenator. That'* what lifetime warranties are good for!