I was driving home today when I noticed a sound coming from my engine bay at low speeds. I can't really describe the sound but it seems to be coming from around the engine itself. The car also seems to vibrate a little more than usual. When I shift from P to D the sound is still there but changes a little. The CEL did not come on and there are no idiot lights on either. When I opened my engine bay there was a burning smell that lasted for a few minutes but then was gone. I'm running low on gas but I doubt that could be the problem and I'm too afraid to drive it to the gas station. I checked the oil and it is fine. Any ideas what it could be? My car has 30,000 miles on it.

 

From reading other posts on the org I believe it is the alternator. Isn't 30k miles really early for an alternator to go?

 

What do your belts look like? ARe they in good shape? Is anything touching the heat shield at the front of the engine right behind the radiator? What about something lying on the intake manifold? Good luck.