weltertm,

I agree with gtow69 up to a point. If the output voltage is OK and there is no noise one would think it was fine...but I don't think it should be anywhere near that hot!

The very least I would do is take it off and disassemble it for a look-see. It's pretty easy to do and you might save it before it wipes out the field coils and becomes junk.

What does your ammeter tell you? It shouldn't show a constant, heavy charge. That is not OK. If all is well in the electrical end of things, my bet is a bearing or bushing that is toast but hasn't screamed yet! They don't always make noise.

Stuart