Can a bad bearing stop a running engine?

My 2000 Windstar V6 (140,000 miles) stopped in the middle of the street. It fired right back and I made it home. After dinner I fired up the van again and heard screaming noise from the fan belt. I used a hose and tried to locate the problem. I could only eliminate the alternator and air conditioning pulleys. It could be coming from the power steering pulley, water pump or the main fly wheel. The screaming noise went away after about 3, 4 minutes. My question is if one of these bearing is bad, can it stop a running engine? In other words, am I looking in the right direction?

I did have a warning sign before this happened; the day before when I was on the interstate, the engine skipped (died) for a second but recovered right the way and I made the 100 miles trip home without any more problems.

I am also thinking about the ignition coil. The original one failed around 110k miles. The second one from Pepboy lasted for 25,000 miles. The current one from Advanceauto is about 6,000 miles now. I have no confidence in these coil packs but I have no clue how to test them.

any help is appreciated.

The screaming noise 'could' be from the syncronizer for the camshaft position sensor.
It also could be the idler pulley or tensioner pulley.....spin those 2 pulleys by hand (with the belt removed) to check for any roughness or resistance.

Wiswind,

Thanks for the reply. You are right on the money, I just pulled the code P0340 for the camshaft position sensor. Is damage already done to the synchronizer when the screaming noise started? How difficult is it to replace the syncronizer?
I don't even know where this thing is located.

Do some searching for synchronizer ... you should find plenty. It is located in/on top of front cover. It holds the cam positioner on top ... two small screws.

The synchronizer is not a good design. It runs without any lubrication other than "splash". The PCV system sucks any oil downward that might try to do some good. Best to remove the thing from engine every so often, stand it upright and drop some oil in it for several hours. I just removed mine and did this procedure about 8000 miles ago... before this round-the-country drive I'm on. Be sure to do your research before removing this thing ... has to be "timed" ....

Some good news, the van seems to run o.k. now after I replaced the camshaft position sensor but not the synchronizer. The synchronizer seems to be working with no damage. I also found the problems with the belt, the idler, and the tensioner. Replaced them and the noise is gone and the jerking action stopped.
Thanks for all the help!!