ticking noise

1991 pontaic grand prix - suspect somesone with acccess to the hood as poured something into the engine oil - the car now makes a constant ticking noise even when warm - seems to drain the battery and the cars needs a boost.

Could your altenator be going bad, bad bearing, and thus causing the ticking and loss of power??

haven't had a chance to check the alternator-as far as the bad bearing, how could i check that

take the belt off and spin the alt by hand
If the bearings are going it wont spin freely, also you can remove your Alt and take it to NAPA or Autozone and have them check it for the correct current.

Tim