Finally working on this again...

I've pulled my voltage regulator, but now I've lost confidence it's the source of the problem. It looks very similar to the one depicted below, except: The brushes, while much longer than 1/4 inch, are 1/8 to 3/16 inch uneven, and don't emerge from the plastic housing at right angles. Most alarming is the "bottom" of the brushes (closest to the top and the camera in the photo to the right) -- each brush "barrel" has a jagged, uneven metal protrusion. They look like old solder material, broken off.

Trying to decide whether to replace the entire alt. at $77, or just the V. R. at $41.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!!