alternator just replaced

"Does not sound normal" is not very helpful. That does not tell me what the symptom is. If I had to guess, based on the recent history, I would be looking at the new generator to see if it is locked up. It is more likely for a new part to fail than a bunch that have been working fine for a long time. Try spinning the engine by hand to see if it is possible. You can also watch the generator's pulley while a helper turns the ignition switch to "crank". If the belt is slipping over that pulley, the new generator must be replaced. The symptoms would include cranking too slowly, and possibly a squealing sound from the belt.

"not normal sound" meaning it does not make the usual sound upon cranking. it sounds "slower" car will not restart. the first start attempt had the squeal sound and then the car shuttered and it shut off. thanks !

I still suspect the new generator is locked up. The way to verify that is to remove the drive belt, then try to crank the engine. If the engine starts and runs, you will not have power steering, and the battery will run dead within about half an hour, and less if the head lights and heater fan are on. With the belt off, you can spin the pulleys by hand to see if one is locked up.

dealership towed it in this morning and say the alternator is turning freely. started to work on it saying initial guess is the timing belt broke. the car has 156,000 miles on it and the belt water pump etc. were replaced around 105,000 to -110,000. maintenance calls for replacement every 90,000. would there be any connections between replacing the alternator and the belt breaking ?

Nope, the two are not related. You have to do a real lot of disassembly to get down to the timing belt.

One of my reference sources lists this engine as an "interference" engine, meaning a broken belt will cause bent valves. They recommend the belt replacement intervals to avoid that damage. It is also customary to replace the water pump and all the tensioning devices at the same time. Your mechanic will strongly recommend that if he has your best interest at heart. Some mechanics prefer to not replace everything in an attempt to save you a few bucks. I hope that isn't what happened here.

dealer tore everything down - camshaft sprocket on driversside bank spun off the back ring - something the dealer has never seen before - when that let go the belt came off - the belt still looked new and you can tell the water pump tensioner and idler pulley's had been replaced- sprocket failure had nothing to do with the maint. or belt replacement - they have no idea why that cam sprocket spun-off that ring ?

Well, at least they found it.