Have a 97 F150 with 4.6
couple of years ago ac clutch freezes up. I replaced the smooth idler pulley with a grooved one and installed a shorter belt to by pass the ac compressor.
after several months, at start up, it would scream like pulling a cats tail for 10 to 30 seconds depending on how long it has set.
I lived with it for a while, then I noticed how easily irritated I would become driving. talking about road rage, dang.

So I started replacing pulleys from the easiest to the hardest. Since I replace the idler pulley, it was onto the tensioner. squeal still there.

the alternator was replace abut a year before the ac clutch jammed up, so I moved onto replacing the fan clutch. new fan clutch on, still squealin.

Next, I replace the water pump. still squealin. I'm thinking, ok through process of elimination, it has to be the power steering pulley/pump. being 20 years old and has been whinning for a while, I replace the entire pump and pulley. fired it up, still squealin!!!

So now I am out of ideas. The harmonic balancer doesn't have bearings or moving parts.

Do any of you guys know if a Harmonic balancer will make this red hot poker in the groin kind of screamin?
Anything would be helpful at this point.

thanks,

Tuck

 

Does it scream if you pull the belt?

 

You have probably created a glaze on the belt and pulleys. Remove the belt, clean ALL the pulleys, and put on a new belt. Also check if your tensioner is at or close to it's limit of travel. Think of the cold start up noise like a burnout for drive belts.......there is no more "tread" left.

 

Guys, thanks for the responses.
glc - took the belt off and it did not squeal like a banshee when I fired it up. quiet as a church mouse.

jgger - most all of the pulley are new and the belt is relatively new.

dressed the belt and cleaned the pulleys.

it still screams. I am at a loss

 

Alternator bearing?

 

Thanks for the reply JCR56. I kinda thought of that too, but I did replace the alternator in 2014 (new, not rebuilt) and unless I got a lemon, I'm thinking I should get more mileage out of if than 3 years.

Anyway, little update.
Like I said, I dress the belt and cleaned the pulleys this past Saturday, and, yes, the cat did cry!
But, now that I have started it up and ran the truck 5 or 6 more times, I have noticed that it has really gotten a good bit better on the scream time. its now more like 3 to 10 seconds. 10 being when firing it up cold. 3 firing it up just after shutting it down, like when pumping gas.

This gets me to thinking what jgger posted. The belt I have it relatively new, but, but here is the deal.

When the clutch on the ac compressor locked up, like I said, I replaced the smooth idler pulley with a same diameter groove pulley. I read (i'm pretty sure it was here) that by doing this the belt needs to be 80 1/8" long and gave a gates belt number for the belt. the belt at 80 1/8" long was a bit of a stretch to get it over the rim of the alternator pulley. I had the tensioner pulled as far as I could and the belt just did creep over the edge of the rim. When I did the by-pass, fired it up the first time, it worked like a charm and continued for the next couple of weeks. at the time it was not my daily driver, so it would sit 3 or 4 days till it made a run. The temperature turned off cold and I was heading out to take the trash off on my routine Saturday morning, and it squealed when I fired it up and it has never stopped since.
I thought well, WTF. Maybe the belt is too tight and since it has a slightly different angle of pressure on all of the pulleys since by-passing the ac, maybe them 17 year old bearings on all the pulleys don't like that. So, I find a belt, gates, that is 80 1/2" long. It slips on with the same amount of play as the original longer belt using the ac. But, it squealed from the git go and I have been living with it since.

It didn't bother me so much since it was the trash truck and going to the pond truck, but now its my daily driver again after many years and it will flat out drive me nuts. sometimes, when I pull up to a stop sign or red light, when my idle drops lower that normal (I know my egr valve need a little cleaning) it will go into the squeal and man you know how that makes you feel when you are in a pack of cars and every one is looking around trying to find the ear piercing sonic scream and all you are doing is sliding down in your seat hoping no one makes eyes contact with you.
Anyway that's the complete story.
Any recommendations of perhaps a better belt?
thanks,

Tuck