Hello all,

I have been plagued by a really bad squeal in my F-150. It was owned by an old gentleman I knew and I purchased it from him. Its a 1997 with only 17,889 miles on it, he never drove it. Well, I've went through the darned thing, last summer no belt squeal, this winter i found and replaced the bearings in the idler pulley were bad, that was fixed and a new belt was installed. Now it is squealing really badly with a direct relationship to the RPM, below 1500 no noise, above its noisy. No idle noise. Could I have a set of bearings in the belt tensioner that are bad or have gone dry? COuld it be the damp weather, even though the belt is around 10 days old? Local folks say WD-40/ abrasive hand cleaners with grit in them to clean the belt off. Also a recomendation of baby powder to "soak up" the oil on it. I think it is the bearings because of the inconsistency of the noise, it isn't constant/regular.

Any ideas before I hand it over to a repair man? Please help!

Dustin

 

Congratulations! Sounds like a nice truck!

I have a 1997 F-150, belt doesn't squeal at all.

It has 219,000 miles on it.

Wanna trade trucks ???

 

It does sound nice - Okay I'll trade - Mine is a 98 with only 206,000 miles - it's broke in , my belt doesn't squeal either

Replacing your serpentine belt solves this problem.

 

I have a 97 with 240000 and it does not squeel but you might want to check the fan clutch. Just remove the fan but make sure the pulley is bolted on and dont drive in traffic.

 

On some trucks I've tried even a third belt to make a squeel go away. But it also could be a certain pully too. This is a hard one to do over the forum, but welcome aboard! Grandpa trucks are fun.

Adrianspeeder

 

Here's what I did to isolate my squeek and repair.

I sprinkled talcum powder (not constarch based) and sprinkled on the belt. Squeel went away so I knew it was belt slipage. Replaced with a gatorback and have been happy.

Here's a tip, go to schucks web page and order your new belt online, print your invoice and pickup at the store. You'll save a few bucks that way.

good luck

 

i had a squeal on my old dakota, i took an old toothbrush cleaned all the dirt out of the pullyes. squeak was gone.

 

You mentioned that you changed a bearing in one of the pulleys. If the bearing was not a tight fit into the pulley it can spin inside the pulley and generate a squeeling noise. Just a thought. Also your tensioner may be weak allowing the belt to slip. Get some belt dressing and spray on the belt to see if the noise stops. If so the belt is slipping on the pulleys and it is either contamination on the belt or the tension is not suffient enough. Also are you sure you bought the correct belt for you engine? There are various sizes for the 5.4 and 4.6 depending on vehicle. Some of them are real close in size. Another thought is did you get the bolt tight on the pulley that you repaired when you reinstalled it. If not the pulley can spin on the front cover boss and make a noise. Good Luck

 

Good Info in this thread for yuh - Is that the original Serp belt? With that little of miles , the belt may be rotten from sitting..

 

he said he put on a new belt-read the post -WTF you are always busting someone else's *** for not knowing what they are doing

"that was fixed and a new belt was installed"

 

It's ok , you got me , calm down ...noted.

 

Hey guys, talcum powder was also recommended to me. I may try that. I just can't believe the belts this is going through. this is the second new one in under...3 months. Is it true the gatorbacks are good belts?

Thanks for replying!

Dustin

 

I would spin all your accesories by hand with the belt off and try to feel any kind of dragging or grinding. I would also check the alignment of all your pulleys.

 

Hey all, well I have come down to the conclusion that the belt tensioner is the source of the problem (lack of sufficent tension pressure) and/or the pulley alignment may be out of sync. It is going to a good ford man I know that does fantastic service work. I would rather he find and repair the source of the belt noise/issue.
Dustin

 

Good to hear you're on the road to getting that issue straightened up. To respond abuot the Gatorback, you'll probably get a few people that tell you they're no good, but I just put one on my truck a couple weeks ago and I'm thrilled with it. It's quiet and was no more than $5 more than on OE Replacement at AutoZone. Also in response to someone's suggestion on putting belt dressing on the serp. belt...not a real good idea from my experience. The best bet is to let your friend replace the tensioner and see what happens. If for some reason he has to replace the belt, I'd recommend a gatorback.

Welcome to the site. Sounds like a nice truck.--DIY