I'm taking my truck in to the dealer tomorrow to hopefully remedy a new glitch that has come up.

This happened twice before, and I had a couple of exchanges with Blacklight, then it went away.

Problem description:

Last four full throttle applications, all from about 35 to 65 plus minus, a terrible acrid smell of burning rubber enters the cabin.
No particular change in sound, but the SC sort of overwhelms everything anyway. It was definitely not the tires smoking.

Took it to the dealership today and as you look from the front, the left idler pully for the SC looks like someone took emery cloth to it. Unlike all other pulleys/idlers it is super shiny, super slick and has "burn" marks on it.

The SVT tech was out, but the Service Rep said it looked like that pulley was locking up under heavy load or perhaps binding under same. At idle and revving under no load, it seemed to spin ok.

I will report results of service visit tomorrow.

Meanwhile, if anyone out there has comments/similar experiences, please let us know.

Bill Murray



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Bill Murray
60 going on 17 w/my:
99.5 White Lightning
Bone Stock for now.
Stay tuned.

 

Well, seems no one else had the problem, maybe I don't either.

Left the truck all day at dealer, called me at 4:30 said couldn't find anything wrong. They did remove the belt and checked all pulleys etc. as well as A/C pulley.

Service Mgr. asked if we could do a test drive to see if I could duplicate problem.

Found that stretch of construction area road I have mentioned earlier and had at it.
8 WOT runs varying from standing start up through 40 to 80. (Hell, what an excuse, official Ford Testing!)

I managed to scare the living bejeepers out of the Service Mgr. (he is my age), but could not duplicate the belt slippage or binding of any pulleys. He was glad to get out of the truck and allowed as how maybe something was misaligned and the tech fixed it by accident.

If it happens again, I'll post it.


Bill Murray

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Bill Murray
60 going on 17 w/my:
99.5 White Lightning
Bone Stock for now.
Stay tuned.

 

Bill, sorry to hear about your problem, but I was LMAO picturing the Service Manager in the passenger seat as you roared down the road. I bet he had to clean some "brown organic matter" out of his undies.... Heck, you problably took 10 years of his life he can't afford to lose... I wonder if SVT techs and Service Managers get hazardous duty pay when they have to ride in the "other" seat.


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Mike Boardman '99 F150XLT 4X4 RC,FS,4.6,5spd,3.55LS,ORP,
Towing pkg,K&N GenII FIPK,FLowMaster,SnugLid,Luverne Nerf bars,
bug shield, DK Toreador Red.
When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

 

Bill
Mine has the same wear marks as yours, but also the right pulley is half way there too(paint rubbed off). I never had the rubber smell though.

Went to the track tonight and my trans problem seemed to come back, worse than before. I checked the fluid,it's ok. It's going to the dealer Monday for a week while I'm out of town, hopefully they can fix all the things the first time!

------------------
PFA
'99 WHITE LIGHTNING

 

Belt problem came back with a vengeance last night.

Was accelerating from about 20 mph at 3/4 throttle to merge onto 55 mph parkway and as boost gauge got into 6 to 6.5 lb range, smell came back and engine started to "stutter" almost like bad plug misfire.

This happened twice more on the way home. As it was late and starting to rain, could not test further.

Also raining today, so may not be able to test further until we return from Nebraska next Wed.

Very unsettling!


Bill



------------------

Bill Murray
60 going on 17 w/my:
99.5 White Lightning
Bone Stock for now.
Stay tuned.

 

Bill

Just to let you know, I've experienced the same burning rubber smell on hard rolling accelerations, my right pulley has no paint left on it and seems to be getting grooved from the ribs in the belt. The left pulley has lost about half of its paint. I'm taking it into the dealer Thursday for a look. I'll let you know the results. I communicated this problem to a rep from the Ontario assembly plant who just happened to call Fiday. I also registered a complaint about no locking lugnuts as promised in Fords brochures and on the SVT website. I'm suprised none of you other Lightning owners
seem to be upset about not having theft protection on over $3000 of wheels and tires.
Every other new Ford I have bought(6) came standard with locking lugnuts. As a side note: The Ontario assembly plant has an 800 number, it's 1-800-267-1788. They're interested in hearing about assembly related defects on the Lightnings so they can eliminate them on new production. Let's give them an "atta boy" and some positive feedback. These trucks are "AWESOME" in spite of the minor problems we've encountered.

 

Hey guys!
Don't we all have full coverage on our insurance? That is why it doesn't both me to not have any wheel locks. I figure that if someone really wants the wheels they will get them no matter if it has locks or not. If they can't get them off, they will probably ruin them and slice the tires in spite.

I guess I got this reply in the wrong area. I'd move it but not sure how.

[This message has been edited by gearhead (edited 07-13-1999).]

 

The idea behind locking lug nuts is when they see them they move on to an easier target. With McGard type locks the only way to get them off is to cut the stud.

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'97 XLT Reg. Cab, 4.2V6, 5spd, Superchipped, K&N Air Filter, Lund Deflector, Dash Mat, MagnaFlow Muffler, Hellwig Rear Sway Bar, Edelbrock Shocks, Duraliner, Extang Saber Tonneau, Bell-Tech 2" Rear Drop, Amer. Rac. Atlas Wheels Clad in 275/60/17 Eagle GTII. Likes straightaways, loves twisties.

 

Bill

I got the Lightning back from the dealer Friday. They couldn't find anything wrong with the belt or pulleys. They didn't think that missing paint was a problem even though I have only 3100 miles on the clock. I guess I'll have to talk them into a test drive as well, as judging from the milage, no one from the dealership drove the truck. Note that my last posting referenced the right & left pulleys as seen from the rear, so we have identical problems. I'll let you know when I go back to have it looked at again, as I suspect it will be soon.

Lightning Bob
99.5 "Arrest Me Red" Lightning
Bright Red Rhino Lining & Glasstite "Ralleye" Hard Tonneau Cover

 

Dear Bill,

It sounds like your drive belt for the supercharger is slipping under certain hard load conditions. They need to check the belt tensioner(s), and if they are up to snuff, they should replace that belt. I think they should replace the belt *and* the tensioner assembly (and I don't know what type of setup Ford is using for the belt tensioner, so I don't know if it's a single piece or 2 pieces, etc.) just for GP's, in my humble opinion. Also, if this belt is driving anything else, like the power steering or the alternator, those need to be checked as well, to determnine just exactly *where* this slippage, and the resultant rubber smell is *really* coming from. Again, I am not familiar with how the new Lightning is configured under the hood.

Try to track atmospheric conditions (temp, humidity) as well as the *exact* circumstances of how it happens, when it happens. Every time it does, immediately write down to the best of your recollection, exactly what the circumstances were....all gauge readings, boost levels and any change in boost level on your gauge when this occurs, voltmeter reading changes, etc.

From your description of the way it happens, and the rubber smell, it sure sounds like a belt, and I would automatically suspect the blower belt, but it could be another belt slipping on a driven accessory, due to such rapid & violent acceleration when at WOT in 1st. Have them also check the supercharger's lubricating fluid, to make sure it's full, and in good condition. It's a special synthetic fluid that no dealer I know of carries in stock. Ford years ago changed their serice manual recommendations for the Super Coupe, their last Eaton blower application, but at one time, you were supposed to change the blower fluid at 30K intervals, which was later changed to 60K intervals, and later was dropped altogether, something I don't agree with.

I'm really sorry to hear you're having this trouble, and let us know what happens!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 07-19-1999).]

 

dude i have that same problem bro. tell me what they said so i can go get it fixed too

 

and btw you can remove wheel locks fairly easy if knowledgeable about that sorta thing (i work for discount tire, and i breaks locks off all the time) i have yet to run across a lock that i couldnt remove quitely and easily

 

You know this is a thread from 1999...

They may not be watchig it close any more...

Doug

 

good point, i guess i should pay more attention

 

I had the same problem last summer took it to my freind that works at a local dearlship, he also couldn't find anything wrong or couldn't duplicate the problem he just took my word that it was happing and changed the tensioner and belt. ( It pays to have freinds ) I haven't had a problem or the smell since then and have put almost 10,000 miles on it since then. hope this helps.

Shawn