help, I have a 98 f150 4.2. When the engine is cold, there is a screeching noise coming from the front of the truck. I m assuming its somewhere around the engine. After the truck is at normal operating temperture it goes away. if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. oh yeah one more thing, the noise doesnt seem to speed up or slow down with the rpms.

 

Serpentine belt....

 

yep.

 

<<oh yeah one more thing, the noise doesnt seem to speed up or slow down with the rpms.>>

Check the fan clutch on your radiator fan. When cold, it will not necessarily spin with the rpms of the engine. Once warmed up, it may work properly.

With the engine off (obviously, I hope), grab the fan blades and try to spin the fan. You should feel a little resistance. If not - or the fan seems to spin freely, the clutch is bad.

 

I just posted a reply on: 4.2 cold clunk. Check it out. I also have a 98 4.2. Funny how this subject comes up as soon as the weather gets cold. Mark M

 

I just replaced the belt this past sunday with one of the gatorback belts and it still does it. Somedays not as much or sometimes not at all. I checked the waterpump shaft for any movement and there was a little. Ive been having this noise for almost 4 months. I would think if something was going to break it would have broken already. who knows? Keep the replys coming thanks eric

 

Did you check the fan clutch?

Did you spin the other pulleys to see if any were binding or making noise? A little play in the water pump shaft is normal.

 

This sounds like the belt tensioner to me. Try putting some belt dressing on the serpentine belt before you turn the engine off at night. It will make the belt stick to all the pulleys better. In the morning if the screeching has stopped you will know the belt was slipping on something. Or if you have the tools try retensioning the belt.

 

Hey Eric,

My truck had a loud screeching noise from the front of the engine too.. I thought it was an idler pulley but it turned out to be the Camshaft Synchronizer. Instead of a distributor, the engine has a shaft that drops down the same hole, synchronized with the camshaft, with a sensor that reports to the PCM which cylinder needs the spark. It drops in close to the front of th engine.

With the engine completely cold, I'd remove the belt entirely and start the truck. If you hear the noise I bet that's what it is! I hope it's not though, it's an expensive repair :-(

 

it doesnt make the noise right away. It takes about 10 or 15 minutes, then it makes the noise, but as soon as the engine reaches normal operating tempature it stops. Its like someone dragging their finger nails down a chalk board

 

I'm going with some of the other guys on this one.

Have you checked your pullies yet? I had a F350 doing the same thing and found that the fan clutch went bad. My friends F150 had the same issue but his was the clutch on the AC compressor that was causing it.

 

In cold weather, it is a good idea to check for cats under the hood before starting the engine. My wife ruined 2 perfectly good cats this way. And yes they did screech. Glenn.

 

Hades 281 is on the mark. Failure of the camshaft synchronizer assembly is very common on the 4.2. Parts are a little over a hundred bucks. It is quite a challenge to change out due to it's location beneath the EGR valve. I wouldn't touch it for less than a hundred bucks labor. It starts to fail around 70,000 - 90,000 miles.

 

Mine does something similar. New belt. Belt is tight. Fan clutch is tight. It only 'squeals' when it is cold or wet out. If it's cold in the morning, it squeals. At lunch, and warmer out, its quiet. It does get louder with the a/c on, but the compressor was recently replaced, so I then ruled that clutch out.

Unfortunately, the ford service departments in my area are less than worthless, (oh, the stories I can tell) and no one else can find any problems, so it just goes on. Luckily I am in Az, so it's only for a couple months.

I've had so many problems and thrown so much money at this truck, I won't be buying a ford truck again. Reliability has not been a strong point.

 

Hey Eric, I have a 97F150 with the 4.2 also, it makes the noise also. I think it's the A/C compressor clutch bearing, I sprayed a little WD-40 between the A/C compressor clutch and pulley, the noise went away for a short time, but at least I know the source. Good luck.
Ken