What about the belt tensioner?

 

It might be the belt tensioner. I noticed on my '99 that I used to have, I used to get a squealing like what elite is talking about. It wasn't that loud... but if I turned the a/c on, it would sound like a metal squealing noise. But everyone I talked to said it was "normal"... but then again I was much younger at the time and didn't know any better.

I'm curious as to what it is... because I think I know what noise he is talking about. And even after all these years with mine, I still remember that noise.

 

Hey Elite,
once you have the belt off spin each accessory pulley with your fingers and listen for a dry sliding sound,paying close attention to the idler pulley and the tensioner pulley ,since these are more prone to fail.You can get a mechanics stethascope at any local parts store at a resonable price,the solid steel shaft will transfer mechanical noises very well. Putting the shaft on the retainer bolts in the center of the pulleys will tell the tale.The upper idler pulley is prone to failure first on the 4.2,the small ball bearings inside loose their lube and will start to slide and flatten....and squeek,hope this will help,good luck.

p.s. If you use the scope with the engine running be very careful around the fan blades if the shaft touches the blades you will bump your head on the hood latch.

 

Not to deter the topic... but a fella that I know lost his index finger in an engine fan... so be careful!

 

water pump bearings?

 

I have a 2004 with a 4.2 V6 with a similar belt squeak noise, which has been going on for some time now. The most consistent symptom is a squeak at startup for about 2 seconds. The squeak can also be produced when steering is turned all the way with AC on. As the belt gets worn, the problem gets worse. Also any kind of dirt or mud really makes the problem worse. This is a big problem as I travel on dirt roads every day.

I have replaced the belt and cleaned pulleys many times now. A new belt usually fixes the problem for a couple weeks then it is back the same problem. My second thought was the belt tensioner. I have purchases two different new belt tensioner for the truck and installed a new belt with each tensor. Again after a couple weeks, same problem.

Next I replaced all the pulleys and bearings. This did not seem to make any difference at all. However, I did notice the belt seemed to track back and forth on the water pump. This appeared to be coming from the play in the power steering pump pulley. So I replaced the power steering pump and pulley. Again, this made no improvement.

After reading some posts online, people recommend editor the gatorback belt or stock ford belt. I ordered a new belt from my ford dealer, cleaned all pulleys and installed it. Same problem in a couple weeks.

At this point I took it to the shop, explained my problem and left it there for a week to get fixed. When I picked it up, said they fixed it with a new belt and charged me $200. Two weeks later, same problem.

My current fix, is a belt 1in shorter to provide addition tension and I spray it every morning with belt conditioner.

Reading this form it may be the crankshaft pulley, however I cannot find a new one and am hesitant to buy used. The alternator, water pump, and ac pulleys all seem to turn fine. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

General pully related advice...a few years ago I rebuilt a Porsche engine that required manual tensioning and you had the ability to shim the cam tower therefore align the cam pully as well. It wasn't as magical as some of the so called "P-car" guys made it out to be but it was an extra step to get it right and I acquired a new skill.

Since this is an automatic tensioner and its not pushing THAT hard...the fact that only going down 1" on the belt cured the squeel would lead me to believe you don't have a bent pully shaft because that's not enough force to bend it back (but I could be wrong). My expectation would be that an accessory is not securely mounted or an accessory has an internal problem allowing the shaft to have some play. With and without the smaller belt on there, check that all your pullies are in plane with a framing square. Also read your belt...see where the wear is occuring (frayed on either edge, or shiny strip?) and that will help narrow it down.

 

Camshaft sensor. Its the dummy distributor shaft at the top squeaking. It will eventually break and leave you stranded