99 5.4 Lariat I installed a Gatorback belt this weekend.
Now I hear a whining noise at low rpms. Sounds like air sucking, but found no hoses loose. You would think there was a turbo under hood. I am thinking it is the belt, caused by the cross pattern on back of belt. Versus normal grooved belt.
Dissapointed after buying this premium belt, twice the price.

Is this normal operation for the Gatoback belts ? I can put old belt back on and see if noise still exist.

 

When I ordered my Gatorback belt, they sent me an eight rib instead of the six rib that I needed. Could it be possible that you have the wrong belt? Mine is as quiet as the original.

 

I don't have that problem with my Gatorback and I have nearly 12k on it. It runs better and smoother than the original. I would def check on the # of ribs. I'm not sure which mine is.

 

Every Gatorback that I've installed was perfectly quiet.

 

Ditto

 

What is the correct Gatorback part number ? 99 5.4

 

Is it 806099 ? 99 inch 6 spline. correct me if I'm wrong

 

4080990 = 99 5.4 with AC
www.goodyearbeltsandhose.com/selector.html
-you can fit parts here-

 

isn't a gatorback overkill on a NA motor unless you have lots of belt slippage ???

 

The factory belt has a well known slipping problem that has been posted about hundreds of times here. This is no more than a Goodyear factory replacement.

 

My Gatorback is quiet. Could it be a flawed belt. See if you can get it replaced.

 

Count the ribs on your pulleys. I have a 2002 F-150 and some of the 5.4s had 6 ribs some had 8. Could be the same with yours?

 

If it was an 8-rib, it wouldn't seat in the pulleys. It would likely walk off the pulleys and shred itself in short order.

Both of my Gatorbacks made a whistling noise initially. The sound eventually went away with a few hundred miles of drive-time. You would think that a company that is known for quiet tires would realize that the sipes on the inside of the belt shouldn't be equally spaced.

-Joe

 

Like you I noticed my Gatorback belt got quieter after being used.
And now I do not notice it making the noise. Thanks for the reply to my original post.