Whenever I accellerate from a stop it sounds like someone is shaking up a bushel of crickets through first gear. Any ideas on what this could be? I have a 2000 Flareside with the 5.4 Triton. Thanks for any help.

 

!! sorry dude, that was the best description I ever heard!

 

what does a bushel of crickets being shaken sound like

 

Could it be a slipping serpentine (fan) belt? Gatorback rules.

 

Yes, but the best description of what????

Belt, PCV, Spark plugs, air filter all have been replaced. As far as the sound, imagine a field full of crickets all chirping, but only when I'm accelerating from a stop and it stops after the tranny shifts into second. Maybe some bearings are going bad somewhere? The power steering pump has been a bit noisy lately, could that be the problem?

 

A deteriorating bearing in an idler pulley would sound like that.

Does it do it in first gear all the time or just when you start it up and the engine is cold?

 

It's most noticeable when it is cold. Is there a way to check the idler pulley?

 

check the transmission mounting bolts. they may be loose

 

Now that's a scary thought, I'll check those when I get home tonight.

 

One other thing I noticed was when it had been parked outside over night on one of the few very cold nights there was a loud buzzing from the top passenger side of the motor on start up. It went away after a while, but I never did figure out what that might have been. Not sure if this is related or not.

 

A bushel of crickets eh? You could do your part to help cut down on the cricket population by going fishing, a bushel should last you a while - and hey, even if it doesn't fix anything, you went fishing - you'll feel better.