My trucks developed the squeal about a week ago. I been researching the forum for possibilities.

I understand the tensioner pulley and the idler pulley are the norm to go out. Truck has 118000 miles.

During the week I tried to spray the backsides of the accessible pulleys while the truck was running. squeal didn't go away.

Squeal seemed to come from passenger side (right side?) of engine compartment.

I tried listening through a 2' length of pvc pipe to see if I could pinpoint the noise while the motor was running, but, I couldn't find it.


I went by Ford dealership to price the tensioner ($170) and idler ($150).

Parts counter guy was helpful with some advice. He said while the belt was off to spin the pulleys. they shouldn't spin freely more than one or two rotations.

I figure I better post a video and get some advice before I start throwing money at it for no reason. I'll change parts as they go bad.

Looks like the idler pulley and power steering pump has some side-to-side play.


I changed out the serpentine belt, May of last year, when my water pump went out and put in a Motorcraft belt.

What are your thoughts on what is causing the squeal and what should I test or fix?

Much appreciated,

 

Both the tensioner and idler pulleys are very common problem points in my experience. In fact, every time I've had a squeal problem it has been attributed to one of those 2.
The prices the stealership gave you are horrible. You can find both parts on Amazon or RockAuto for about $75 (tensioner) and $40 (pulley), both Motorcraft parts. Some have had more success with a Napa or Gates tensioner as the MC is known to fail early and often.
That being said, I'm sure the PS pump pulley will need fixed. I'm assuming you can replace just the pulley, or perhaps tighten it up? I haven't had any experience at all with PS components on these trucks.

 

Whether it will work for you or not, but I went to local dealer for a desperate attempt to fix my fuel shutoff valve that had decided to pour when it got so cold. He came out with an $80 price...Told him I would wait and order offline...He responded that he would match the online price so I got it right then

 

Seeing the idler pulley shifting from side to side, shouldn't it be more fixed so as not to move side to side?

I'm hoping that's not normal and that's the culprit.

Yeah, I imagined the price would be high at the dealer, but, I wanted to get a printout with the part #s on them for reference, when I go shopping for a cheaper price.

Who carries the Gates tensioner? Is it sold over-the-counter or online?

i'm hoping someone will chime about the p/s pump. When I moved the pulley, it seemed like the shaft moved as well.

Tyler, Thanks for your response,

 

That sounds like a cleaver route to take. I paid regular price for that same valve around New Years. I'll have to try that sometime.

I'm considering the Napa or Gates product for the pulley this time.

Thanks for your input, carltonwebb.

 

Sorry for the delayed response...

Your idler pulley does seem a bit loose. I'm no expert, but I wouldn't expect that much play out of it. On the upside, it's the cheapest pulley to replace.
It was a little hard to see the tensioner in the video, but is ALWAYS suspect in these cases.

Good idea on the part numbers.. I know them by heart by now. BT-50 for the tensioner, and YS238 for the idler, correct?
As for the Gates, I know Amazon has it. I THINK Napa sells the Gates, just rebranded as theirs. I order these parts off of Amazon myself. They seem to have the best prices and free shipping at that.

The PS pulley did seem pretty bad, but for all I know that could be "normal". I'm doing a new tensioner/belt on mine tomorrow chasing a squeak myself. I can give my PS pulley a spin & tug and see how it compares to yours if no one chimes in by then.

Hope this helps.

 

No sweat on the delay, I'm still researching before I start throwing money into it.

The tensioner pulley had no side-to-side play.

Man, that's pretty good. On the printout they gave me, the tensioner is the BT50, but, the idler # here is YS287. I think I'll have to look at fordparts.com to look at the difference, and, I'll have to call a couple of different Ford Dealers to check for the correct part #.

I'll be calling Napa and I'll check Amazon.

Thanks for your responses, Tyler.

Good luck on your truck,

 

You're welcome, glad I could be of some assistance. I could be wrong on the idler, and you should be able to get that straightened out pretty easy. In fact, Napa could probably give you the correct part number if Ford can't.

I appreciate the luck... I am beyond annoyed with this squeak. I finally have the truck running well and I get a constant chirp sitting there idling.

 

Rich,

From my experience on my truck, you power steering pulley and idler pulley look normal. In fact, I was convinced my idler pulley was causing a squeal when towing, so I replaced it with an OEM one... Which had exactly the same amount of movement as yours and my original, and did not solve the problem.

Check out my thread on the squeal when towing. All the stuff that didn't work are in posts 1-24, and the fix starts in #25. I'd suggest you pull the tensioner off and look at the gap described in my thread. If the gap isn't perfectly symmetrical, replace the tensioner.

Post whatever the fix turns out to be in this thread. These things are a pain to chase, and successful troubleshooting experiences are gold above ground for the chaser.

Mark

 

RockAuto.com has an assortment of tensioners from $45-$76. Gates, Dayco, Motorcraft, etc. are all there.

 

Hey Mark,

Thanks for chiming in. I read through your linked post you shared here before going to bed last night. Man, what a situation you had.

You've given me a couple more ideas, before I take the plunge and start spending.

I think I'm gonna try cleaning idler first and then run the truck ( I'll check the alignment with a straight-edge while I'm there).
Next I'll try changing the newer belt with the older belt (I keep the old one in the truck for emergency).

I'll see how those work out first, and I'll make sure to update the thread.

Thanks again Mark

 

Thanks for chiming in Pikachu,

I checked rockauto last night and it looks like it's going to be about $200 for the tensioner and idler.

 

I hear ya on the annoyance.

I can only imagine my neighbors since I leave for work before 6am.

 

All great suggestions, it could also be the belt. My Cobra had a squeal like that from a slipping/old belt. Just a thought if nothing clears it up.

 

Rich- my power steering pulley has the same type of movement and I'm fairly positive it's not responsible for my chirp.

An update to my situation: I replaced the tensioner with a NAPA (Gates logo on box) tensioner and Motorcraft idler. The chirp is still there. I'm pretty sure I have it narrowed down to the water pump pulley bearing going out. I have no leaks and no indication other than the chirp; the pulley doesn't even seem to have any movement.

I'm not too upset... I've been looking for an excuse to do a T444E pump + ELC & get rid of this bypass filter. Also would leave me open to installing the M208 I have sitting on the bench, and possibly a Fluidampr too. It could've come at a better financial time though.

I'll try to remember to keep this thread updated, but I'm probably not going to rush into the water pump unless something major happens or someone convinces me otherwise.

I thought about trying a new belt too. Mine is a <1k old Gates HD. But in this case, I can just tell it's a pulley chirp and not a belt squeal. If that makes sense...
Rich, any luck on your end?