harmonic balancer noise?
Thread Starter
|
Tuned
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 386
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
harmonic balancer noise?
I have a 2000 mountaineer 5.0 that has a chirp/squeek when its cold and goes away once warmed up good occasionally. I have replaced the belt, alternator and manually spun all the idler pullies, water pump, ac and tensioner. Nothing squeeks. Is it possible for the harmonic balancer to make this noise?
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 1,746
Likes: 4
From: PNW
Did you have the noise before you replaced the alternator? Have you replaced anything else (PS pump?) with a pulley? You could have a pulley alignment issue.
I had this problem on two of my Fords. It was worse on damp mornings, which is 10 months out of the year where I live. I replaced the belt and that only fixed the problem for a few months. Then I replaced the belt and tensioner and the problem was solved. The problem wasn't with the bearings in the tensioner, it was with the tensioner spring. The spring in the tensioners relax over time. Not saying it's definitely the tensioner, but something to consider.
I had this problem on two of my Fords. It was worse on damp mornings, which is 10 months out of the year where I live. I replaced the belt and that only fixed the problem for a few months. Then I replaced the belt and tensioner and the problem was solved. The problem wasn't with the bearings in the tensioner, it was with the tensioner spring. The spring in the tensioners relax over time. Not saying it's definitely the tensioner, but something to consider.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 137
Likes: 0
Still sounds like a bad idler pulley.
When you spun the idler pulleys, did they stop spinning right away, or keep freewheeling? If they freewheel, then there is not enough grease in them.
Had this happen multiple times on many different brands of vehicles. They won't squeak when you spin them, but put tension and a load on them, they will squeak. Noise goes away when they warm up because little bit of grease left in there loosens up.
Had this happen multiple times on many different brands of vehicles. They won't squeak when you spin them, but put tension and a load on them, they will squeak. Noise goes away when they warm up because little bit of grease left in there loosens up.
Thread Starter
|
Tuned
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 386
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
Trending Topics
Mountain Pass
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 137
Likes: 0
Something else to consider is the Alternator. My Explorer started squeaking recently and I thought it was my idler pulleys again. Turns out they were fine. I spun my alternator and it spun very freely.
I took the alternator apart and got a bit of grease in the bearings and it is better but I suspect I will be replacing it soon.
It's just my snowplow at the moment, if it was a daily driver I would probably get another alternator.
I took the alternator apart and got a bit of grease in the bearings and it is better but I suspect I will be replacing it soon.
It's just my snowplow at the moment, if it was a daily driver I would probably get another alternator.
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026
Brett Foote
5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time
Joe Kucinski
Ford Super Duty: 5 Things Owners LOVE, 5 Things They LOATHE!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2026 Ford Truck Engine RANKED from WORST to FIRST!
Michael S. Palmer
The Best F-150 Deal of Every Trim Level (XL through Raptor)
Joe Kucinski
Thread Starter
|
Tuned
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 386
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
Well thats what i thought it was initially so i replaced it. Still did it. Last nite i replaced the tensioner pulley and both idler pulleys. Still does it. Water pump is new so all that is left is balancer and ac and i know its not the ac. When i replaced the water pump the kit came with a collar to put on the balancer for the wear from the front main seal. Im wondering if that thing is spinning on the balancer. Im pulling it tonite to check
Thread Starter
|
Tuned
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 386
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
OK boys and girls, basically the whole front of the motor is replaced. I replaced the timing gears and chain along with the water pump about 5 months ago. about a month ago I started getting this horrible squeak like a belt. it started with a real long constant squeal one morning and stopped and proceeded to make a very on beat squeak until warmed up. I replaced the alternator, belt, all idler pulleys, tensioner pulley and ac clutch. still squeeks so I took off the belt and it still squeeks so that leaves the harmonic balancer. so I pulled it off and it seems fine. So then I proceeded to turn over the engine with the crank bolt with the balancer off and I can still here the squeak. Now I am baffled. What in the world is in the engine that would squeak like that until its warm? bearings, rods and lifters usually knock. oil pressure is great, doesn't overheat or leak and it runs perfectly. any thoughts are greatly appreciated. I hate to tear it down to find it but am also afraid if I ignore it the engine will eventually just have a complete catastrophic disaster.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 137
Likes: 0
Good for you for sticking to it, must have been somewhat discouraging replacing all that stuff and it was still squeaking.
How hard is it to change the sychronizer? My exploder is the OHV engine, so I'm not familiar with that.
How did you determine this to be the problem?
How hard is it to change the sychronizer? My exploder is the OHV engine, so I'm not familiar with that.
How did you determine this to be the problem?
Thread Starter
|
Tuned
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 386
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
I did a google search for 5.0 chirping and i guess it is a fairly common failure on the v8s around 80-100k. And every story i read was the same as mine. Replacing everything until nothing was left to replace. I guess its a poor oiling system on them and the bearing burns out. You remove the coil packs on the 5.0 and its where the distributor usually is. Popped it out and turned it and sure enough its squeeky as hell. Got one ordered. Also read not to get the doorman replacement due to poor quality.
New User
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
seems to be common, wish ford would step up to the plate on this one
16 Complaints: 2004 Ford Explorer Crankshaft Pulley Failure
16 Complaints: 2004 Ford Explorer Crankshaft Pulley Failure
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
rockcrawler_101
Small Block V8 (221, 260, 289, 5.0/302, 5.8/351W)
2
Jan 31, 2010 10:28 AM
Mr. Fixit
Big Block V8 - 385 Series (6.1/370, 7.0/429, 7.5/460)
4
Apr 8, 2005 06:48 PM