Hey everyone, got myself stumped.

I own a 1997 Explorer XLT AWD with a 5.0L v8 engine. 148000 miles and counting each day. It's a beefy truck and has served me well. I'm pretty rough on funds so I haven't bought a new vehicle yet, even though I know I need to

So here's the issue I'm having. And I will start by saying it's not the serpentine belt. I know what that sounds like and it's not the same sound.

My truck started making a loud squeaking/scraping sort of sound a few days ago during a snow storm. It happens mostly under 50 mph, and I don't think it's the transmission because even though it is more common around shifting, a recent event has caused me to look away from the tranny and more towards the engine itself. At first I thought it was my drive line that I recently had rebuilt, but again this event this morning stopped that idea in it's tracks.

I was driving to school and it hadn't squeaked since I left my house which wasn't even more than 2 miles away. I was beginning to think it had stopped. Until I pulled up to park and it started. I stopped my truck and put it in park and it kept making the sound while stopped, which it hadn't done before. So I'm stumped.

I took a video of the sound if anyone is curious I can probably email it to you if you email me first. For those who don't want to hear it or see the video, I'll describe it as best as I can.

It's loud. Very loud. Might be random but I feel like there's a pattern to it, I'm just not sure what aside from the frequency of when it happens at certain speeds. Sort of squeaking, sort of scraping. Doesn't happen when I brake, or at least it's not connected to the brakes. Doesn't slow me down when I drive. I tried to see if maybe the transmission was struggling to shift and I went from stopped to almost floor and it went fine.

So like I said, I'm completely lost. I plan on taking it in to service at the dealership I work at. Thank you all for your help. Here's my email for those who want the video:
3p1kduck17@gmail.com

 

Could possibly be pulley bearings singing, my truck had that a while back. Is there any extra play in them? Or are they excessively hot after running for a while?