'90 E350, 460,new to me, newer alternator, belt looks good, AC works, rattling noise coming from the front of the engine. I get a squeal for about the first 3 seconds after I start it up and then that is gone but then I have that slight rattling noise and then maybe a kind of "che che che" noise. Maybe nothing, but this is a Airstream B190 camper van and I want to do some traveling w/it in the future...
Thinking maybe I start w/the idler assembly and go from their. Any other suggestions and how hard of a job is it ? Thanks in advance.

 

you could start then engine and spray little squirts of a lite oil like wd40 on the belt and see if the noise stops... all the oil will do is diagnose if its just a squeaky belt. you can also loosen the belts and check the idler pulleys, a/c compressor for play and roughness.

 

I was going to do that then I remembered that a mechanic told me that belts are not made out of what they used to be, neoprene now ?, and either the belt dressing or Wd40 will gum them up and make it worse once it dries, googled it and found the same thing. What's a guy to do ? Belt looks relatively new so one of the pulleys must be going ...

 

I used a bar of soap and rubbed it on my belt to determine if it was the belt chirping. I did the outside edge first, then the inside edge, then the underside. I didn't do it all the way around, just in a couple of spots and it worked itself around as the belt turned with the engine on.

What fixed my 1988 E150 W/5.0 engine was I found a TSB from ford about the power steering pulley not being pressed on all the way. I sorta doubt that applies to your 1990 though...
The TSB for the 1988 said that the pulley was not installed on all the way and the fix was to press it on flush with the shaft end. I couldn't believe I had bought a 28 yo van with 100k and no one had ever fixed that...

I just looked and that TSB applies to 1987-89 E-SERIES, F-SERIES, BRONCO W/5.0L AND 5.8L EFI
Ford Workshop Manuals > Bronco Full Size V8-351 5.8L (1987) > Engine, Cooling and Exhaust > Engine > Drive Belts, Mounts, Brackets and Accessories > Drive Belt > Component Information > Technical Service Bulletins > All Technical Service Bulletins fo

 

Is yours a v-belt or a serpentine belt system? If it is a multiple belt system just remove them one at a time and start it up in between. This will tell you if it's a belt and which one it is. You could also use it as an opportunity to replace them all. Could be a good idea if you are planning to be on the road for a bit.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Check the Harmonic Balancer for separation, at that age, good chance the rubber is dry rotted and causing the 'squealing'