Have a 99 Ranger with a 4L engine and had the transmission and radiator flushed at 40,000 miles. Truck w ent in to Ford dealership with no problems and their inspection said everything was fine. Called about picking it up and they said the main belt was squealing because they got it wet, was waiting for it to dry before calling me to pick up. Picked it up at 5:30 and the belt just screams, never stops, sounds like your strangling a cat as you go down the road, lot of annoyed looks from other drivers. Took it to the car wash and attempted to "clean" the belt with water only and then sprayed belt dressing on it the next morning. Quieted down for about five minutes. Have applied the belt dressing every morning before I go to work, is squealing after a couple miles, screams on the way home. Dealer says bring it in, we will replace it, for FULL PRICE. I say they got oil on it, they say even if they did, it shouldn't squeal like this. Do I raise $%*% with them or just take it as a lesson learned and never go back?

 

Hi dhermesc,


Too bad you don't have the first part of this quote in writing, anyway...Take em' down!(possible legal action)! They did it, make em' fix it FREE and/or report them to BBB, etc.
Also replace the serpentine belt; oil gets imbedded + is hard to remove and manually clean all the pulleys w/ a non-residual cleaner (leaves no crapola behind), check around!
______________________________________________
My Beastie
90 Ranger 2.3L EFI 2wd Mazda < with many new parts!

 

Actually have their check list that showed the belt was fine, they admit that it probably got antifreeze on it while doing the flush but deny that any AT fluid got on it. They also admit it started squealing in their shop, either way they say "Not our fault".

 

Hi dhermesc
What this amounts to "it's your word against theirs". They say the belt was ok; only in the sense that it was safe enough to keep using and about them verbally admitting to what they have done..."IT MUST BE IN WRITING"! Tell them that " you will be persuing legal action then go BS with your attorney/legal representative, maybe he/she can pull a-rabbit-out-of-the-hat!
______________________________________________
My Beastie
90 Ranger 2.3L EFI 2wd Mazda < with many new parts!

 

I understand the principle of the situation, but a new belt can't be $15~$25. I say grab a new one, make sure your pulleys are clean and straight, and save yourself the hassle.

-Jim

 

Jim is right - the cost of a new serpentine belt should only be $20 or so. Again, clean your pulleys with some alcohol and be sure your hands are clean and dry when you install the new belt. There should be a belt routing diagram on a decal under your hood and you will need a socket/breaker bar to release the tensioner.

From reading other threads, I have never heard of anyone successfully cleaning a serpentine belt once there is grease/oil/antifreeze imbedded in it.

Good Luck

Russ

 

Actually they want $105 to install a new belt. As I said they freely admit the problem started when they spilled "something" on the belt but maintain they are not responsible for it. Even at $100.00 + its still not worth gettig an attorney involved. FMCO have a service complaint dept?

 

$105 is just plain silly. Even if you didn't have the 1 tool you need to do it (socket wrench/breaker bar), you could buy the tool, the belt, a new tensioner, and possibly a new idler pulley for less than that.

At most it would be a $30 belt and 10 minutes of a tech's time, cause I doubt he'll wash the pulleys off.

-Jim

 

Hey dhermesc
$105.00!! the belt must be made of a rare metal
Looks as if you are choosing to do the latter...lesson learned!
______________________________________________
My Beastie
90 Ranger 2.3L EFI 2wd Mazda < with many new parts!

 

From RockAuto.com's online catalog:
(for a '99 4.0L Ranger w/AC)

Belt: $26.79(GATES)-$27.79(Motorcraft!) (ACDelco is in the Middle)
Tensioner (Complete Assembly): $29.79(GATES)-$33.79(ACD)
Idler: $16.24(GATES)-$18.53(ACD)

So even if you went high end it would be $80.11 in parts to replace the belt and Idler/Tensioner pulleys if needed. It's under $30 for just the belt, and it's even cheaper if you don't have Air Conditioning ($13.03 Motorcraft).

I'd forget the dealer on this one, especially because you can buy the exact Motorcraft belt that they'll use.

-Jim

 

This is definitely a lot of crap. They should be responsible for their actions. You can fix the problem for a lot less hassle by yourself. I'd contact your local district's Ford Rep., and express a little personal sentiment.

Like what's been mentioned, I'd remove the old belt then clean all of the pulleys. Anti freeze also has greasiness to it and actually feels a little like oil if you ever get it on your hands. If antifreeze has contaminated the belt and pulleys a good hit of detergent soap with water might also work good. Use an old toothbrush to get into the pulley’s grooves. Dry well before threading the new belt.