Hello All,

Stats: 2000 Ranger 3.0L XL 4x4

I had been hearing a sqeak under my hood for a few weeks. I took it to my mechanic and he said it was an alternator. He replaced it and the squeak/chirp went away. I now here it very slightly on damp mornings even with the new alternator.

1. What should I do about the chirp?
I have replaced both Serperntine belt and Alternator this year.
2. How long should an Alternator last?

As always, help is appreciated

 

I have sort of the same problem with my 1995 Ranger XLT. I had the serpintine belt replaced and It went away for a while, but still comes back during certian weather conditions in the morning. This is a problem in a lot of the 3.0 engines apparently, I would suggest looking at the tensioner mabye? I'm not a mechanic by a long shot, but it was replaced on my truck a while ago with the serpintine belt.

 

If it bothers you alot, ask the mechanic to check the tensioner and pulleys for the belt. Mine was bad and caused a bad squeak. A chirping alternator? That's a new one on me.

 

I would suggest checking the idler pulley(s) first, especially the one on the tensioner.

 

I had a chebby astro, had a squeak. Found the idler and tensioner pulleys to be sticky. Took them off and gently opened the seal on the bearing, packed the bearings with grease mixed with never seize. Pushed the seal back in and cured the squeak. Any time I can I repack sealed bearings, cheap easy and fast.

 

Well this may not help you out too much, as it did not work for me either, but I Have the exact identical problem on my 3.0 as well, only in the mornings or after raining, or when it is particulariliy damp out, mine will squeel and chirp like crazy for about 2 mins then eventually go away.

I ended up replacing the serpentine belt, and the idler and tensioner pulley all the same time, (it was relatively cheap, might as well do it all at once) and the squeek was still there, it wasnt as bad as it was before the swap out, but it seemed to help a little,

While I had the belt off, Every pulley except for the alternator spun around freely, and silently without making a noise, I even had a friend help out using the old serp. belt and one of the old pulleys, and a thick screwdriver , I had the old belt wrapped around a "suspect pulley" and had my freind hold the screwdriver, and old pulley and wrapped the belt around the two trying to apply as much pressure as i could on the belt to test if the squeek was happening under pressure, which, all of the pulleys were all fairley quiet except the alternator.

Rotating the alt. pulley by hand, I could hear a little squeaking like a mouse squeak, but that is all the noise it would make just a little squeek.. So figuring it is the alternator bearings that are probabley shot, The cost of rebuilding the alt is almost as expensive as getting a new one, both options at the moment I can't afford so i'll have to stick it out for a bit.

One thing I did do, Is I sprayed a "little" wd-40 right on the belt when the engine was running and the squeek dissappeared almost instantly, and it took about 3 weeks to come back so I guess it narrowed the problem down some, but not much, i cant imagine spraying wd40 right on the belt is too good an idea but for a temporary solution it worked out o.k. I stress using a little because too much will cause the belt to slip on the crank pulley. and alot of wd40 sprayed about the face area ( it doesn't taste too good )

Well this probably didnt help out too much but i will keep an eye on the thread to see what other people have found out or done to resolve the problem..

jim

 

Here are some ways to fix Squeeks from drive belts

Possible Source(s):
Drive belt.
Pulley(s).

Action(s) to take:
DETERMINE what area of the pulley(s) the noise is coming from, then CHECK that area with a straightedge and look for the accessory pulley(s) to be out of position in the fore or aft direction, or at an angle to the straightedge.

Possible Source(s):
Incorrect drive belt installed.

Action(s) to take:
CHECK the drive belt for correct part application.

Possible Source(s):
Lubricant or other contamination on the drive belt.

Action(s) to take:
CHECK the drive belt for oil, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid or other contamination. REMOVE the drive belt and wash with detergent and water. If the drive belt cannot be cleaned or is damaged (softened) by contamination, INSTALL a new drive belt.

Possible Source(s):
Drive belt pulleys not aligned properly, damaged or not rotating freely.

Action(s) to take:
CHECK the pulleys for proper alignment, devices and pulleys for proper freedom of rotation and damage. REPAIR the pulleys and devices as required.

Original equipment drive belts are made of a special cord construction and are subjected to special testing before they are approved for use.

Replacement drive belts, other than O.E.M., may track differently or improperly. If a replacement drive belt tracks improperly, the drive belt should be replaced with an O.E.M. drive belt to avoid performance failure or loss of drive belt during cold operation.

With the engine running, check drive belt tracking (the position of the drive belt on one of the grooveless pulleys, idlers or drive belt tensioner. If the edge of the drive belt rides beyond the edge of the pulley, noise and premature wear may result). If a drive belt tracking condition exists, visually check the drive belt tensioner for damage, especially the mounting pad surface. If the drive belt tensioner is not installed correctly with the locating pins in the locating holes, the mounting surface pad will be out of position. This will result in abnormal drive belt tension and chirp and squeal noises.

If the above procedures do not correct the drive belt noise, try replacing the drive belt with a known good original equipment drive belt. However, the drive belt noise may return (with mileage) if one of the above conditions still exists uncorrected.

With engine running, visually observe the grooves in the pulleys (not the pulley flanges) for excessive wobble. Install new components as required.

Check all accessories, mounting brackets and drive belt tensioner, for any interference that would prevent the component from mounting properly. Correct any interference condition and recheck belt tracking.

Tighten all accessories, mounting brackets and drive belt tensioner retaining hardware to specification. Recheck drive belt tracking.

Belt Tensioner
The automatic drive belt tensioner can be checked as follows:

1. With the engine running, observe the drive belt tensioner movement. The drive belt tensioner should move (respond) when the A/C clutch cycles or when the engine is accelerated rapidly. If the drive belt tensioner movement is constant without A/C clutch cycling or acceleration, a pulley or shaft is probably bent or a pulley is out of round. In rare cases, excessive drive belt rideout (uneven depth of grooves in drive belt) can cause excessive drive belt tensioner movement. This condition can be checked by replacing the suspect drive belt with a known good original equipment drive belt and repeating the observation.
Dave