When I start my truck, '93 F150 5.0 4X4, I get a noise from 1 of the pulleys. It lasts until the truck warms. I've changed the tensioner pulley but no help. When I remove the belt & spin all the pulleys, the only one that seems rough is the PS pump. Is there a way to isolate the noise? I don't want to shoot in the dark & change them 1X1. Any help?

 

What kind of noise are we talking about? Is it rumbling grinding noise like a bearing's gone? Or does it sound like someone's started a cricket farm under there? Is it a pulley, or a glazed serp belt? Both sides of the serp belt are used, and if it's got a logo stamped in the outside, chances are, that pretty logo from the mfgr is what's chirping at you, if a chirp is what you're hearing. Try this on for size. Remove the belt. Take some fine grit sandpaper, steel wool, or ScotchBrite pads, and etch the surface of the Fan/Water pump pulley and the Idler pulley if it's metal (mine's plastic and doesn't chirp, but the water pump pulley does). Put on a new belt. If the pulley is glazed, the belt is glazed, and putting a new belt on a glazed pulley, or a glazed belt on a buffed pulley will only make the problem come back. If you use any kind of belt dressing or conditioner on the belt, you're probably just going to introduce some slippage, and even louder squeeks when the conditioner dries back out. While you've got the belt off, spin each pully that can be rotated (all except the crank) and see if you feel any problems in the bearings. I've got the cricket farm with a relatively new belt, but can see where the logo is beginning to wear off, and it looks glazed there.

 

I had a noise like you described . Then it started to do it all the time . (2 days)Thought it was water pump. bought one and on way home the flat pulley above tensioner blew apart. luckily I was going five mph and only had to replace belt and fan.

 

Old-Paint...it's crickets. When I had the belt off, the pulleys seemed fine except the PS which was a little rough. After it runs for awhile, the noise disappears until the next AM. The belt doesn't appear cracked, but I've never changed it. I've put about 60K since I bought it 2.5 years ago & the truck has 160K, so I don't know when it's been changed. I'll give it a shot & see what happens.

 

Just don't forget to buff the pulleys where the belt runs on it's backside before you put the new belt on. I don't think you'll get a squeak from the grooved pulleys.

Good highway safety tip, 'cause I'm a nice guy, and it's what I do. Keep the old belt and fold it back into the box your new one comes in. Toss it under the seat, so if you break one on the highway, you have the spare under the seat. Next time you replace the belt, same procedure, tossing the one you put under the seat last time.

The only thing I don't like about serp belts is that if it goes, EVERYTHING goes with it. Otherwise, I think they're the best thing since shirt pockets.

 

Ok, my truck has just started doing the same thing - "chi-chit, chi-chit, chi-chit, ..."

But the serp belt has been on for 5k. It doesn't make sense to me, but if you guys think it could be the belt I'll de-glaze it and the pulleys.

Dave

 

When you buy a belt, make sure there's no fancy logos and crap on the outside. These look really neat when they go flying by, but don't do much for belt traction. It's hard to find one that the manufacturer doesn't put their logo on, but just make sure it isn't an embossed logo. Stencil or printed logo is OK, as long as the surface of the belt is smooth. Any irregularity in the surface, such as an embossed logo, will probably trap air under as it wraps a pulley on the back side, and cause it to slip ONLY on the pulleys that it wraps on the back side (smooth side) of the belt. Mine does it only on the water pump pulley (probably due to stiff silicone fluid in the fan clutch). I'm not ready for another belt change yet, and the crickets don't bother me. It goes away after the engine gets warm, in 3-5 minutes. Being a creature of habit, I always buy the same brand parts if I can get my grubby little hands on 'em. The last belt was the same brand. Only new thing about it was an embossed label on the back.

 

i find that the goodyear gatorbacks are the best around.

a bonus is the lifetime warranty.

with gates i have been let down anytime i used them.

 

Thanks for the reference, QL.

The embossed logo is the only thing new about the Gates belt I put on the last time. Up to this one, all the others have had a printed label that eventually rubs off. I'll try the gatorback next time. As the name suggests, I suppose it has a knurled backside?

 

It may be a gates belt, I don't remember which kind.

I've never had a properly functioning belt make so much noise - whodathought?

Thanks all.

Dave