Well, it got down to -28 degrees F. here in northern MN by Fargo, ND last night and my truck sounded good driving it this morning. There was no whistle/squeal at any RPM or speed up to 70 mph. Hopefully, this second and "improved" alternator will be the cure. I would encourage you all to check with your dealers about changing yours out. Keep in mind however, this is the second one I've had in because apparently Ford redesigned it since the first time I had it changed back in 2004. When that one was changed the sound was gone for a long time too but recently came back with the cold we've been having here. I have my fingers crossed...

 

That's interesting...I have complained about mine for 2 years and they say it's the belt therefore not covered. Did they replace it under warranty?

 

Well, My 06 started this whistling last Friday so I had scheduled an appointment for it & took it in this morning. It did it multiple times driving to the dealership this morning, so I was hopeful that it would do it for the Tech. It did. So now there is a new revised alternator on order & I have a appointment Monday to have it put in. I thought that it was odd that they didn't have an alternator on hand. So I'm guessing that they have had a lot of these cases or these revised alternator haven't been around long.

Anyway I hope the new alternator fixes the problem for me too. We will see Monday!

T. J.

 

I have always wondered what that noise was when I first start the truck in the cold. I thought it might be the tensioner pulley but the alternator makes sense. When my neighbor asks me what that noise is all I can say is that ford can't hear it so there is no problem!

 

I have an 04 F150 and I've started getting a whistling noise also, but it's always when it's cold. I live in Western ND and it's been below 0 this week at night and in the morning and that's when I get the whistling noise. I've been trying to narrow down the problem and so far I've heard that it could be the alternator, serpintine belt or an intake problem. My first thought was alternator and now I'm leaning towards that since it fixed your problem.

 

I have a new F150, 2006. It has been about 20'F colder than normal, or about 8'F at night, with a daytime high of 20'F. I noticed a whistle when I start the truck, it is parked outside. I only have 2000 miles on it. Maybe I should complain now about the noise.

It also sounds like a minor "diesling" noise on the second start up of the day. Almost like the lifters are dry or something???

Bocomo

 

Yes, they covered it under warranty. And it was -19 here again this morning and NO noise, so hopefully, this takes care of it.

 

AB328,

Do you have a product number for those of us outside warrantee?


Doug

 

Well guys, that is very interesting. I am glad to see someone finally fix the problem (hopefully). I was originally thinking the alternator with mine, but then I saw it could be the air intake or the belt. Thanks for the report AB328.

By the way, mine stopped doing the noise today (today was warmer than it has been the past few days). It started doing the noise on a very cold morning. This makes me think it is the alternator.

Thanks
Joe

 

Not sure if this is the product # or not, but my work order says part # GL*922*. Hope this helps. BTW, never got above zero today and still No noise.

 

Just for my sake, you are taking about noise when first starting the truck, not when driving right??

Because my dads and mine both make the noise on a cold start up to. Been about 0 to -20 here lately.

Thanks

 

Nope, this is a whistling/squeal inside the cab while driving. Mine is a 2004 FX4 and started the noise the first winter I had it, and only when it was around zero or colder. Mine was mostly around 20-40 mph, but would do it up to 70mph. The second replacement alternator has seemed to do the trick.

 

AB328,

I have to stop off at the dealer today to pick up some gaskets and other stuff for my engine swap, so I will confirm the part number, price and get back to everyone tracking this thread.

Kind of a side note, has anyone replaced their serpintine belt and if so, what brand did you use? I understand some are better than others.

Cheers,


Doug

 

Hey,

I heard the Goodyear Gatorback belt was by far the best, but my local store is always out (I wonder if it has anything to do with the Goodyear strike???). Anyway, I need to get one to quiet this thing up...