Changed the Serp. belt

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Jan 21, 2008 | 03:28 PM

fordcourierboy

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Changed the Serp. belt

I just recently changed the serpentine belt on my 2000 ford explorer. Now I get a whining noise. I figured it is one of the pulleys, but it is kinda cool sounding. It kind of sounds like a supercharger whine. I just don't want it to lead to bigger problems later. Anybody have this problem before? What do I need to do to fix it.
Thanks
Jason

Jan 21, 2008 | 04:34 PM

winfordr

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From: Rural Florida Panhandle

Make sure the alternator fan is not rubbing something. Could have gotten bent during the install, or something could have gotten pressed against it.

Jan 22, 2008 | 05:02 AM

marragtop

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Make sure the belt is seated properly on all the pulleys. While the noise may sound neat, it's an indication that something isn't right. I'd suspect the tensioner. Was the old belt chewed up?

Jan 22, 2008 | 11:11 AM

5.0B2

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From: Helena,MT

could be as simple as the iar intake tube sitting down on the top of either a pulley or the belt itself.

Jan 22, 2008 | 12:02 PM

fordcourierboy

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The belt that I replaced was cracked from age but wasn't chewed up. I checked to make sure the belt was seated right, the whole thing started when my explorer wouldn't start last week. Woke up went to start her up and nothing. I had just bought a brand new battery last month so I didn't think it was that. So I just knew it was the alternator. I took it off and went to O'Reillys to have them check it. The guy loaded it into their machine but he didn't have it in correctly and it made a horrible vibrating sound almost like a paint mixer at home depot. He reset it and it ran right and check out. Good!!! I went home and reinstalled it and figured I would change the serpentine belt while I was this far along. Not to mention it was due for a new one. Took the battery back to Walmart and had them check it, and sure enough it was bad. So this is what has lead to this whine. Any more info would help. Also if it did tweak my alternator, will Oreilly's hold responsibilty?

Jan 22, 2008 | 12:07 PM

marragtop

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If it didn't whine before Oreilly's tested the alternator, then I suspect they may have damaged the pulley which is resulting in your whine. Good luck trying to get them to admit to it.

Jan 22, 2008 | 03:13 PM

winfordr

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In my earlier post I was thinking old alternator design. I believe yours has the fan inside now. If that is the case, it probably is bumping something because of the shaking it got during testing. If it's bumping a wire, it will surely cause a fatal problem before long. If you can't get help from the parts dealer, you may be able to take the belt loose and turn the alt to see where/if it's hitting something. I remember replacing bearings in the alt on my 98 explorer, and it was very difficult to put it back together where the wires would not rub the moving parts. So a little shaking could cause it.