Squealing pulleys
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From: Lynchburg, VA
Squealing pulleys
I'm tired of the squealing idler pulley. Seems like every year I put one on just to shut it up. I pull up to the stoplight and it's whirling. And if I hear someone else's screaming, 90% chance it is another Ford. Not sure now even if it is the idler pulley but I'm in the mood to replace both the idler pulley and the tensioner pulley. What is a good brand? I can't find the pulleys on the Motorcraft site and Rockauto.com does not show Motorcraft brand available.
Pat
Pat
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From: Central, MA
It's time to do a serpertine belt anyway. I'm going to see if this makes any difference.
Is there any way of lubricating the tensioner bearing? Perhaps with a dry lubricant that won't bother the belt.
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From: Lynchburg, VA
Yea, the wet or humid days are the worse. And my belt is in good shape. I've tried WD40 and spray lubricants but that only silences it for about a week. Maybe a dry graphite powder would work better. Bit of relief to know I'm not the only one with the problem.
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From: SW Va
I replaced the "chirping" idler pully on the 94 Taurus 3.8L, about 3 years back, with an all metal one from AutoZone, that had sealed bearings & was well made & also at the best price I could find locally around here.
It's doing just fine & it's build quaity was far & away better than the part plastic/composit OEM one.
For the life of me I can't remember the brand name, but it was a domestic vendor.
So maybe AZ's pully quality & price for a Ranger will be as good.
It's doing just fine & it's build quaity was far & away better than the part plastic/composit OEM one.
For the life of me I can't remember the brand name, but it was a domestic vendor.
So maybe AZ's pully quality & price for a Ranger will be as good.
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From: Lynchburg, VA
AZ website shows Dayco pulleys.....could that have been the brand?
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From: SW Va
Nope, it wasn't a Dayco idler pully.
I am running Dayco polycog belts on both the Taurus 3.8L & Ranger 4.0L push rod engines though.
They're running just fine, a little quieter than the OEM belts & so far holding up MUCH better.
I'll have to look around & see if I still have the idler pully box. But then the Taurus idler pully vendor may be different than the Rangers.
Anyway AZ's price was way better than anyone else locally, for some reason. around here they're usually higher on most things, so I was surprised when I got the price, & even more surprised when I saw the quality of the part!!!!
I am running Dayco polycog belts on both the Taurus 3.8L & Ranger 4.0L push rod engines though.
They're running just fine, a little quieter than the OEM belts & so far holding up MUCH better.
I'll have to look around & see if I still have the idler pully box. But then the Taurus idler pully vendor may be different than the Rangers.
Anyway AZ's price was way better than anyone else locally, for some reason. around here they're usually higher on most things, so I was surprised when I got the price, & even more surprised when I saw the quality of the part!!!!
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I would also check the power steering pump pulley some of these are plastic molded over metal I have seen the plastic loosen up and make some really nasty noises. And they won't do it all the time, the pulley is only about 10 bucks.
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From: Lynchburg, VA
AAP carries only Dayco as well. Rockauto carries also Gates and FourSeasons. They are all about the same price. I'm leaning to try the Gates, I think I used Dayco last replacement.
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From: Lynchburg, VA
I don't know what it is about the moisture but with the rain the past few days, the pulleys were screaming this morning. Gave me a sense of satisfaction that before I left for the morning I ordered all 3 pulleys (about $40). But as the day went on, the sun came out and driving home all was quiet. Go figure.
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From: SW Va
Yup, I heard them squealing all the way over here in Roanoke, sure will be nice when you get er fixed!!!! lol
I don't know, the Taurus idler pulley bearing had ever so small amount of play/wobble, barely noticeable, but it would chirp sorta like a cricket, drove me nuts for a few weeks until I removed the belt to inspect it & clean all the pulleys & found the idler to be suspect.
Apparently doesn't take much wear to cause one to be noisey.
So remove the belt, give those pullyes a spin to check for bearing roughness & wobble/play, they should be snug, with no side to side play/wobble & roll without noise.
Could be the tensioner spring too, so have you checked the tension range marks on it's casting, to see if the tensioer is holding the belts tension within range????
I don't know, the Taurus idler pulley bearing had ever so small amount of play/wobble, barely noticeable, but it would chirp sorta like a cricket, drove me nuts for a few weeks until I removed the belt to inspect it & clean all the pulleys & found the idler to be suspect.
Apparently doesn't take much wear to cause one to be noisey.
So remove the belt, give those pullyes a spin to check for bearing roughness & wobble/play, they should be snug, with no side to side play/wobble & roll without noise.
Could be the tensioner spring too, so have you checked the tension range marks on it's casting, to see if the tensioer is holding the belts tension within range????
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A lot of times it is the isolation insulation on the tensiner pulley has started to fail and makes a lot of noise when the belts get a little damp they actually slip and then catch causing the tensioner to bounce around more had a bigg ford truck that did this used stehoscope to hunt it out replaced tensioner and noise went away.
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Noisy pulleys?
[QUOTE=wtroger;7270951]I would also check the power steering pump pulley..
I am curious how you trouble shot the noise. I have a 2003 v-6 3.0 liter ranger and have replaced the tensioner,belt and pulley . It is a intermittent
chirp and is in sync with the engine speed. The dealer said the belt got
worn and is slipping ,making the chirp.
If that was the case the new one should not make the noise.
When I had the truck new there was no noise. I took it in at about 70,000 to replace the belt becasue of the noise.
My 1999 xl ranger never made the chirp but it did make a noise when the power steering pump worn out,more of a grinding sound.
It is tough to isolate the sound without the belt on.
Any suggestions?
I am curious how you trouble shot the noise. I have a 2003 v-6 3.0 liter ranger and have replaced the tensioner,belt and pulley . It is a intermittent
chirp and is in sync with the engine speed. The dealer said the belt got
worn and is slipping ,making the chirp.
If that was the case the new one should not make the noise.
When I had the truck new there was no noise. I took it in at about 70,000 to replace the belt becasue of the noise.
My 1999 xl ranger never made the chirp but it did make a noise when the power steering pump worn out,more of a grinding sound.
It is tough to isolate the sound without the belt on.
Any suggestions?
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From: SW Va
[quote=aswingerat44;7307934]
My 94 Taurus has an intermittent "chirp" that turned out to be the idler pulley, with ever so slight "wobble" play in it's bearing.
I would also check the power steering pump pulley..
I am curious how you trouble shot the noise. I have a 2003 v-6 3.0 liter ranger and have replaced the tensioner,belt and pulley . It is a intermittent
chirp and is in sync with the engine speed. The dealer said the belt got
worn and is slipping ,making the chirp.
If that was the case the new one should not make the noise.
When I had the truck new there was no noise. I took it in at about 70,000 to replace the belt becasue of the noise.
My 1999 xl ranger never made the chirp but it did make a noise when the power steering pump worn out,more of a grinding sound.
It is tough to isolate the sound without the belt on.
Any suggestions?
I am curious how you trouble shot the noise. I have a 2003 v-6 3.0 liter ranger and have replaced the tensioner,belt and pulley . It is a intermittent
chirp and is in sync with the engine speed. The dealer said the belt got
worn and is slipping ,making the chirp.
If that was the case the new one should not make the noise.
When I had the truck new there was no noise. I took it in at about 70,000 to replace the belt becasue of the noise.
My 1999 xl ranger never made the chirp but it did make a noise when the power steering pump worn out,more of a grinding sound.
It is tough to isolate the sound without the belt on.
Any suggestions?