my PSD has been making alot of noise under the hood the last week or 2. it's a squeeking noise that usually goes away after the truck has warmed up. Now the last 2 days it's got very loud. i'm thinking it's the belt tensioner pulleys getting ready to go.
Now my question is should i just replace the 'squeeky wheel' or replace the whole tensioner arm? if i go the full replacement, where should i get the tensioner arm at? motorcraft or the local autoparts store?

is there any gotta's or issues with doing the swap? i might as well get the belt replaced as well.

thanks.

 

I replaced whole tensioner assy with a napa unit about 100K ago. havent had any issues with it and IIRC it was less than 50 bucks. Simple to do with just a socket set and I think it did it in the napa parking lot in about 10 minutes.

just be sure it is the tensioner, a pice of garden hose as a stehascope(sp) to track down those pesky squeels can be handy. I replaced all tension pullys, alternator and the p/s pump before I tracked it down to the waterpump the first time.

 

well i swapped out the tensioner arm today, the old one looked pretty ragged, but you cant tell if they're bad by just looking at it.
i was going to do a write up on it, but it's so straight forward i decided against it. i'm still amazed on how big the truck is, and how little room there is to work on the front of the engine. total time was about 30 minutes from start to finish in the cold.
anyways, i swapped out the tensioner and started the ol' PSD up and the squeak is still there. it's not as bad as it was, but there is still a persistent squeak. the noise is coming from the passenger side towards the middle. the only 2 pulleys down there are the water pump and the crank pulley.
my question is, do i have to replace the whole water pump or is there a water pump pulley replacement?

thanks in advance.

 

thought i would add this in. i did check the other pulleys when swapping out the tensioner and i didnt hear any squeaks.
i replace the alternator a few months ago and it sounded ok when i spun it by hand. Now i'm thinking that the A/C clutch could be the problem. how hard is that to replace or do i have to take it in?

thanks.

 

i would check the idler pulley there, it is on top, closer to the passenger side. i have replaced mine twice. jmo

 

Well you might not want to hear this, but mine has had a dang squeak for years now, but only when it is less than 45 degrees or 48 if it's raining. I've changed the pulley like you, replaced the belt twice, yada, yada, yada. It's the belt, I'm sure because a shot of WD-40 or belt dressing and the squeak stops for a few day. Temps rises above 45 and the squeak stops again. If it was a bearing, dressing the belt shouldn't have any affect on it.

 

mines not to bad, but yeah i can see what you are talking about.

 

Spray something on the belt only and see if it stops it. If so, then you might not have a bearing or pulley problem at all.

 

i can spray mouisture out on the pulley and it stops

 

just spraying the belt don't get it huh?

 

I changed the belt on my 7.3 for the third time since I got it (145K), and afterwords I noticed a vibration in the belt between the ALT and PS pump. Could this be a tentioner issue or are some belts just more apt to vibrate? It can get noisy at idle but I don't notice it at speed. Thanks

 

imo there is a bearing somewhere that is a little wore, jmo.

 

I'll look into that, My Power Steering pump has been acting up before I changed belts but I never go a vibration prior.