I have an 01 xlt w/ 4.0 sohc.

I went camping last weekend, and went up a dusty dirt/gravel road. On the way home the belt started to squeek. I just replaced it about 1,000 miles ago.

I sprayed it off, and that didn't help. The mechanic tried a few things and nothing. I heard you can run a bar of soap on the belt to stop the squeeking. Did that and it worked for about 10 minutes, then the squeeking came back. I did it again and it went away, but I haven't driven it since, so it'll probably come back.


Any one know how I can make the squeek go away permanently?

Thanks guys.

 

get a goodyear gatorback belt

 

belt dressing maybe?

 

$10 bet the idler pulley or the tensionor pulley bearing is on the way out...

 

^^Yeah is it the belt or something else? If it's the belt, I'd use Belt Grip or another type of dressing.

 

Dont use any dressing on a serpentine belt its susposed to be used on V-Type belts only. Also soaping and other tricks just make the belt slip noiselessly
they dont do anything about the slipping.

I would try getting some sorta of degreaser like simple green.
take off your belt.. Clean all the pulleys.

Also make sure your tensioner is working and your belt length is correct.

I know when I bought my gatorback at autozone they gave me the wrong length
.
Autozone for instance has the same belt length for the 3.0 and 4.0 in their
system.. but in real life the difference is quite a bit.

 

I've battled the belt squeak many times. I've gone through a few belts already.

The first time I got the squeak I looked at the tensioner. I removed the tensioner to first test it and I could move it with my hand.....no good. Replaced it and no more squeak.

The squeak came back later on and this time it wasn't the tensioner. Tried dressing and it made it louder. I then tried my own idea by using that spray glue from officedepot. I sprayed it, let it dry, installed the belt and the squeak returned after a week.

I ended up getting another belt. I got a goodyear and haven't had any problems yet. It's not a gatorback, but the goodyear guy said it's basically the same.

-Levino

 

My stock belt squeked pretty good, mostly after getting water on it, rain or wheeling.
I got a Goodyear Gatorback, no problems or squeaking at all!!!!! For almost a year already! I recommend it!

 

How hard is it to change the belt? Mine sqeaks quite abit right now and it really bothers me. I was looking into getting one of those pulleys off of underdog-performance and I am wondering how complicated it is?

EDIT: I have a 3.0 compared to your guy's 4.0's, that shouldnt make a diffence should it?

 

If you get 2 guys and one of them has done it before it takes 2 minutes. if neither of you have done it, it takes about 5-7. It's really easy

 

While your truck is running take a look at all your pullies see if any are wobbling. Mine was sqweeking and it was because my idle pully was bad, and you could see the pully wobble while it was spinning, I bought a new pully for 15 bucks and the squeek went away

 

I figured its a no-brainer to get that pulley since it says it will increase horsepower, increase my gas mileage, and get rid of the squeaking.

 

I know changing the belt on a 4.0 is a snap. I've seen alot of threads about the tensioner on the 3.0, so I dunno.

 

Ford spent a load of money and effort giving your ranger a "squeek" id say live with it or replace your ford parts with others.

 

Alright guys, thanks for all the help. I just had a gatorback thrown on, and no more squeeking. I'm thinking now that I need to fab up a skid plate so I don't get as much dirt and water coming up.