My belt has been squeaking on and off since I've had the truck. I've replaced the belt several times, and never fixed the problem. The belt is only a few months old right now.

I looked at the tensioner pulley at idle and it was slightly moving. Is there suppose to be any movement in the tensioner while the truck is running? I figured it could cause the squeak if the belt is being loosened and then tightened constantly like that (if its not suppose to). Thanks.

 

By movement you mean like up and down right? Not like it has bad bearings in it and is moving in and out?

 

^^+1 also you could just change it out i have to buy one of them a year. mud will cook them quickley

 

Ya its moving back and forth. The way its suppose to move, but I didn't know if it was suppose to have enough tension not to move with just the belt on it. It looks like the belt pushes it in a little bit then it springs back and just keeps doing that really quickly.

 

Not a 100% here but I would say it's not supposed to move. Did you try to tighten it up?

 

I didn't think you could adjust the self tightening ones?

 

I replaced my squeaking belt not to long ago. Both my tensioner pulley and idler pulley has some slight movement. I replaced both of them and they were pretty dried out. Since then there is no more movement. The parts are not expensive and they are easy to install so it would not be a bad idea to replace it.

 

Mine was making a wierd noise the other day like a clicking and it was moving 1-1.5 inches back and forth i have a new pulley and belt on the way

 

Alright, I'll replace it and see if it fixes the problem. Should I buy the part right from Ford, or just any auto parts store?

 

I bought my pulleys from Auto Zone. They are Duralast parts backed with a lifetime warranty.

 

It's normal for it to move a little. That is to say it'll rotate on it's pivot. Wobbling or moving fore-aft.. no.

btw, a common problem that causes squeeks is either oil or coolant from a water pump seep / leak.

Is the front of the engine dry? If the front is the slightest bit damp you might have a seeping water pump seal thats coating everything. Including the belt.

Rich

 

Yes, it pivots to tension the belt. Any wobble is probably worn bearings. I replaced mine last year - cheap and easy fix. Look for any uneven wear on the tensioner pully surface. Mine was rubbing the paint off half the surface that contacts the serpentine belt. Wobbly bearings-replace.

 

Tensioner Pulleys are cheap and easy to do, so why not just try it out? Worst thing is you're out like 25 bucks.

 

You may also want to look at the idler while you're at it - when I encountered a fairly regular "squeak" from the front of the engine (as opposed to a "squeal", by which I mean a fairly continuous noise, as compared to one that occurs intermittently at a regular interval - the "squeak"), it was solved by a replacement of the belt, idler, and tensioner.

Easy enough to change any/all of those parts.