This morning, I went out to crank up the truck to warm up before I left for work. I cranked it up and for some reason the belt has start squeaking a little bit. I don't know why it's doing this, it's not rubbing/touching anything else. I can't really tell if it's coming from a specific pulley or not. It has just started to get colder around here in the past 2 weeks. Cold as in, 30's at night. Is there a way to stop this, or should I just take it in to my dealer and let them worry about it since it's still under warranty? What do you think is causing this?

 

look to see if your belt is worn out..

you might need a new belt mine did that..and had a small rip in it..replaced the belt works like a charm

 

I'm not sure a belt would be a warranty item, unless something else is causing it to wear. Guessing because I don't know, but i'm thinking that would be classified as a wear item. No big deal. Shouldn't cost much more than $15~$20 anyways.

 

how many miles are on it? they usually start to go bad at around 20-30k to my understanding depending on conditions

 

Ah. It has 25,000 miles on it. I have put a bar of soap on it yet to check, but that's my next thing. I was talking about warranty just in case its a pulley.

 

Just so happens I'm a bona-fide expert on this subject. (FEAD engineer for 6yrs) A belt squeek is indeed a warrenty item. Now a dealership may try to sell you a new belt.. but it is not supposed to happen under 36k miles.

There are four kinds of squeeks in a FEAD system. (front end accessory drive system)
1) Mis-aligned belt pulleys.

2) Glazed / hardened belt combined with *slight but normal* mis-alignments.

3) Loss of friction between belt and pulleys.

4) The bearing in a pulley. (not the belt)

Short answer.. take it back to the dealership.

Long answer.. if ya'll want I'll explain it?

Rich

 

You covered that pretty well Rich.

I'll just add: Goodyear Gatorback belt. Try one.

 

^^^ My belt start squeaking at around $25k miles also. I tried a few different things to try and get it to stop, but it would only be temporary and it would come back. I had a Goodyear Gatorback installed and it fixed the squeek/chirp. I'm now at 32k and it's still working great and no chirping/squeels.

 

Rich. A lot of the time the squeek happens when it's wet, like coming out of a car wash. That would be option 3?

 

That may be a regional thing on the price. Pep boys belt is $42 for gates, autozone is $29-$32 for a gatorback in the same size.

 

good price for sure.

 

I bought a Gatorback from Autozone, ran me 26 bucks. No squeaks. Thanks!

 

Yes; When starting the motor first thing in cold weather; And if you quicken the shifts on a auto tranny it's quite common too.

A gatorback belt is both good and not so good. It really depends on the usage. It has less contacting surface area which does indeed reduce if not eliminate most any squeek. The down side is that they are stiffer than stock and will generally deteriorate quicker.

And for high traction needs like a supercharger they are horrible. The reduced surface area and stiffer compound slips quite a bit on the Cobras and Lightnings w/SC.

I've got a gatorback on my 06 Ranger w/a crank underdrive. And I do get a squeek on cold mornings. But it's only at first start and it really does'nt hurt anything. Actually.. a little belt slip is not a bad thing. The more traction it has.. the higher the loads on the FEAD bearings.
Usually the highest load comes when at 4000-4500 rpms and the AC compressor kicks on. That's a shock that very substancial. I've measured 520lbs load on the 5.4L water pump! (OEM developement days)

Rich

 

Thats interesting. Thanks.

I guess it comes down to different needs for different folks. The squeel on a 3.0 can be so bad that the gatorback would still be my first choice regardless of longevity. It can drive a man crazy. Without that situation on a different vehicle I'd probably try the Bando that Mark suggested.

 

im very happy with my gatorback belt... it fixed the squeal on my 3.0

 

I still heard a small very light squeak every now and then, right after start up, but after warm, it doesn't do it. Could this still be the tensioner, or is this just normal? I'm wondering if I should just take it to the dealer to get the tensioner replaced under warranty.

 

couldn't of said it better! don't know much about bando but I like dayco belts personally -Mike-

 

Mark is right. If you have a "bad squeel" then a gatorback is only like putting a band aid on the real problem. If it's a bad squeel.. your loosing traction or the pulleys are mis aligned for some reason... like a bad bearing.

Putting bandaids on problems seems to be the American way though..

 

It's not bad though. I freaked out because the truck is still new to me. When it first started happening it was really that loud, and it wasn't even continuous. It was just squeaking off and on very lightly, I couldn't even hear it if I was in the truck with the windows up. After putting the Gatorback on, it's even lighter and does it less often. I just haven't decided if I want to put her in the shop yet.

 

Mine just started that up about a week and a half ago.. jsut a really light teeny squeeking for the first few minutes ons tart up.. sometimes I can hear it when I'm at a stop light.. the engine sounds louder then it though. I jsut replaced the belt about 1,000 miles ago (Holy ****.. 1000 miles, I just bought this truck 3 weeks ago.. muahaha) Anyway.. yeah, I think I'm going to jsut suck up the money I waste don a normal belt and go gatorback, its the weather out here for sure.. foggy in the mornings/evenings, and damp alld ay.. has a way with belts.

That, or use some belt tack.. I'll go ahead and use some on mine and let ya know if it actually helps.. I have found belt tack only works about 50% of the time, so its a yay or nay for it :-)

 

My 02 3.0 used to do that very noticably after start about the 25K mark, then it seemed to go away and at 55K it still looks great and hasn't squeaked in over a year. I used to worry it was a tensioner pulley or accessory, but now wonder if it isn't just sort of a normal occurance in the wear-in/out process

 

my squeak turned out to be idler and tensioner pulleys. I believe Ford replaced both? Not at home so I can't check my service records. I know I was under 36K as I got it done under warranty.