Serpentine Belt squeaking (no other threads helped)

WeBeSmokin420 · #1 02-08-2014, 03:52 PM

Okay, so I replaced the brand new motorcraft idle pulley with a gates pulley, fixed the squeaking momentarily, then of course, as soon as it gets really cold it starts squeaking again. None of these threads have been sufficient to pinpoint the problem.

I have ran the truck without the belt, no squeak.
So i know it's a pulley/belt.
I have turned all upper pulleys by hand, the power steering was the hardest to spin and the alternator just had a slight resistance.
I sprayed the pulleys with brake cleaner and brushed em down with a steel brush. I have a Dayco 5060885 belt which is 88.5" long. I cant seem to find anywhere in my Ranger manual about the exact size specifications for the serpentine belt.

Also, this Dayco belt is less than 6 months old and the fiber inside the rope is exposed through the side of the belt, so I'm guessing that somewhere along these pulleys, one is wobbling enough to degrade the belt, HOWEVER, these exposed fibers are in random spots along the belt, not all along the belt.

MY NEXT DECISION I think Ill go with is try the Gatorback belt, I hear great things of it, and it's the cheapest fix.

But more than all I just want this squeak gone! Im almost sure it's cause of the belt rubbing against a pulley, so how do I determine which is causing this? Some info would be much appreciated.

Greasemonkey51 · #2 02-08-2014, 04:58 PM

How old is the tensioner might be loosing its tension and causing the belt to slip a tad.

WeBeSmokin420 · #3 02-08-2014, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greasemonkey51

How old is the tensioner might be loosing its tension and causing the belt to slip a tad.

Well just today when putting my belt back on it took a considerable amount of my body weight just to get it on. I believe that is enough tension, am I wrong?

I saw a post where a guy had a loose tensioner that was the source of the squeal, and although he thought it had enough tension, it didn't.

So I may be in the same boat as him, however my gut feeling is saying that my tensioner is not the problem, its still pretty damn solid. Any thoughts on that?

Im 180 lbs and it did take a good amount of me to get it down far enough. My mind tells me that should be plenty of force to stop slipping, plus even if it was the tensioner, would that cause the new belt to get frayed along the side like I stated above?

Greasemonkey51 · #4 02-08-2014, 06:53 PM

Yeah but you taking it off is the opposite of it tightening the belt up. For the fraying that sounds like either a pully is not allied and letting the belt travel. Or not enough tension. My 2 cents...

rangersRUS · #5 02-08-2014, 07:05 PM

Put some baby powder on it while it's running little bit at a time but it will shut it up

WeBeSmokin420 · #6 02-08-2014, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rangersRUS

Put some baby powder on it while it's running little bit at a time but it will shut it up

but this is not a permanent fix correct?

jkbass79 · #7 02-08-2014, 07:27 PM

I had a similar problem with my truck it was actually the fan clutch bearing that was squealing and it started when it got cold out.

fazda93 · #8 02-08-2014, 07:35 PM

are you sure you checked everything ? it should not take a whole lot of effort too release the Tensioner .. if it was me i would pull the belt back off and hand turn the idler and tensioner , also check the ac clutch for excessive force too spin it .. also check the belt too see if it has burn marks on it from it slipping on a bad pulley .. going with another belt is just a quick fix , not a true cure for the issue at hand ...

WeBeSmokin420 · #9 02-08-2014, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazda93

are you sure you checked everything ? it should not take a whole lot of effort too release the Tensioner .. if it was me i would pull the belt back off and hand turn the idler and tensioner , also check the ac clutch for excessive force too spin it .. also check the belt too see if it has burn marks on it from it slipping on a bad pulley .. going with another belt is just a quick fix , not a true cure for the issue at hand ...

No burn marks, only the fraying along the side.

Ive only hand spun half the pulleys, just the ones easily accessible from above. The power steering was tough and seemed as if some bearings were grinding when I spun it. Is this okay or a tell tale sign of replacement? Tomorrow morning I will hand spin all the pulleys with the belt off to see just which are bad.

KZEE · #10 02-10-2014, 04:08 PM

Your tensioner pulley is probably out of alignment (a common problem on the 3.0 engine). Put a straight edge on your tensioner pulley and see if it lines up with your crank pulley - if it doesn't then shim your tensioner straight and it should take care of the squeak.

GoHawks117 · #11 02-10-2014, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KZEE

Your tensioner pulley is probably out of alignment (a common problem on the 3.0 engine). Put a straight edge on your tensioner pulley and see if it lines up with your crank pulley - if it doesn't then shim your tensioner straight and it should take care of the squeak.

x2

WeBeSmokin420 · #12 02-15-2014, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KZEE

Your tensioner pulley is probably out of alignment (a common problem on the 3.0 engine). Put a straight edge on your tensioner pulley and see if it lines up with your crank pulley - if it doesn't then shim your tensioner straight and it should take care of the squeak.

Hey guys sorry for the late reply. So I didn't get a chance to read any of this info, however I had a feeling it was the tensioner assembly because it had a slight tweak to it and it seemed as if it were getting worse and worse every time I depressed the spring. So I got a brand new one from ford with a brand new belt all for under $100 and put it on.
FYI to get the tensioner off you have to take the idle pulley off and throw a slim ratchet in there to get it out. I didn't have a slim ratchet so I had to use a manual one. -_-

Anyways, the new tensioner and new belt this freakin thing had some resistance, I had to have my dad depress the tensioner while i pulled the new belt on. NO SQUEAK. GONE. thank fucking god.

so if anyone has the annoying high pitch squeak that seems to worsen under acceleration. Definitely check out the tensioner, just press it up and down and see if it stays aligned.

Thanks for the responses guys.

KZEE · #13 02-17-2014, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeBeSmokin420

Anyways, the new tensioner and new belt this freakin thing had some resistance, I had to have my dad depress the tensioner while i pulled the new belt on. NO SQUEAK. GONE.

The 3.0 tensioner is a poor design and under the best of conditions pulls out of alignment rather easily, and the too-tight belt tension just makes thing worse. My '00 Ranger came from the factory with a 3" pulley on the idler and a 3.5" pulley on the tensioner... I swapped out the 3.5" pulley for a 3" pulley and my belt now goes on and off easily and it puts less stress on the tensioner. I've been running it that way for 100,000 mi with no difficulties.