[jayochs]

Hey guys, so I've developed a squeak under the hood that I can't tell if it's the belt or a pulley. It squeaks faster as RPMS go up, and typically on squeaks when it's damp (rain, humidity, sometimes bitter cold)


Stang has 27,700 miles on it, it's a 2014 (manufactered in 2013 though) and the belt is the original stock belt, I've never changed it yet. The belt itself didn't have any cracks or anything from what I saw looking at it. Any thoughts?

 

[iguanaman3]

You could try squirting water or WD40 on the tensioner pulley bearing and the water pump bearing and see if the squeaking stops. Tensioned belts rarely squeak in my experience

 

[Guard 5.0]

Whatever you do, DON’T get any kind of lube on the contact surface of the belt itself. That will make the problem a lot worse. You can certainly try to spray on the bearings of the tensioner......but my bet is one of your pulleys is out of alignment just enough for the edge of the belt to rub “just” enough to squeak at that point.......or the tensioner may be failing to hold the belt tight enough.....
My 1997 Cobra did the same thing at idle when cold, and it got worse with the AC on....have you tried turning on and off the AC to see if that affects the noise?

 

[David Young]

My guess is for the Tensioner being bad, around $90.

 

[ronnie948]

First thing to do is have someone start the car first thing in the morning when you say it is worse.
You just have the hood open and have your friend raise the rpm.
It should be obvious if it is the belt or pulley.
Squirting any oil around under the hood has never been a very good thing to do on any car.

Voltwings here on the forum can probably give you better information.
Ronnie

 

[jayochs]

cool, thanks guys. I'll have to look into which it could be.

 

[RBK]

Probably the tensioner pulley, if it was the water pump you would probably be dripping water.

 

[oxfordwhite]

My 2cents- DO NOT SPRAY WD40 on or around belt. Water OK. If it was safe to do,but it's not, take a bar of soap and hold it on the belt with the engine running and if the noise goes away the belt is old and dry and should be changed. Your car has very low miles so it is hard to believe it is squeaking I know. I changed our belt and tensioner when I did the 75,000 mile service on our 14. Simply because of the mileage and age. I'm a huge preventive maintenance nut. The belt looked fine and the bearing on the tensioner felt fine but now I know it is less likely to fail or have problems. Parts are cheap and it is a easy job. Good luck Jay.

 

[rgwest61]

I periodically have the same issue with my 2013 V6 Coupe and was told by a local repair shop that it was the belt. They recommended spraying the belt and such noise goes away for a while.

 

[RBK]

I suggest you watch this video on YouTube before you do anything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqkoagAP3S0

 

[oxfordwhite]

Cool video, This guy cracks me up. I've watched him before on other things. Just change the belt and or the tensioner or better yet both.

 

[jkeaton]

I gt to meet Scotty a couple years ago. The guy is a hoot!

 

[Strange Mud]

you can try isolating sound using a 2-3' length of hose as a stethoscope or just guess and replace belt.

 

[rgwest61]

RBK,

Thanks for this video link. Hopefully I have not cause any greater issues to my ride using the suggested belt conditioner. I have only applied it once and will not do such again after watching this video.

 

[jayochs]

haha great video, i love scotty's stuff. he's funny.
so today i noticed it's just doing it at idle. small little squeak that's a bit different from the other day. now the trick is to figure out which it is, so i guess i'll do the wd40 trick to see if it's the tensioners or not.


also whats the diff between tensioner and pulley?

 

[Strange Mud]

pulley is just what is says, the tensioner is the spring/rubber part. aka the pulley is one part of tensionr assy. often it's easier to replace both, but do belts 1st


.02

 

[CycloneS197]

I am having a similar issue too. Last year or so I discovered a high pitch sound and it would happen when it's moist and cool out. I would start my car, go to the store and get some food, come back home and chill for a few hours, go start the car and go to work.

When I'd start the car for the second time, I would hear a squeaking sound, it would eventually go away. So I changed the tensioner with an OEM MotorCraft part, I also installed a continental belt (it's like the old gatorback belts). From time to time the squeaking high pitch sound would be present but it wasn't as loud. Then my water pump went out and I thought the water pump was the problem. So after the water pump was replaced, the sound was still there. Now I think it's my alternator.

So I made a video so I could take it to the dealership to show the tech. and I uploaded the video on YouTube and I am providing a link. So have a listen and let me, us, know if it's similar to what you are hearing.

In the video, of course my engine kinda sounds like a diesel lol, but after the four second mark, you begin to hear a higher pitch sound and in my opinion, it could be a bearing squeal.

I have till March (when my powertrain runs out) to take it in and I'll keep you guys posted when/if possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EcaZuV9bNg&feature=youtu.be

---------- Post added at 11:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:27 AM ----------

I am having a similar issue too. Last year or so I discovered a high pitch sound and it would happen when it's moist and cool out. I would start my car, go to the store and get some food, come back home and chill for a few hours, go start the car and go to work.

When I'd start the car for the second time, I would hear a squeaking sound, it would eventually go away. So I changed the tensioner with an OEM MotorCraft part, I also installed a continental belt (it's like the old gatorback belts). From time to time the squeaking high pitch sound would be present but it wasn't as loud. Then my water pump went out and I thought the water pump was the problem. So after the water pump was replaced, the sound was still there. Now I think it's my alternator.

So I made a video so I could take it to the dealership to show the tech. and I uploaded the video on YouTube and I am providing a link. So have a listen and let me, us, know if it's similar to what you are hearing.

In the video, of course my engine kinda sounds like a diesel lol, but after the four second mark, you begin to hear a higher pitch sound and in my opinion, it could be a bearing squeal.

I have till March (when my powertrain runs out) to take it in and I'll keep you guys posted when/if possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EcaZuV9bNg&feature=youtu.be

 

[jayochs]

no, your squeak is something that's on every 3.7 and nobody, even ford, knows what it is. I've got the same noise. It's very weird and goes away when you give it gas. It's only at idle. seriously, NOBODY has any idea what that is, and everyone has it lol

 

[RBK]

I had a 2012 3.7 up until a few months ago and it never had that kind of noise. Try taking off the serpentine belt and starting it up, see if the noise goes away, if it does it has to be one of the items like the alternator or AC compressor. If you still hear it you have bigger problems.
A trick my father taught me years ago was to put the end of a screwdriver on the part you think is making noise, say for example the alternator, put your ear on the handle of the screwdriver and you will be able to hear the bearing. Now there is always some noise but if the bearing is bad you will be able to tell as it makes all kind of noise. Of course, the engine has to be running so be careful. Try to get the blade of the screwdriver close to the front bearing and then move it close to the rear bearing. You may want to try this first on a car with no problems so you can identify what a good bearing sound like.

 

[TCU-6612]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fHtLH_m9gN4

Here is a video kinda like what RBK is talking about. I hope this helps!

---------- Post added at 02:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:08 PM ----------

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fHtLH_m9gN4

Here is a video kinda like what RBK is talking about. I hope this helps!