What's That Noise?

[cp2146]

Now this is a strange one. Well, strange to me, but probably not to you guys. Yesterday I noticed a noise coming from up front, somewhere between the radiator and engine. It sounded like a cricket chirping, and was quite loud. I couldn't hear it from inside the cab, but definitely when standing outside, in front of the truck. I had to go on a 3-hour road trip, and when I got to my destination, the noise had stopped and so far, has not come back. Any ideas what it might have been? Maybe a belt tensioner pulley? We had our first real cold snap night before last and I'm wondering if that might have had something to do with it. But it was cold again last night and there was no noise this morning. Anyone else had this happen?

[travisH3]

Mine only does it on cold starts and squeaks a bit. Then goes away. It was supposed to be replaced under warranty but still squeaks.

[cp2146]

Originally Posted by travisH3

Mine only does it on cold starts and squeaks a bit. Then goes away. It was supposed to be replaced under warranty but still squeaks.

Mine may have done it at start-up and I just didn't hear it from inside. When I first heard it, it was after I had been driving for a little while and the engine had reached normal operating temp. No other adverse effects...all systems appear to be normal.

[kevinah]

Mine will occasionally do it if it sits a couple days or if its wet outside or cold. It stops after about a minute of idling. I have never heard while driving or pulling away. Doubt it's a belt, probably pulley. Older chev 3/4 ton work truck does it as well, but with more volume to it.


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[cp2146]

Originally Posted by kevinah

Mine will occasionally do it if it sits a couple days or if its wet outside or cold. It stops after about a minute of idling. I have never heard while driving or pulling away. Doubt it's a belt, probably pulley. Older chev 3/4 ton work truck does it as well, but with more volume to it.


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Yeah, that's what I thought...probably a pulley...at least that's what it sounded like to me. The weird part is that I drove around with it doing it all morning, but when I got to the end of my road trip, it had stopped. I even ran it by my Ford shop before I hit the road and he didn't seem to concerned about it. Gremlins, I guess. :-)

[cp2146]

Well, it was doing it again last night and this morning. It comes and goes in varying degrees of loudness and frequency (continual vs. chirp, pause, chirp). It sounds like it might be coming from the vicinity of the water pump. Would a pump that's going out be making a noise like this?

[cp2146]

An update to this. It's still doing it, but the conditions have changed. When I first start up in the morning...no squeal. It seems to appear only after it has had time to warm up, and is a constant squeal now...no more just chirping. That makes me think it's a weak and stretching belt. It's in the shop as I write this, but they can't seem to find anything. All the pulleys look good and they said the belt "looks" okay. Any ideas, guys? I don't want to have it in the shop for three days while they scratch their heads and try to figure out what it is.

[turbo kidd]

How many miles on your truck? If you have 50,000 or more, change the belt and double check your tensioner. I had the same problem and after I replaced the belt and tensioner I was good to go. I also noticed that the belt I took off looked good to my eye, however, it was worn and the new belt made a huge difference.

Good Luck.

[cp2146]

Originally Posted by turbo kidd

How many miles on your truck? If you have 50,000 or more, change the belt and double check your tensioner. I had the same problem and after I replaced the belt and tensioner I was good to go. I also noticed that the belt I took off looked good to my eye, however, it was worn and the new belt made a huge difference.

Good Luck.

74K miles, but I don't know if it's the original factory belt or not since I'm not the original owner. I suspect it is, though. I don't recall seeing anything on the Oasis report about the belt being replaced at any time. Anyway, I agree because everything else is completely normal, no cooling (water pump), power steering, or electrical (alternator) issues as if one of those components was failing. I think it has got to be a bad belt.

[cp2146]

Alrighty then, final update. Just got off the phone with the shop and he (the diesel mechanic) found a bad tensioner pulley that had damaged the main belt. Gonna replace the AC belt while they're in there just for good measure. Good news is that except for the deductible and the cost of the AC belt, it's covered under the extended warranty. Gonna get out the door for $300.00 and some change.