having trouble w/ the 5.0...HELP.

[stangbro]

hi guys, i've been having trouble w/ my 1990 gt. It's a 5-speed and has about 213,000 miles on it . Recently i noticed it was making a squeeking noise in the front around the accessorie area. I thought it might have been a bad pump or alternator. So this morning i took off the belt and ran the car w/ none of the accessories running. It still made the squeeking/rattling noise i traced it to the crankshaft/pulley area. I noticed nothing wrong externally, what do you guys think it is?. When accelerating from a stop sometimes a hear clanking noise but it goes away then it turns into a squeeking/or metallic ticki tick tick noise building up all through 1st and 2nd gears sometimes into third. But it goes away.

Now onto the next clue in the puzzle. About two days ago i noticed the car would make a humming/drone like noise when crusing between 60 and 70 mph. This would only happen when i would be cruising and i would let off the gas pedal and let coast. The noise would last only a few seconds and stop. Now when accelerating i notice that it vibrates alot along the drivetrain causing the cabin to vibrate briefly, usually between 1st and 2nd gear and when on the freeway when decelerating to around 60-65mph. The tranny shifts into gear smoothly and when i rev the engine in neutral it doesn't make any tapping or metal on metal noises. This is what has got me puzzled.please help me out w/ any suggestion y'all might have, i really appreciate it

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

I would say it is the balancer. They are two peice metal and rubber in between. The rubber has probably given up on you due to mileage. Bad balancers cause noise and vibration.

One other thing two, check the motor mounts. I had one broken one once, and it made the car feel horrible. The motor mounts are cheap new, and easy to install.

 

[QDRHRSE]

+2 on the balancer. It may be seperating and causing a wobble. Especaiily at over 200k! That car is hard core!

 

[HISSIN50]

Another balancer vote. It very well might look like someone hit the outer ring from the front of the car with a hammer. This can cause interferance issues (noise).

Good luck.

 

[86bluecobra]

can't find a reason not to go with what was mentioned above.

 

[stangbro]

Thanks for the replies. Now how hard is it to replace the balancer, Do i have to take out the engine from the car? The balamcaer is right behind the crankshaft pulley on the otuside right? Thanks again for the replies

 

[vristang]

The balancer should be a very easy swap to do with the motor in the car.

4 bolts for the pulley and 1 big one for the balancer.

I think you can leave the car in gear, and e-braked to get the big balancer bolt out.

I don't think you even need to re time the dist. The balancer is notched for a locating dowel.

I could be wrong though, I have never done one on a running engine, just at rebuilds.

jason

 

[HISSIN50]

Jason is right. An install/removal tool (Loaned from the parts store) helps quite a bit. And as Jason said, the balancer is keyed and can only go on one way.

I might check out the existing balancer before replacing it - we cant see or hear the issue so we just suggest things to check out. It sucks to replace a good part, but on the other hand, the stock balancers kinda suck............

Good luck.

 

[stangbro]

how can i tell if the balancer is bad visually? Which balancer do you guys recommend?:SNSign:

 

[QDRHRSE]

You may not be able to see it. Check to see if it looks like it has turned inside the rubber, check for bad cracking in the rubber....@213k I would recommend another stocker...maybe get a cheapie SFI approved balancer off of ebay.

 

[stangbro]

thanks qdrhrse, you live out here in palmdale? Thats cool

 

[stangbro]

was checking the balancer and noticedthe passneger side motor mount looks kinda of bad it has a little nub w/ rubber sandwished by a dished washer hanging from the bottom of the mount. this nub looks like the rubber is loose and torn , it wiggles around and the drivers side doesn't.could this be my problem? How do you remove/install motor mounts, thanks guys any pics of bad motor mounts?:SNSign: