Pulley Squeal, Squeak

blackgt460 · Jul 18, 2017

Looking for a little insight on a chirp, squeal, or squeak noise coming from the front of the car. It's an 04 GT new to me since may. The squeal went away with a belt replacement but there is still a small chirp mostly noticeable on low RPM neighborhood driving as well as deceleration such as approaching a stop sign or light. So far I replaced the belt, both idler pullies and the tensioner itself. I'm thinking now it's coming from the alternator so obviously I'm going to do an underdrive pulley kit to troubleshoot that my my head may explode if it doesn't correct the issue. I'm a previous fox an s197 owner and this is my first go at a new edge and I simply can't move forward until I get this bug squashed. I'm clearly attacking one pulley at a time but the insight I'm looking for is common issues I may not be familar with such as is it my a/c compressor etc that guys may have experienced. Power steering seems to be OK fluid wise and I see no leaks on the rack or ground. A light bird like chirp is the best I can describe. Thanks!

Neuron · Jul 18, 2017

Have you tried a mechanic stethoscope to isolate the noise?

blackgt460 · Jul 18, 2017

Trying to avoid a shop and related costs but is this similar to how you can put a ratchet extension on the pulley and to your ear to hear the noise? I actually just pressed on my belt with the car off and the alternator pulley made a noise. I'd have to assume that's my culprit especially with the car being off. I'm going to go underdrives and if it continues be at the mercy of an shop visit.

robertsa · Jul 18, 2017

Underdrive pulleys aren't going to fix the problem is the problem is a bad bearing in the alternator.

Pull the belt off the alternator pulley and spin it by hand. Is there noise and/or resistance? How old is the belt and what shape is it in?

blackgt460 · Jul 18, 2017

brand new belt (1 month) when I press down on the belt right of the alternator looking at it there a metal noise grind squeak etc. Are you saying the alternator pulley doesn't go bad like the idlers? If so I'll just grab a fresh PA performance from AM since it's certainly and upgrade and maintenance item that can't hurt. My S197 didn't get past 5000 miles before I sold it so I'm not really up on the maintenance issues on the new edge, I'm just sort of looking at the motor run and replacing simple things on self diagnostics lol.

robertsa · Jul 18, 2017

Why do people ask for help and ignore the troubleshooting instructions given?

Again, pull the belt off the alternator pulley and spin it by hand. Is there noise and/or resistance?

blackgt460 · Jul 18, 2017

sorry bro, I thought I answered your question in reference to the belt shape. I was just going a little further in my question as you seemed like a put together and helpful member. It was just a simple question as to the pulley construction and function for my approach in the morning where I planned on taking your advise. What I meant was if an alternator pulley externally can't go bad similar to an idler and it was internal I would just address the unit in my 13 year old car. Your advise was received and appreciated but just thinking out loud and furthering questions which is how we help each other on these forums.

Neuron · Jul 19, 2017

An idler pulley has an internal bearing that can go bad. The pulley's that actually run the accessories have no internal bearing so they cannot go bad just the bearing in the alternator, water pump, compressor etc.

Nater_Potater · Jul 19, 2017

"...is this similar to how you can put a ratchet extension on the pulley and to your ear to hear the noise?" Yes. Use it against all suspect areas. Keep in mind that the a/c pump also contains a bearing that runs full time, as it acts as an idler pulley when the a/c's not active. I have a 2 foot chunk of broom handle that has served me well in this capacity for over forty years. It's surprising how well you can localize issues with something so crude!

Nathan

blackgt460 · Jul 19, 2017

thanks guys! I haven't had the chance today to look into it yet but I'll be sure to post the end result in case others have the issue down the road.

robertsa · Jul 19, 2017

blackgt460 said:
sorry bro, I thought I answered your question in reference to the belt shape. I was just going a little further in my question as you seemed like a put together and helpful member. It was just a simple question as to the pulley construction and function for my approach in the morning where I planned on taking your advise. What I meant was if an alternator pulley externally can't go bad similar to an idler and it was internal I would just address the unit in my 13 year old car. Your advise was received and appreciated but just thinking out loud and furthering questions which is how we help each other on these forums.

Many are much too quick to buying parts and being parts swappers versus finding the root cause of a problem and repairing that. Parts swapping is $$$

blackgt460 · Aug 1, 2017

In case anyone was following or interested the chirp, rattle, or squeal noise I assumed was a pulley or bearing issue was diagnosed as a bad clutch throw out bearing. I didn't get it repaired as the labor for dropping the trans and related activity I might as well save up and add an upgraded clutch and flywheel while at it.

IIGood · Aug 1, 2017

blackgt460 said:
In case anyone was following or interested the chirp, rattle, or squeal noise I assumed was a pulley or bearing issue was diagnosed as a bad clutch throw out bearing. I didn't get it repaired as the labor for dropping the trans and related activity I might as well save up and add an upgraded clutch and flywheel while at it.

How much mileage is on the car? If it's fairly high, replacing the clutch certainly isn't a bad idea while you're at it. I had about 160K miles on my car (and factory clutch) before the TOB went out. I just went with a stock clutch since that's more than enough, even with light mods (though I don't have anything significant).

The main thing to focus on in this repair is that throwout bearing. Be sure to get the one from Ford Racing. It's the only one that's apparently worth it. The TOB is a typical problematic part and other third party ones have been hit or miss. The one by Ford Racing seems to be the replacement of choice amongst New Edge owners.

blackgt460 · Aug 2, 2017

It has 132k miles allegedly with a new clutch and related parts at 85K but who knows. Clutch itself feels great it's just the squeak that annoys me. Car is 100% factory so maybe it's time for exhaust to drown out the noise a bit lol. Thanks for the ford racing advise, I've actually been hearing this more and more. At the end of the day it was a $2500 extra car that I planned on slowly building/having built to get myself back in the mustang world so I think I'm ahead with my problems. I'm excited to add some performance parts but I'm not 16 anymore and I know that I should address repair and maintenance first.

squeak93 · Aug 2, 2017

You rang??!

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