Hi I have a 1995 mustang. From underneath the hood you hear a sort of squealing noise. Its not to loud but enough I would like to fix it. I have read many forums, and discussions on serpentine belts, belt tensioners, and idler pulley's. Now first off I know that my Idler pulley needs to be replaced, its bearings are going out. And therefore I will be replacing it this weekend. Now for the squeaking I haven't a clue what could be causing it. I read that a slight mis-alignment of the belt could be the problem, but I don't see any of that at all. People say that the belt tensioner is supposed to move because its spring loaded, mine does not seem to want to move and out of not wanting to break it, I did not force it up. Aren't you supposed to be able to move the belt tensioners arm up so that you can replace the serpentine belt? Or is there something I missed. I have a Goodyear belt, so it has been replaced before. I have also read many complaints about these belts that they always cause squeaking. In any case even if it was the belt, pulling up on the tensioner didn't seem to make it move. Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! P.S - Please don't refer me to any other posts, I have read all of them concerning my problem.
I'm actually having nearly the exact same symptoms on my '03. I asked my shop about it when they replaced my brakes/rotors last month, and they said that it's my belt tensioner. It's not giving as much tension as it should, so the belt is squealing. I have to replace it at some point, but I'm not sure when I will.
Not too sure about Goodyear belts squealing.I replaced my belt with another Motorcraft belt.The new one makes a whirling noise when the "Motorcraft" letter printing passes under the idler pully. As for the pully's go,the idler pully on many years of the 3.8 has been revised with a newer one.If you replace that,get it from Ford to insure you dont get the slippage or bearing noise.The tensioner pulley itself is quite notorious for wearing prematurly.Just as mine did,I heard other v6 stangs making a nasty loud whining sound.Pretty much sounds allmost like a bad ps pump whine. If your belt is squeaking,check to make sure it's in good shape.No smooth polished wear marks and no cracks parallel with the belt length. The tensioner is self adjusting.It is spring loaded and there is a belt wear indicator on the side.To remove the belt,get a 17 or 18mm (not sure) socket and a long breaker bar or ratchet.Place socket on tensioner pully bolt and pull bar/ratchet to the left hard (hold tight).That will pull up on tensioner spring and allow you to remove belt. To remove tensioner assembly,there's a large torx or hex bolt sunk in the very center.Not 100% but I believe that may turn clockwise to remove.I stripped mine so I'm not sure.never got the bolt to turn....
Alright thanks man. Ill buy a new tensioner and put it on this weekend. Replacing it in a mustang is so much easier than in a FWD like my brothers explorer. As for the belt, I didn't see any of the above mentioned problems. Is Dayco a good brand, for the tensioner? I found it on Autozone.com. Oh! I didn't put in that when the RPM's get higher the noise is gone. And that last night I turned the car on and no noise but then I turned the wheel and there it was - "squeak!". <-- the tensioner was tightening up causing it to squeak? I hope this works! After all I paid $900 for the car, EVERYTHING is in top shape even a nice red paint job. All there is to fix is that. now to go cry about the election, and our new found socialistic way
Dayco is fine for the tensioner ass'y.Just dont use that brand for a new belt. Yo sure it's the tensioner thats causing the "squeak"? And maybe not the ps pump ?
Well I bought a Dayco belt, and no squeak now. Whats wrong with Dayco? the tensioner showed the old belt being stretched. So after a 2 min belt change I let it sit and idle - no sound. 'Took a trip to the beach (120mi there and back), still no squeak. I went to Autozone, O'reilly's, and Advanced Auto Parts to get a price on a belt. 30 bucks for a belt. I got it at Advanced, but comparing the Dayco belt to another belt the guy had Dayco was thicker and had the V-cutouts the other belt didn't. I havn't had any problems, so far. As of today I have bout 200 mi on it. Again do the Dayco belts break easily? The guy said I have a 1 yr warranty on it if it breaks.
The only reason I don't like the Dayco belts was because it's track depth was only half that of a Motorcraft belt.Advanced had 2 different belts.One with a 90 day warranty and the other with 1 year.Neither of them looked as deep nor did they have the same cut pattern as the Ford belt. As long as it's working for you is what matters.Better than having to replace the tensioner ass'y,hey..
