Cherping and squeeling sound behind timing cover

[dani9678]

My brother has a 1998 Explorer 2wd 5.0. There is a cherping and squeeling sound coming from behind the timing chain cover that seems to be getting worse. It sounds like a dry bearing. He is afraid to drive it back to Tampa which is a 3 hour drive. He thinks that if it is a bearing then it might seeze up. What do you think it could be? We determined where the sound was coming from when we took the belt off the front so that nothing was spinning but the crank.

Please help. Thanks

Matt
Jacksonville, FL

P.S. This is very important. Please help

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Good call on taking off the belt, my first guess at the noise would have been an idler pully - they went out on my 97 5.0 and made a similar noise.

I would investigate the noise, It could be the timing chain or a bearing inside failing due to age or lack of oil.

 

[ALYZ1FLR]

Worth checking!

I,ve heard that same noise from a cam bolt backing out or aftermarked cam bolt reatainers rubbing on the cover.

 

[dani9678]

I know that this is old but, I've been going thru my "watched topics" list and noticed yet another unfinished thread so, here is the update. The chirping noise was coming from a bad bearing in the fuel injection synchronizer shaft that sits in place of the distributor. It was replaced and the problem solved.

 

[02blkrngr]

chirping bearing

and how in the world did you find the cause??

 

[Turdle]

I know that this is old but, I've been going thru my "watched topics" list and noticed yet another unfinished thread so, here is the update. The chirping noise was coming from a bad bearing in the fuel injection synchronizer shaft that sits in place of the distributor. It was replaced and the problem solved.

and how in the world did you find the cause??

It is called " camshaft position sensor" or " cam sync drive unit" also


http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161590

 

[dani9678]

and how in the world did you find the cause??

The Explorer belongs to my brother who's father-in-law was talking to a buddy of his that worked at a garage about what the Explorer was doing. His buddy just so happened to have already worked on an Explorer in his shop that was doing the same thing and he traced it down the that sensor. He grabbed the old part and showed it to him and spun the shaft which began chirping. He asked him if that is what it sounded like and he said yes that's it. The rest is history.

 

[Cobraguy]

It's also a VERY common problem.