HELP!! PLEASE. 97 explorer engine whining noise

[Dirtmasta006]

I HAVE SEARCHED THE FORUMS FIRST...i have a 1997 explorer v6 SOHC it is 4WD and today when i went to start it up it made a lound whinding sound so i checked the oil and it was pretty low. i went to auto zone and they gave me 10w-40 since i have 204xxx on it. now the whinding sound comes back around 2,000 RPMs. Also it has a bog in it and doesnt take off like it use to. any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[Joe Dirt]

First off, get your advice from here, rather than Autozone...

For the whining, it could be a bad tensioner or idler pully on your engine. Is your check engine light on?

 

[Dirtmasta006]

yes the check engine light has been on for about a month or so. but can that effect the take off speed? right now im sure a moped can blow me away from a red light

 

[buckwill]

u said whining,, could it be a whistle or squeal, open hood, listen closely ,, se if u can tell from where the noise is coming from,, next take belt off, just slack it,, does it still make noise,,, then turn engine off, turn by hand each part,, is alt bearing grumbly,, water pump, idler>>let us know,, my tension idler would freeze an squeal intermittently,, are u sure its coming from the engine,, could t be coming from the front of the transmission,, the front pump squealls when its getting sick, if the belt is loose enuff the alt can squeal on revs,, have u looked at the belt tension dogs, are they anywhere near on the over length stops,, buck

 

[Joe Dirt]

First thing- get the codes and post them up here. Alas, Autozone can pull them, write them down and don't buy anything until you post them up. Or, if you're going to have the Ex for a while, you can get a decent code puller for $20 on eBay. Priceless to have in the glove box.

Depending on the code and/or issue, it most certainly could drive that poorly...

 

[Dirtmasta006]

it is the timing chain and timing chain tensioner. i can pull the codes on my iphone. there is a app called dash command. its 50 bucks but can read any code and tell you every thing that you need to know about the engine including speed, hp, g force, coolent temp, and trans temp etc etc. you have to buy the obd ll cable from walmart that will let it connect to the iphone.