I'm having some trouble

[Big Jay]

Well, my 96 Ex is my first car, so I'm figuring out how vehicles work and the problems that come with an older vehicle. I'm no master mechanic, but I've hearing some noises from under the hood the past few days and a couple of times the truck wouldn't start at all. Last time I heard similar sounds my idler pulley had fallen off and left me stranded. I have a couple of pictures of the area where I think the problem is coming from. Could someone verify if this is something that need to be checked?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Is the truck making a whining/whistling sound intermittently? I see nothing wrong in the pics.

 

[Big Jay]

Is the truck making a whining/whistling sound intermittently? I see nothing wrong in the pics.

Yeah it is making a whining sound.

 

[35Remmy]

BIG....if it's a whining/whistling/moose call kind of sound chances are it very well may be your idle air control valve, or IAC valve.

In your BOTTOM pic, look to the top right of the photo, and then over a few inches. See that small black cap? And the device it's connected to? That's your IAC.

If that's where the sound is coming from, you can remove this valve and clean it out as good as you can get it.

You can also give that black cap a good twist/tug and clean the fiber, um, "pellets" inside. I used throttle body/carb cleaner.

Mine stopped making the sound after the cleaning. OR, they're like 50$ at auto zone.