My ex is a big whiner

[98explorerXLT5.0]

so about 4 months ago my ex was diagnosed with this louad whinning noise. so first i thought bad bearings in my alternator changed it and it still made the whiining sound, next was the power steering pump change it out and it still was whinning. so finally i change out the pulley tensioner since the problem is coming from the alternator side but it still makes this loud whinning. does anyone have any idea what this sound could be?

 

[IZwack]

So it whines during idle/park ? Are you sure its coming from the 'front' of the engine and not the back-ish .. cauz I had a whining transmission before that whined even in Park.

 

[Four0Sport]

have you tried removing the drive belt and starting the engine? if it still makes a noise you know it is not accessory related, and it could be a problem with your cam synchro, also referred to as 'the chirp'. i hope its not.. but this is a good way to diagnose if the noise is accessory related or engine related.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

my bro in law 92 sport had a loud whine noise to it but he had no power steering on his sport and thats why he sold his sport.

If he had just put power steering fluid on it. It would of been no whine and it was in mint mint condition his 92 sport when he had it. If he still of had i would of bought it and probably give it to my gf cause currently she has no car.

 

[98explorerXLT5.0]

yea i am positive it is coming from the front and it starts to whine as soon as i start it up

 

[aldive]

Pull the belt and see if the sound ceases.

 

[Turdle]

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

Here's a link for you

 

[celly]

I feel your pain. My 5.0 is a whiner too. The neighbour from two doors down (Mustang owner and a licensed mechanic) feels it's the PS pump (he had a similar issue with his Stang and it took several OEM pumps before he settled on an aftermarket option). My muffler guy came to the same conclusion when he put a stethoscope to it a while back and my uncle commented on that "noisy Ford pump". That being said, when you're just standing in front of it, the sound is hard to pinpoint (the sound is pretty loud). I changed my belt a few months ago and didn't think to checking for the sound when the belt was off, but it sure sounds like the pump. It's pretty much been that way since I got the Eddie 3+ years ago. It seems quieter at times when I try different fluids (I've tried them all). I really want to solve it because I don't much care for since it competes for my ears with my muffler which I really want to hear alone. That and the fact I'm getting TM Headers this summer and I've heard it makes your exhaust sound that much nicer.

I'm watching this thread with interest.

 

[aldive]

Have you tried Redline full synthetic PS fluid?

 

[98explorerXLT5.0]

Have you tried Redline full synthetic PS fluid?

no but i dont think it has anything to do with this noise im going to pull the belt and see if it comes on when i turn it over

 

[celly]

Have you tried Redline full synthetic PS fluid?

I haven't, but have done Valvoline Syn, Amsoil PS Fluid, Amsoil ATF and Lucas. ALL were quieter than what was in there when I got the Ex, but none have done much. I'm sure Redline is good stuff, but I just don't see it making that much of a difference in my case. I've given up on the fluid option to make this issue go away.

I'd like to get a new pump, but I read that they're such hit and miss. I never had loud pumps on my previous Explorers (One 1st gen OHV and two 2nd gen SOHC). Reading between the lines, seems more problematic with the 5.0.

Any other 5.0 owners care to chime in on the whine front?

 

[celly]

no but i dont think it has anything to do with this noise im going to pull the belt and see if it comes on when i turn it over

Keep us posted. I may have the same issue. My neighbour from down the road is going to have a closer look at mine. I'm a total noob, incompetent wrencher. I did my own belt for the first time a few months ago and it took me hours to get it back on. It was traumatic, but my noisy belt is no longer (used to screech when wet). Goodyear Gatorbacks rule!

 

[98explorerXLT5.0]

will do

 

[ranger7ltr]

Front end whine...Or CPS whine?

I am kinda new to owning an Explorer but I have been using the Explorer front end dress in most of the Ford V8 conversions I have done in the past decade and I started using the 5 liter Explorer power steering pump instead of the Ford integral reservoir pump for the lack of noise and whine.

While I can't say that none of the Explorer PS pumps have make noise, I can guarantee you that every one of the integral Ford pumps will whine even with synthetic fluid...

In fact I am working on brackets to mount a 5 liter pump to the 4 liter ohv engine in my current Sport thanks to the pump whine being louder than the engine...The current pump makes the whole truck sound like crap...

Current noisy pump...

5 liter pump [using remote fluid reservoir]..

Are you certain this is a power steering pump noise and not a CPS noise?

 

[turboexplorer]

Never had a problem with my 5.0L whining at all, I did have to do this though,
Check out my post #141 My problem was a shutter but maybe if you looked at this and saw if yours was the same way then it may be staving for fluid? Anyways its worth a look I think,

 

[98explorerXLT5.0]

so today i went fishing and was moving to a new spot when all of a sudden my belt pops off my p/s pump. i remove the belt and have filled water bottles and off i tryed to make it home safely(didnt succeed) had a family friend meet me with tools....but during this tragic incident i notice when the belt was off there was no whinning so while waiting for my neighbor i checked all my pulleys just to find the ac pump is no good it grinds metal to metal so i want to thank u all for all your replies and help

 

[turboexplorer]

Bummer to here its the AC compressor but glad to hear you found the problem that's half the battle.