weird idle sound...vid inside...normal?

[dlaude6]

I know it's always tough to diagnose via web, but I got a video and that may help. Got an 04 explorer couple weeks back and when it's cold (maybe warm, too, just didn't notice) it has somewhat of a squeal to it. It's not loud like a "I need a new belt" squeal, it's very subtle. Today I remembered to pop the hood and take a peak, and it looked like my belt tensioner was wobbling a bit. Not sure if that's normal or not, but the noise tended to coincide with the wobbles of the tensioner. Is it normal? What do you suggest? WD-40? A new tensioner? Don't think a new belt would take care of it.

Here's a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNUFDmkKpP0 don't get too sidetracked watching the (barely even entertaining) videos of my cobra haha. It's hard to see how noticeable the wobble is from the video, but the last second or two really shows a good wobble. It is more dramatic in person...I'll blame it on the equipment and not the videographer haha.

Thanks.

 

[wiz929]

I been getting the same noise from my truck also for the past two years. I didn't think much of it since i notice the guy who live next door to me has the same noise coming from his Montaneer.

 

[dlaude6]

Hm so it doesn't sound serious, and I didn't think it was, but when I hear it it's annoying enough that I want to fix it...if it won't cost much. Anyone have any suggestions on how I can inexpensively fix this?

 

[kdoggy]

Harmonic balancer?

Last time i had something like that coming from my Mitsubishi Eclipse, it was the harmonic balancer

 

[dlaude6]

Hm interesting. I found http://216.189.1.23/forums/showthread.php?t=280567 and http://216.189.1.23/forums/showthread.php?t=267709 talking about the balancer, sounds like it may be that. I'm going to check it out sometime today to see how my balancer looks. How difficult is this to replace? I hope I can find an illustrated how to somewhere on the boards.

 

[dlaude6]

Dang, sounds super common. Also sounds a bit tricky to do...and considering my tool supply isn't too extensive (IE - no balancer puller), sounds like I may have to bring it in. Fortunately I got a third party warranty with it so I'm hoping this will cover it. If not, I got my work cut out for me.

Is all this necessary to get the balancer switched? http://216.189.1.23/forums/showpost.php?p=2509603&postcount=4

 

[dlaude6]

Well the good news it that my balancer does not look like the bad one in which the separation occurred in the second post h here. So I guess if mine is bad it isn't THAT bad yet haha.

 

[limited05]

belt tensioner maybe , mine went bad a while ago in my 05 its not hard to check and replace on mine the bearing was completely shot

 

[PEAR0119]

My dad has an 03, and it was making a very similar noise. It got really bad pretty much to the point were having a conversation in the car was hard enough. It turned out to be the tensioner pulley. We swapped it out and everything was quiet again.

On a side note my 06 is making that exact noise. I carefully put a stethoscope on the tensioner arm and it seems that the tensioner in mine is the culprit as well.

 

[limited05]

if you dont have a stethascope

IF YOU CAN DO IT CAREFULLY you can use a long screwdriver as a stethascope, put the handle against your ear and u will hear and feel the noise


push the handle of the screwdriver against your ear and kinda close your ear with the "small tab" of your ear

might be a little difficult to do it on the explorer since theres not a lot of room between the fan shroud and the tensioner

 

[dlaude6]

Hmm ok. Yeah, without a stethoscope, it sounds like the noise is coming directly from the tensioner. It is the bearing in the tensioner pulley that goes bad, or the entire tensioner arm? Is it recommended to swap the entire arm or can I do just the pulley? Is there an OEM equivalent that may be less expensive than the OEM one? Thanks.

 

[kdoggy]

You just replace the whole assembly and they are not that expensive.

$30~50 depending which brand you get.

 

[dlaude6]

You just replace the whole assembly and they are not that expensive.

$30~50 depending which brand you get.

Oh sweet! So any one of these top four listed would do the trick, right? http://www.autosupplyco.com/ShopByVehicle.epc?q=2004-FORD-Explorer-V6--45ci--4.0l--Flex/fi--Vin--K&yearid=2004%40%402004&makeid=28%40%40FORD%40%40&modelid=7167%40%40EXPLORER&engineid=32613%40%40V6-245ci+4%2E0L+FLEX%2FFI+Vin+K%40%4032613&catid=2@@Belts%2FHoses%2FCooling&subcatid=31@@Belts%2C+Tensioners+and+Pulleys&mode=PA

 

[PEAR0119]

We bought the Goodyear one and have had no issues since. It was so nice to drive the X again without the nasty noises.

 

[dlaude6]

Cool, yeah I'm pretty excited to get rid of this noise. It's not bad from inside, but from the outside it just makes the truck sound like a P.O.S. haha, and it's not, it's a really nice truck. I'm a very visual learner, and this was the best I found but it's the previous generation. Is it still similar to this, though, to swap the tensioner? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMyLddzHYT8

 

[PEAR0119]

Can't watch the video at work . But its essentially just using a breaker bar and placing it in the tensioner fitting to release the tension on the belt, then taking the one bolt out of the block and it should come right off. To install pretty much just the reverse order, but make sure that the belt is still routed properly and is on every pulley properly before starting the engine.

 

[dlaude6]

Yeah that's the gist of the video. Seems pretty easy. Just hope a breaker bar will work, trucks got 105k miles and I don't know how tight it will be haha.

 

[PEAR0119]

Should work. we have 85K on our 03. using the breaker bar to release tension would be no problem, but the bolt on the other hand was somewhat of a pain cause of the rad hoses and everything in the way. Trying to get into a position that allows you to get a good pull on it was difficult, but I got it out.

 

[dlaude6]

Should work. we have 85K on our 03. using the breaker bar to release tension would be no problem, but the bolt on the other hand was somewhat of a pain cause of the rad hoses and everything in the way. Trying to get into a position that allows you to get a good pull on it was difficult, but I got it out.

Damn yeah that's what I was afraid of. Sweet thanks for all your help, I'm ordering one today and will let you know if it cured the noise!

 

[PEAR0119]

We replaced both idler pulleys after as well, but by far the tensioner was the noisiest. It cured about 85-90% of the noise, while the idlers the other 10-15. Car was nice and quiet after though.