Strange squealing sound on the front of the 96 Explorer 5.0 engine

Yeah, just when I'm getting ready to sell the thing...it starts falling apart. I was hearing a strange squealing sound from the front of the motor. Looked at the serp. belt. It was starting to shows some cracks on the ribbed side, so I replaced it. Still squeals. I broke out my stethoscope and checked both idler pulleys, the PS Pump (fairly new), AC clutch pulley (engaged and disengaged), Alt, and the WP. I still can't find the source of the squeal. Is it possible that the fan clutch is bad? Would it make a squealing sound if it was bad? Need some help before I start replacing more stuff that ain't broke.

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Beegshot
65 'stang, in process
66 'stang, SBF parts donor
79 F100 SuperCab, SBF (new 306!!!), parts hauler
96 Explorer 5.0, grocery getter, kid hauler
Henry Ford said, "If you find you need a tool, you have already paid for it."

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: beegshot on 11/10/04 8:18am ]</font>

Last time my 5.0 truck squeeled really bad, it was the water pump getting ready to go out at about 110K miles.
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Ditto the WP.

Have you a stethoscope? Or a long (like really long), screwdriver? Or worse case, a piece of heater hose about 3' long?
You should be able to 'sound it out', find out/narrow it down fairly close with that.
I can't rule out anything without actually hearing/feeling it myself.
Can't say I"ve seen many, (if any), water pumps go tits up on exploders yet. (but we're a small dealership).

Good luck. Have fun. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
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FWIW, this Exploder just rolled over 162K miles. I couldn't find my "real" stethoscope last night so I was using a length of vacuum hose. I wasn't real interested in sticking my hand down between the idler pulley and fan to get the end of the hose on the WP...so, I'll have to find my steth and do some more investigating. Thanks for the input. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_bow.gif[/img]
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If you can, squirt a little WD40 into the upper hole in the nose of the WP.

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On 2004-11-09 21:06, drag79stang wrote:
Have you a stethoscope? Or a long (like really long), screwdriver? Or worse case, a piece of heater hose about 3' long?
You should be able to 'sound it out', find out/narrow it down fairly close with that.
I can't rule out anything without actually hearing/feeling it myself.
Can't say I"ve seen many, (if any), water pumps go tits up on exploders yet. (but we're a small dealership).

Good luck. Have fun. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

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Yep. He used one...
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Beeg,
I'm willing to bet that your noise is gonna' be the little deal (can't remember the proper name) that goes where the distributor used to go. I think they might call it a cam position sensor or something like that. Had one make a complete fool out of me one time replacing belts, alternator, ect. Replaced that thingon the suggestion of a Ford Master tech and problem solved. MJ[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_bicker.gif[/img]

That's a distinct possibility. Have never seen one go bad on a 5.0,but have replaced dozens on 3.0 v6s.
Again, should be able to sound it out. Also, have you taken the belt OFF and seen if the noise is gone?

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On 2004-11-15 23:30, drag79stang wrote:
That's a distinct possibility. Have never seen one go bad on a 5.0,but have replaced dozens on 3.0 v6s.
Again, should be able to sound it out. Also, have you taken the belt OFF and seen if the noise is gone?


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Words of wisdom. Avoid throwing parts at it. Listen, Look, and repeat until you can diagnos it. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_tup.gif[/img]
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