squealing noise! cant figure it out!

[SuperchargedStang]

So last few months my car would make a squealing noise right when starting and 5-10 seconds later it would go away, it was very feint and hard to hear. Now its making this chirping sounds.. like a bird is tweeting in my engine bay... it will go for about 10 seconds then go away and come back 10 seconds later, while driving.. on and off over and over. I replaced the belt tensioner and no luck... it will go away when i turn on ac, but come back again.. another weird thing is that when i start the car it turns over too fast and starts and it will bog down then the rpm will come up and be fine.. the car drives fine but this sound is killing me... does anyone have any idea what it could be? it is a Saleen s/c car..I linked a video of the sound.. any help would be much appreciated...

 

[07TGGT]

Sounds like a belt to me

 

[SuperchargedStang]

Sounds like a belt to me

Checked the belt, it is in proper shape..

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Belts get oil and other road grime on them. That makes them squeak. Humidity can also cause them to squeak.

 

[Paps]

A/c compressor pulley?

 

[2005Redfire6]

Def. sounds like one of the pulleys... I would take a stethoscope to them and figure out which one.

 

[SuperchargedStang]

A/c compressor pulley?

It does sound like it is coming from that side of the engine.. the A/C works perfectly.. is the only reason why im hesitant to replacing the a/c compressor.

 

[sheizasosay]

If you or someone else changed your coolant a few months ago (when you started having problems), then I would be suspect of having that crap on your belts/pullies. If you EVER get any kind of new noise in your car, you have to ask what was the last thing you done to it.

It's either a worn belt, misaligned pulley, belt/pulley contamination or bad bearings in a pulley.

The first thing I would do is get a green scotch brite pad and VERY carefully start abraising all the smooth idler pullies with the car running. The idea is to get the contaminents off the pulley. If you put that scotch brite pad on a pulley while it's running and put some pressure, be careful not to let it eat your hand up. But, you should be able to tell within very short time if the pad is going to help or not.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

You can also use a crayon on the belt but again dont let it get your hand.

 

[Fullboogie]

I wouldn't get my hand anywhere near a spinning pulley. Imagine what your fingers will look like when spun 180 degrees. I've sprayed brake cleaner on pulleys to clean them while the engine is running. Seems to do the job.

 

[19COBRA93]

It does sound like it is coming from that side of the engine.. the A/C works perfectly.. is the only reason why im hesitant to replacing the a/c compressor.

You don't have to replace the whole compressor if the pulley bearing is going bad. Your A/C will also work just fine, even if the bearing is failing. You can buy a new pulley/bearing for the compressor for about $55, maybe a little more or less depending on where your source it from. And, you don't have to discharge/recharge your A/C to change it.

Not saying that's your issue or not, but if it is, it's not a huge deal.

 

[SuperchargedStang]

You don't have to replace the whole compressor if the pulley bearing is going bad. Your A/C will also work just fine, even if the bearing is failing. You can buy a new pulley/bearing for the compressor for about $55, maybe a little more or less depending on where your source it from. And, you don't have to discharge/recharge your A/C to change it.

Not saying that's your issue or not, but if it is, it's not a huge deal.

Thanks didn't know that... maybe ill try doing that.

 

[nawagner]

To check the belt spray a little bit of water on the ribs while it's chirping. If the chirp goes away it's the belt or a slightly misaligned pulley. As the belt goes into the grooves if a pulley is off the belt will actually slide into the grooves creating that chirp sound.

Check each pulley bearing by spraying a small amount of water or lubricant on the middle of each pulley until the chirp goes away. The bad pulley bearing is the one where the noise stops once sprayed.

 

[psfracer]

I ran a 2.3 whipple for a few years and whenever I changed the belt the noise would go away---over time the belt would stretch so I started replacing them with the Gates HD part #, (the green belt). That would last a lot longer vs a standard belt and it stayed quiet a lot longer.

Anyway, also another time I had to replace the bearing on the electric water pump--but I don't know if you have that.

Spray the belt and if the noise goes away, you know its the belt, not a bearing.

 

[Kalatrax]

I wouldn't get my hand anywhere near a spinning pulley. Imagine what your fingers will look like when spun 180 degrees. I've sprayed brake cleaner on pulleys to clean them while the engine is running. Seems to do the job.

^
This! I watched a friend lose a finger to a blower pulley on an alcohol funny car. Was not a fun day. I would never put my hand near a moving accessory system. On to the main question, I would think it would be more constant of a sound if it were a belt issue, it sounds like a bearing gone bad. Very possible it's the A/C clutch doing it. If you notice, the A/C clutch will not spin unless the A/C is on, so my guess is that the bearings that allow the pulley to free spin have gone bad. Like said you can get a new A/C compressor clutch and swap it without having to recharge the system.

 

[psfracer]

Either way its VERY easy to determine if its the belt or not. Spray the belt, if the noise goes away its not a bearing. It will take all of 10 seconds to get your answer.

I thought it did sound consistent, it just changed with rpm, which would make sense if bearing or belt.

Anyway, just saying what caused my chirps in the past, it was the belt.

 

[SuperchargedStang]

Does anyone know where to find the a/c compressor bearing/clutch? just at ford?

 

[SuperchargedStang]

When I spray water on ribbed side sound does go away.

 

[Steve@Tasca]

Does anyone know where to find the a/c compressor bearing/clutch? just at ford?

Have you pulled the belt and spun all the puleys by hand to see if you can feel any rough or loose bearings?

The clutch bearing is P/N YP-33-A $31.86 plus shipping from us, not a common item so we would have to order it but we can get it as can you local dealer but probably for a fair bit higher price.

Link to it on our site- http://www.tascaparts.com/oe-ford/yp33a?search_str=yp-33-a

 

[psfracer]

When I spray water on ribbed side sound does go away.

I am shocked! NOT. I am telling you I had a whipple for years and went through this. Don't make it more complicated then it really is.

You should have a spare belt in your trunk anyway, take that one off, buy a new one. If it doesn't fix the problem, well you have the spare you should have anyway in your trunk now.