Does this look normal to you?

[Hypnotic Toast]

So I recently had a VERY loud and annoying squeak coming from my engine, so I replaced the Tension and Idler pulley, along with a new belt. The squeak stopped completely and it's been fine for the past few weeks. But today, when I was idling at a stop light...I heard a chirp. And it continues for as along as I idle, but it makes no noise while actually driving. And it's real slow, like a chirp every couple seconds, not the constant, non-stop squealing it did before. The belt that's on it is only about a month old and the one before that was squeaking was around 5 months old. So after getting home, I look in the engine and see this:

Is the belt suppose to ride so far out on the Tension Pulley? I wasn't sure if that was normal or not, my father said he was pretty sure that's how the factory belt rode on it and it lasted 130k miles without a peep.

 

[Hypnotic Toast]

And I'm probably going to Autozone this weekend and buying a Gatorback Belt, since I've heard that they are really reliable and often quiet belt squeaks.

 

[KELLY88]

It looks like it might be shifting a little. But as long as it's not coming off I wouldn't worry.


By the way, where in Bloomington are you at? I used to live in Ellettsville.

 

[Plum Ranger XLT]

I used to have a 1987 Mustang with the 2.3L and it had the belt tensioner and the belt would go out just like yours in the pictures and I had no problems, so don't worry.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

And it's real slow, like a chirp every couple seconds

red flag.

i would use a mechanics stethiscope to find the exact loaction of the chirp. the symptoms you describe sound eerily like a failing cam syncro, which later model 3.0s are notorious for. the cam syncro is located near the rear of the engine, toward the passanger side. customers almost always mistake its noise for a squeeky belt...but since its driven by the cam, it squeeks at half the speed a belt would.

be warned that if the cam syncro fails, it could take out your oil pump which will seize the motor in no time if your barrelling down the highway when it happens.

 

[evanesce69]

shouldn't the syncro be driven off the end of the cam????? 1/2 engine speed????

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

shouldn't the syncro be driven off the end of the cam????? 1/2 engine speed????

...but since its driven by the cam, it squeeks at half the speed a belt would.

 

[shadetree]

It may just be the newer models, but I have never seen a belt ride that far out. Make sure the belt is in correctly in the grooved pulleys.shady

 

[Hypnotic Toast]

But wouldn't it squeak when the belt was off if it was the cam? It doesn't when the belt is off, only when it's on.

And it's the weirdest thing tonight when I drove it, it didn't do it at all. Maybe it's just because it's getting colder? I'm just really tired of this freaking noise in my engine.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

But wouldn't it squeak when the belt was off if it was the cam? It doesn't when the belt is off, only when it's on.

ahh, you might have included that little detail before