2002 F250 7.3L Chirp / Squeak

Chrazyman

SDD Junior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2013
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Hallsville, TX
Good Morning,
I have a 2002 F250 7.3L Crew cab short bed with 139,*** miles on it. About a month ago it began making a chirp / squeak sound under the hood. I parked it and scheduled it to go to my local diesel mechanic. They weren't able to get me in for a few days so I drove my dad's truck. The day before I was to take it in, I drove it to let my dad hear the sound and of course it stopped. I have driven it for the month since then with no issues, even towing my 8000# travel trailer 500 miles round trip in the mountains for a weekend getaway with the family. On my way to work this morning it began again. I have read numerous threads about belts, pulleys, tensioners, etc. but they seemed to have a constant sound. My sound is not rhythmic but intermittent. It is also accompanied by some light rattle sound which I can feel under my left foot. It does it when idle or under power but still there is no constant rhythm to it like I believe you would get with a belt whine. This mornings conditions are as such: 55 degrees and rainy out. The first time it happened it was 50 degrees but dry. There have been colder and wet days in between these two instances with no noises. My first thought is that the belt might be slipping. Any help is appreciated.
 

DaveBen

SDD Senior Member
Joined
May 31, 2005
Messages
9,629
Reaction score
81
Location
Ukiah, California
:welcome Chrazyman! I don't own a 7.3 but my guess would be the belt tensioner. I see you have looked into this, but you have about the right amount of miles on your truck for this to be a possibility. Hope you get it figured out soon.

Dave :coffee
 

BIG JOE

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
5,423
Reaction score
55
Location
CenCal
WELCOME... and I agree with Dave. At 139K, or so.. (and it being a 12 years old) the tensioners seem to start going south. They're not that pricey and a new belt @ 139K would be a Good place to start.. a fix ?

Joe
 

A/Ox4

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
Messages
96
Reaction score
0
Location
Ventura, CA
My tentioner was pretty bad. I got it cheap ($60) and would recommend it just to be sure.
 

Chrazyman

SDD Junior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2013
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Hallsville, TX
I replaced the tensioner and belt. No luck on the sound. I removed the water pump and as I am going to reinstall it I notice the rubber on the harmonic balancer is bulging out some and looks pretty ragged. What are my options at this point? Is this something a weekender like me can do? Is there a video for this somewhere?
 

Tbar

SDD STAFF/Moderator
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
2,673
Reaction score
10
Location
Texas
As an aside.........if you went to all the effort to pull the old water pump don't put it back on. Get a new one installed if that is the OEM unit.
 

A/Ox4

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
Messages
96
Reaction score
0
Location
Ventura, CA
Dont go aftermarket. Go OEM or International. Diesel site just released a kit with the international pump (which includes a coolant filter) and the necessary slight modifications already done to make it fit. I would get that if it were me. The Ford pumps seem to only last 150k (aftermarket being hit or miss).
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
30,545
Messages
266,136
Members
14,673
Latest member
Doms350
Top