Noise?? What noise??

[lastdaze04]

I don't hear any noise, that's what I told my wife untill I popped the hood. I thought my Trilogy went bad. I drove the car home and pulled off the pulley belt and it was STILL making noise:eek:. It came from either the alternator (do they make a noise (whineing) when they are going out?) or from the power steering pump? It sounds very similar to the whine of the Trilogy super/charger. I need some input before i decide to tear it apart and fix it. I need your thoughts/suggestions. All help will be appreciated:beer:.
Thanks in Advance

Rick:depress::depress::depress ::confused::confused::confused ::alone::alone:
ps What is this Tags thingy in yellow underneath the postings????????:confused:

[justbob]

Sounds like the p/s pump is on the way out.

[RoyLPita]

Check to see if the vacuum release valve is open at idle. We have a member here who had a bad vacuum line going to this which kept the valve closed and made a noise like it was always in boost.

Or check the alternator. We also have a member whose alternator bearings went south and made a god awful noise.

Keep us posted.

[Blk Mamba]

Remove the belt, then try to wiggle the pulley's, and shafts, with your hand, the one, that has a lot of movement, is probably the bad one.

[lastdaze04]

Quote: "Check to see if the vacuum release valve is open at idle.:confused::confused::conf used: Which vacuum line and where is it that you are talking about. Sorry I'm a little dense.
It seems to be getting worse. My power steering pump sits right below the alternator so I can't tell which it is. I have heard a similar sound on my 5.0 and I lived with it for months and it took along to time to get worse, just starting the car now a couple of different times and it gets worse each time:mad2:. Any others want to chime in>>??

By the way, I am sooooo happy that it wasn't the blower, it just seems to run too well. I did not relish the thought of taking the blower off and sending it in for an expensive rebuild.
Anyway keep the suggestions coming
Thanks
Rick


Check to see if the vacuum release valve is open at idle. We have a member here who had a bad vacuum line going to this which kept the valve closed and made a noise like it was always in boost.

Or check the alternator. We also have a member whose alternator bearings went south and made a god awful noise.

Keep us posted.

[RF Overlord]

It's called the bypass actuator and it sits on the passenger side, bolted directly to the side of the blower housing.

[FordNut]

If it's the alternator or PS pump area, there is also an idler pulley on the alternator bracket which could cause the noise.

Get a piece of hose and use it like a stethoscope (don't laugh, it works) to pinpoint where the noise is coming from.

[lastdaze04]

OK I went out this morning and started the car and

1.) I turned the steering wheel from end to end and it sounded like it might be the power steering pump as I went as far as it would go and on each end it made even more noise than usual,
2.) I then pulled off the belt and checked each idler pulley, tensioner pulley, alternator pulley, and power steering pump pulley for looseness, wobblyness, ease of turning, noise, ect ect... And everything checked out just perfect. Soooooo,
3.) A fella on Cv.net had a suggestion that worked for him and I will try it. His car had a whine and it was his power steering pump, so he switched to synthetic power steering fluid and the noise disappeared, so I figure what do I have to lose?., I will give it a try and see if I can delay a repair.
ssssooooo
4.) Is there anybody here that has access to some synthetic power steering fluid that can get it to me asap, I will pay shipping ect...
Rick

[lastdaze04]

Hi FordNut: Well I did what you said but with a long breaker bar. The power steering pump sounds quiet. However... the Alternator was making some serious racket, yet when I removed the belt the pulley rotated freely with no noise and I am getting no loss of power. Maybe its just starting to go., Anyway I buttoned things back up, and I have Monday off so I thought I would go to my FLAPS and pic up a new alternator, and just drive untill the old one gives up the ghost. Thanks for the support
Rick




If it's the alternator or PS pump area, there is also an idler pulley on the alternator bracket which could cause the noise.

Get a piece of hose and use it like a stethoscope (don't laugh, it works) to pinpoint where the noise is coming from.

[Windsor58]

Is the ps fluid low? Has it been changed recently? Does the fluid look dark? Might be worth changing the fluid to see if that helps.

[lastdaze04]

As soon as I get done postiing this I'm going to get some synthetic power steering fluid
Rick


Is the ps fluid low? Has it been changed recently? Does the fluid look dark? Might be worth changing the fluid to see if that helps.

[RF Overlord]

As soon as I get done postiing this I'm going to get some synthetic power steering fluidBe very careful here. Ford specs plain Mercon ATF for the P/S system. ATF and Power Steering Fluid are NOT the same thing.

[Breadfan]

Hi FordNut: Well I did what you said but with a long breaker bar. The power steering pump sounds quiet. However... the Alternator was making some serious racket, yet when I removed the belt the pulley rotated freely with no noise and I am getting no loss of power. Maybe its just starting to go., Anyway I buttoned things back up, and I have Monday off so I thought I would go to my FLAPS and pic up a new alternator, and just drive untill the old one gives up the ghost. Thanks for the support
Rick

Also beware here the pulley was changed on the Trilogy setup for the alternator. You will need to swap pulleys if you get a new alternator, so DO NOT turn the old one in for core if it's bad with the pulley you need still on it. You'll need the pulley removal tool that came with the Trilogy kit to remove the pulley on the new unit (if you buy and/or need one that is.)

[lastdaze04]

update lll

I didn't think the power steering unit did a whole lot of hard work, but it smelled funny and was dark, so it got changed, it looks and smells good now, but the noise is still there, I know its my alternator. Like I said i will go get one and just wait for it to give up the ghost. Thanks everybody.
Rick :beer: