Little Basic Maintenance Help

[Traffic22]

Ok, total noob question. Searched for this and found a ton of threads, but none that answered my question specifically.

I have a whine coming from under the hood. I have narrowed it to either the tensioner, or alternator. (I suspect it is going to be the alternator, but I figure since I just bought the car a little preventative maintenance won't hurt.)

I am going to replace the tensioner, and from what I read, this is as good a time as any to replace the upper and lower idler pulleys as well. I would prefer to stick with Ford parts. Am I reading the schematics correctly?

TENSIONER Part #: 6B209 ($83.60)
PULLEY ASY - IDLER Part #: 8678 ($45.07)
KIT - TENSION PULLEY Part #: XR3Z8678BA ($25.58)

If this is correct, can someone tell me why the Ford part is 4X more expensive than the Goodyear replacement tensioner from Rock Auto? I know factory parts are generally more expensive, but I am missing something? (4X) the cost?

Thanks for the help.

[MyBlackBeasts]

Ok, total noob question. Searched for this and found a ton of threads, but none that answered my question specifically.

I have a whine coming from under the hood. I have narrowed it to either the tensioner, or alternator. (I suspect it is going to be the alternator, but I figure since I just bought the car a little preventative maintenance won't hurt.)

I am going to replace the tensioner, and from what I read, this is as good a time as any to replace the upper and lower idler pulleys as well. I would prefer to stick with Ford parts. Am I reading the schematics correctly?

TENSIONER Part #: 6B209 ($83.60)
PULLEY ASY - IDLER Part #: 8678 ($45.07)
KIT - TENSION PULLEY Part #: XR3Z8678BA ($25.58)

If this is correct, can someone tell me why the Ford part is 4X more expensive than the Goodyear replacement tensioner from Rock Auto? I know factory parts are generally more expensive, but I am missing something? (4X) the cost?

Thanks for the help.

Because it has the word "Ford" stamped on it.

Just replace the bearings unless pulley is damaged. They are less than $5 piece and are kindergarden simple to replace. Out of pulley & back in = less than 60 seconds.

[Traffic22]

The tensioner has a bit of a wobble in it. Is this normal on the marauders? I have owned no less than a dozen fords over the years and have never seen a tensioner arm wiggle so much.

I know the bearing is the less expensive way to go, but let's face it, 10 year old part, time to part with a couple bucks and do it right.

Can you confirm that I am reading this correctly though...3 seperate parts, tensioner, upper pulley, lower pulley? I think what is throwing me off is Ford calls one of the tension pulley's a kit?

[MyBlackBeasts]

The tensioner has a bit of a wobble in it. Is this normal on the marauders? I have owned no less than a dozen fords over the years and have never seen a tensioner arm wiggle so much.

I know the bearing is the less expensive way to go, but let's face it, 10 year old part, time to part with a couple bucks and do it right.

Can you confirm that I am reading this correctly though...3 seperate parts, tensioner, upper pulley, lower pulley? I think what is throwing me off is Ford calls one of the tension pulley's a kit?

No wobbles here. Replace it. I bought new pulleys, they put new bearings in old ones. Now for $6 I have 2 spares to swap quick so I can stay WOT! :burnout:

Yes, 3 parts. Flat idler, grooved idler & tensioner. They probably call it a kit because it may come with new bolt.

[Traffic22]

Sweet. Thanks for the help....my hope is the whine I am getting from the engine is just the tensioner, not the alternator. Once they are all swapped out, I will put new bearings in the pullies, and toss what I suspect with the wonky tensioner.

[fastblackmerc]

Belt Tensioner:
Dayco – 305291
Goodyear – 49293

Idler Pulleys:
Dayco (smooth) - 89007
FoMoCo (ribbed) - YW7Z-8678-AA

I'd replace the belt.

Gatorback (Goodyear) – 4060922 - stock

[MercNasty]

I had a similar problem and did everything Fastblackmerc just mentioned and used the same parts he just provided the part numbers for.

[Traffic22]

Thanks for all the help. I ordered all the Motorcraft parts from Tasca, just waiting on them. I appreciate all the advice. I will most certainly keep the old idlers, and swap in new bearings to have spares. I suspect this may all be a moot point, as I'm guessing the problem may be the alternator. Just trying to take the cheaper route to start, and hope for a little luck.

Plus a bit of preventative maintenance never hurts, going to do plugs and boots, as well as everything liquid in the engine while I'm at it. (Oil/Radiator/Power Steering)

Got some sweet new brakes on the way as well....going to flush the system and put new fluid in too.

Will probably drop it off at the local Ford dealer to flush the tranny.

Thanks again for all the help and advice...all the info here made ordering everything much easier. (I don't trust the local parts store to give me the correct parts, they have been wrong before.)

[MyBlackBeasts]

Sweet. Thanks for the help....my hope is the whine I am getting from the engine is just the tensioner, not the alternator. Once they are all swapped out, I will put new bearings in the pullies, and toss what I suspect with the wonky tensioner.

The whine is just the s/c spooling up!!! :D

[SC Cheesehead]

The whine is just the s/c spooling up!!! :D

That's what I was gonna say, too.

Have had that whining issue for going on two years now; mine doesn't start making too much noise until about 2,500 rpm and then it just keeps getting louder after that... ;)

[MyBlackBeasts]

That's what I was gonna say, too.

Have had that whining issue for going on two years now; mine doesn't start making too much noise until about 2,500 rpm and then it just keeps getting louder after that... ;)

Mine does it also. I was worried about it when I first got the car and replaced idler pulley bearings as they were a little bad. Everything else checked out ok and after a couple thousand WOT's with no issue I stopped worring about it and enjoyed the "ghost S/C" I had! :burnout:

[Traffic22]

Thanks guys good to know it may not go away, would have driven me crazy.


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