Weird Squeaking V8

[me_rikey]

Hey all,

So my 2006 V8 has developed some sort of intermittent squeaking under the hood. Visual inspection reveals nothing. It seems to happen more often when it is cold outside. I have tried cycling on/ off heat and AC, without being able to reproduce consistent results (squeaking).

I have noticed that my heat this winter, when run on med-hi or high fan speed, doesn't blow with as much force as it used to. E.g. if I am at a stop, the fan speed on high seems lower than usual, and when taking off from a stop at a green light, the fan speed picks up. I don't think this is related, but I also suffer from the dreaded 'ticking' sound from what I believe is a faulty air-inlet control servo motor.

Any ideas on what this might be?

I am due for spark plugs, and will probably have my timing belt service done a little early, along with bushings all around (as needed), and fluids, so I can have them check, but was wondering if anyone might have some insights on this. Might as well replace my old XREAS set-up too


Thanks in advance!

 

[Terminator03]

The squeaking under the hood is very likely the bearings on the idlers going bad. Mine do it occasionally on really cold mornings and then it goes away, so I plan to address them when it warms up in the spring unless the squeaking gets really bad to where it’s more of an emergency.

 

[JoeToyota]

I just diagnosed a squeaking in my 06 V8 to be a bad tensioner assembly. Lost adequate tension. It caused the belt to squeak (slippage). The belt slipping ever so slightly was causing minor issues with all of the belt driven accessories.

It is very easy to check. Remove serpentine belt. The tensioner is a 14mm left-hand thread.If the tensioner does not smoothly turn, or turns very easily while releasing tension then replace. If tensioner was not tight enough belt should have glazing on one or both sides.

Now that belt is off, check both tensioner pulley and idler pulley for play and check for noise while quickly spinning.

If tensioner is bad don't worry, the job isn't so terrible as it seems. There is a write-up that I recently referenced and commented on in this sub-forum (should be first page or two).
If you can verify tensioner is working properly and it was only a bearing, then it is a much easier fix to just replace the pulley.

Good luck!

 

[me_rikey]

The squeaking under the hood is very likely the bearings on the idlers going bad. Mine do it occasionally on really cold mornings and then it goes away, so I plan to address them when it warms up in the spring unless the squeaking gets really bad to where it’s more of an emergency.

This is kind of what I was thinking.. not looking forward to trying to diagnose in the cold, if I have to.

I just diagnosed a squeaking in my 06 V8 to be a bad tensioner assembly. Lost adequate tension. It caused the belt to squeak (slippage). The belt slipping ever so slightly was causing minor issues with all of the belt driven accessories.

It is very easy to check. Remove serpentine belt. The tensioner is a 14mm left-hand thread.If the tensioner does not smoothly turn, or turns very easily while releasing tension then replace. If tensioner was not tight enough belt should have glazing on one or both sides.

Now that belt is off, check both tensioner pulley and idler pulley for play and check for noise while quickly spinning.

If tensioner is bad don't worry, the job isn't so terrible as it seems. There is a write-up that I recently referenced and commented on in this sub-forum (should be first page or two).
If you can verify tensioner is working properly and it was only a bearing, then it is a much easier fix to just replace the pulley.

Good luck!

Thanks for your post - I will check this first thing, as it is super easy to pull the belt, and check for play in the tensioners.

 

[Flash Runner]

[MENTION=73664]me_rikey[/MENTION] as stated the tensioner is probably the culprit. However, I had a squeaking issue and changing the belt by itself fixed my issue. few months down the road and I’m still good. It’s $30, and a really simple fix even if you’re in the cold.

I wanted to comment on your “ticking” sound as I also have that. I’ve determined it’s due to the cracked intake manifold leak.... best bet to fix is headers, the install though seems to be more of the problem than the part itself

 

[me_rikey]

[MENTION=73664]me_rikey[/MENTION] as stated the tensioner is probably the culprit. However, I had a squeaking issue and changing the belt by itself fixed my issue. few months down the road and I’m still good. It’s $30, and a really simple fix even if you’re in the cold.

I wanted to comment on your “ticking” sound as I also have that. I’ve determined it’s due to the cracked intake manifold leak.... best bet to fix is headers, the install though seems to be more of the problem than the part itself

Hey thanks for the advice. Agreed on the belt. Yes I have the dreaded header issue, and for me it's not worth the cost to upgrade to headers with my 06. I can always wish..