Squeaky pulley part 2/death rattle

[cstewart]

Its been a little bit since I logged in, but I am afraid I've had a crisis and wanted to check with you all and see what you thought. I just finished reading about an idler pulley going out and it sounds much like the problem I have except for one thing. Here is the story.
Ive been noticing some squeaking mild, almost chirping like when the engine is cold. It almost completely goes away once its warmed up. I had driven a good bit on Saturday and as I was pulling into my garage, I heard the most awful metallic rattle. I have plenty of oil, and my pressure is good. I opened the hood and am having a hard time telling where it is coming from. I revved it once and didn't notice the noise, but its possible the muffler drowned it out. There did appear to be a black watery substance that came out of the tailpipe, but I'm hoping it was condensation.
Hopefully my story has a happy ending as well. Any thoughts?

 

[VPRPWRD]

If your truck is an '04, check you crankshaft dampner bolt. They were notorious for coming loose and your crank pulley comes off possibly causing damage to the crank.

 

[cstewart]

It is an 04. I'll be sure to check that out tonight. Hopefully no damage has been done yet. It happened at the best possible time as I was pulling in the driveway.

 

[ViperPete]

Mine did the exact same thing.

Would screech at times in the morning or when the belt was wet from washing the truck. Then one day the clanking was unbelievably loud. I "knew" I had blown engine with a God awful noise like that.....

Turned out to be the belt tensioner... Nothing else just the belt tensioner...

Check it out. Might be a cheap, easy fix like mine was.

 

[cstewart]

Mine did the exact same thing.

Would screech at times in the morning or when the belt was wet from washing the truck. Then one day the clanking was unbelievably loud. I "knew" I had blown engine with a God awful noise like that.....

Turned out to be the belt tensioner... Nothing else just the belt tensioner...

Check it out. Might be a cheap, easy fix like mine was.

I surely hope so. I will hopefully find out more tonight. I've been a nervous about it. I don't even want to think about having to get a new engine.

 

[cstewart]

Mine did the exact same thing.

Would screech at times in the morning or when the belt was wet from washing the truck. Then one day the clanking was unbelievably loud. I "knew" I had blown engine with a God awful noise like that.....

Turned out to be the belt tensioner... Nothing else just the belt tensioner...

Check it out. Might be a cheap, easy fix like mine was.

BTW, could you still hear a mild squeak at the same time you heard the awful clattering?

 

[ViperPete]

Yes. I posted a video of the sound up here. Do a search of my name and you might find the video.

 

[cstewart]

Yes. I posted a video of the sound up here. Do a search of my name and you might find the video.

I found it, sounds similar, but I'm afraid mine is a little more metallic and uneven sounding. Nonetheless, I'm hopefully about to find out a little more. Maybe its just a difference in recording equipment. I used the iphone and was inside my garage. I could definitely hear the belt or pulley squeaking too. Thanks for the tip, I hope thats it.

 

[SlvrSnake]

An easy thing to do is release the belt tensioner and slide the belt off. Then try to spin the idler pulley by hand. If is squeaking it is going bad. Could be just a bad bearing in the idler. Check the tensioner too. I don't think it is something major.

Check the easy stuff first that way you know what it isn't.

 

[ViperCLKGTR]

Pop your power steering cap off and check your fluid.

 

[cstewart]

Pop your power steering cap off and check your fluid.

PS fluid looks good, we are going to take the belt off and see if the noise is still there. My friend thats helping me with it thinks its a bearing in the PS pump. (sounded like the noise was louder there) (I sell bearings for a living, who knows, I may have something in stock to fix it with)
The suggestions have been very helpful. I'll keep yall posted.
Thanks

 

[ViperCLKGTR]

Get a video of it fine sir, that always is the best option.

 

[cstewart]

If your truck is an '04, check you crankshaft dampner bolt. They were notorious for coming loose and your crank pulley comes off possibly causing damage to the crank.

Finally got a chance to take the belt off and see what was going on. At first all was quiet, then with just a little bit of throttle, the crank pulley was shaking like crazy. The rattling was the pulley going back and forth. It appears that the balancer is a little beat up. Fortunately, I have only started it up since this has happened. How big of a job is this to fix? Should it go to a dealership, is this something most automotive mechanics can handle?
I doubt there has been any crank damage since it hasn't been driven. Motor sounds good other than that. What do you guys think? I gather this has been an issue on the 04' models. (thanks for the tip)

 

[mopar-or-no-car]

Its you engine....I'm afraid you need a new one

 

[ICPREY]

You'll need to remove the dampner bolt and dampner to see what damage the crank has suffered....

 

[cstewart]

Hopefully none! It hadn't come off and hadn't been driven. I'll get it towed to a shop just in case. Ive been doing some research and it looks like this has happened to a bunch of folks, especially in the '04s. Hopefully no damage. We shall see.

 

[ICPREY]

If no damage is found I would go with an ATI dampner and a Roe pin kit or a least a pin kit at the minimum.

 

[ViperJeff]

Agreed!

 

[VPRPWRD]

If no damage is found I would go with an ATI dampner and a Roe pin kit or a least a pin kit at the minimum.

Agreed!

+1 on this. I had it happen to my first 04 and it has been a recurring problem but only on the 04s as far as we know. You did catch it early enough that there shouldn't be damage to the crank.

 

[cstewart]

+1 on this. I had it happen to my first 04 and it has been a recurring problem but only on the 04s as far as we know. You did catch it early enough that there shouldn't be damage to the crank.

I'm calling around today to figure out who is best to handle it. It ran quiet without the belt on it. When it did rattle, it was after gas and you could see the pulley wobbling and clacking. There was no internal noise.