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Belt squeak/chirp on 03

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    Belt squeak/chirp on 03

    My '03 LX Sport has developed a consistent belt chirp recently. I removed the belt today and spun all the pulleys I could by hand. The only one that doesn't spin forever is the idler but it seems ok and doesn't feel rough. The belt itself does show some small cracks in it but nothing odd.

    What I did notice is that the alternator makes brief squeak when I spin it and it has some bearing noise that I don't like. I noticed a few days ago when I started it up at night to move it that the IP, radio and HVAC backlights were pulsing at idle. My battery is good so that's not the issue.

    Thinking the factory alt is starting to go after 232K miles. Other than an OEM Motorcraft alt is there anything better out there? Car is bone stock in the electrical dept. so I don't have worry about supporting a huge sound system or anything out of the ordinary.
    These are highly engineered precision vehicles, the first step in diagnosing the problem is to strike the suspected offending part sharply and repeatedly with a blunt object, then re-test.

    #2
    Up here, there is a place that rebuilds alternators in a reputable way (instead of the presumably more common cheap way). I gave them the dead alt, and they put in quality parts and gave it a nice paint job at some point to boot (instead of swapping mine for some piece of crap, or doing a crap job on mine). I learned about them in the old-fashioned "word of mouth" way, and their conduct and results confirmed their seriousness. Maybe you could ask around for a place like that in your area (e.g. at auto shops that would farm out such work).
    Last edited by IPreferDIY; 06-16-2020, 02:10 AM.

    2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
    mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

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      #3
      I had that happen on my old 98 p71 except when it happened all the interior lights wouldn’t work. I put a meter across the battery terminals and sure enough it read about 16 volts! I replaced the alternator and all was good.

      To piggyback off what was already said, a local reputable shop would be the way to go. Rebuilt and remanufactured alternators for mod motors are hit or miss for whatever reason.


      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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        #4
        Never thought of that, thank you. I'll talk with my local family shop of 37yrs. and see if there are any good rebuilders that they recommend. Ideally I'd like this one redone properly vs. fighting with a reman that could likely be junk.
        These are highly engineered precision vehicles, the first step in diagnosing the problem is to strike the suspected offending part sharply and repeatedly with a blunt object, then re-test.

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