Belt and Steering
05-07-2008, 02:16 PM
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Belt and Steering
New member here, I own a 91 F-150 4x4 302. For some time now my serpentine belt has been chirping. Replaced it and got a week of relief. Put on a new belt and same thing. Replaced alternator (needed new one), replaced tensioner pulley and cleaned everything completely and put on another Car quest belt. Same noise a week later. Now when I'm driving down the road and take a corner, the steering doesn't want to fully correct itself. Sometimes it pulls when I'm driving straight. Does this sound like the PS pump or are these two issues separate.(tie rods?) Fluid in pump is okay. Thanks for any suggestions. By the way, truck has 157,000 kms.
05-09-2008, 02:46 PM
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Sorry for late post the your thread. Lets separate the issues as I don't think the're related. Noise, make sure that all grooves in all pulleys are free from any hardened rubber debris. Spray with WD-40 and if noise stops temporarily there is contamination somewhere. Pulling (sometimes), I'll put my money on Ford. Pulling is either there or not there. Pulling either right or left all the time, look for improper castor (alignment), low tire, dragging brakes, even defective tire can cause pulling. Wind and the crown of a road can cause pulling on an occasion, these last two, I would classify them as sometimes. I have at times, to convince myself that there is something wrong with the vehicle not "outside influence" is to drive the same lane, going both directions. Is this legal, no, its troubleshooting. Process of elimination. Hope this helps.
05-10-2008, 10:10 AM
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Thanks for the info. Bill. I have determined that these issues are not related. Just coincidental. That seems to happen alot with vehicles when troubleshooting. I read some threads here and hunted down a Gatorback belt. Two days and no squealing, I'll keep my fingers crossed. Ironically, the Gatorback was the cheapest belt I've had on that truck. $27+tax. I'll let you know about the front end, but I definitely know that there is a problem, I've had this truck for 3 years and this is very uncharacteristic. I'm leaning towards a ball joint or tie rod.
05-20-2008, 03:51 PM
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Bill, just thought I'd let you know how my problems went. The Gatorback belt has not made one peep as of yet. If not for this site I would never have even heard of this belt or for that matter tried one. Seems to be doing the trick so far. The steering issue turned out to be a seized right front axle universal joint. I usually try to diagnose and fix my own problems but this job was left to someone who's qualified. I don't like to play with front ends.