Somethings not right

[marret]

I don’t know about that sound and the water pump, but taking one if there is a possibility makes sense. I could understand it making noise. No movement of the fan when manipulating by hand?

I assume the noise comes from the front of the vehicle? Sure it isn’t something inside the exhaust breaking loose like in a muffler or catalytic converter?

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by sbgrimm

Resurrecting this thread because I think I may have a similar problem and need some advice. Like pjpvi, I have a noise that sounds like nuts and bolts in a blender, but in addition there is a noise like something is stuck in the fan. And it's loud! But it's also intermittent, which is curious. Of course it wasn't making the noise when I took it in to my mechanic. He listened with a stethoscope and took the belt off and wiggled everything and found no problems.

So good news, I guess, but I'm leaving Sunday morning to drive 2 days to the middle of Idaho for a river trip. I'm concerned about being stopped cold along the road by a failed water pump. Since there is no time to replace it before I leave, I'm thinking of buying one to have on hand in case of failure. I couldn't replace it along the side of the road, but at least I'd have the parts ready once I'm towed to a mechanic.

Can failing water pumps make a (loud) noise intermittently? 2005 5.4L gas, btw.

No, not typically.

I wouldn't worry too much about trouble on the road or finding parts if it's a 5.4l. They are everywhere. My 5.4l van had this problem and it was exhaust shields. Especially if your mechanic has checked things out up front and not found anything and it is intermittent I would crawl underneath and shake all the exhaust shields and see if one is loose.

[boywonder]

I have a 2008 5.4L and wanted to buy a spare water pump....just in case.....


Looking at the rock auto website the 5.4L (at least for 2008) used one of two P/N's; one has a 30mm hub and the other has a 36mm hub.


Without removing the fan clutch I'm clueless which one my vehicle takes......I suppose I could call the dealer parts counter and give them my VIN.............


So if you're buying a spare to pack keep this in mind.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by sbgrimm

I have a noise that sounds like nuts and bolts in a blender, but in addition there is a noise like something is stuck in the fan. And it's loud! But it's also intermittent, which is curious.

When this happened to my van, it was the belt idler bearing. It must have disintegrated, but as long as it wasn't dancing around it was quiet. It was always noisy when it happened, and wouldn't do it in the driveway, and only triggered at certain RPMs (and of course would stop as soon as the hood was lifted EVERY SINGLE TIME). Only figured it out when it finally dumped the belt on the freeway.

Fortunately the Triton motors can driven gently in "fail-safe" mode without causing damage.

I do have a Napa serpentine belt kit now. It included the idler, tensioner with pulley, and belt and is half the price of buying the kit as pieces.

[BrianW]

+1 on carringb’s comment. Same thing happened on my 98 5.4 engine. Drove me crazy. Eventually I did the full NAPA pulley kit swap.

[arctictraveller]

https://www.amazon.com/PLAYOCCAR-Ele...-3-spons&psc=1

[sbgrimm]

Thanks for the replies. I've checked the exhaust shields and my mechanic used a stethoscope to listen to everything the drive belt spins and found nothing (but he didn't have the fancy electronic one that arctictraveller suggested).

I'm leaving for Idaho in the morning, carrying a water pump and fan clutch along with my Good Sam member card for a tow if it comes to that. Fingers crossed and thanks again for your thoughts.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by carringb

When this happened to my van, it was the belt idler bearing. It must have disintegrated, but as long as it wasn't dancing around it was quiet. It was always noisy when it happened, and wouldn't do it in the driveway, and only triggered at certain RPMs (and of course would stop as soon as the hood was lifted EVERY SINGLE TIME). Only figured it out when it finally dumped the belt on the freeway. .

I forgot about the idlers. I've had that problem on Tritons and lots of other motors. I jumped on the exhaust shield idea because it sounds a whole lot more like "nuts and bolts in a blender" than idler noises but of course exhaust shield noise comes from underneath and not the front of the motor.

[arctictraveller]

Ramsey at Agile first exposed me to the electronic stethoscope kit years ago. I had a clunk / noise that I couldn’t find. His setup used magnetic microphones he placed in various places and it quickly pointed out the source. Currently I have a whining noise I suspect is the power steering pump, so I’m carrying a spare, but if I had one of these kits, I’d know for sure, but so far I haven’t added one to my tool collection.

[sbgrimm]

Update: I haven't heard the noise again despite driving over 2000 miles from Colorado to Idaho and back for a river trip. But, just as I got 50 miles from the put in in White Bird, ID my dash light came on indicating a charging problem. The ScanGauge showed 11.8 volts even when revving the engine. Put in a new alternator and it's charging fine now. I wonder if the nuts and bolts in a blender noise could have been the beginning of the alternator failing?