[masterfly]

I'm a complete car noob and I have no idea what anything does or what it should be doing or how it can be improved, I've only just started to learn about my car, even though I've had it for 6 years.

When something starts to go bad, I take it in and get it fixed. My old mechanic gave really great prices, but his company got bought out and he quit when the new owners arrived, so I took my car somewhere else but these guys were ripping me off. Just like every other place.

It's time to do the maintenance on my own. So, my car recently started making this high pitched squealing sound when I press on the gas. Sometimes even when it idles, but mostly when I gas.

I don't know where it's coming from or how to explain it that well. It just has a sound that is timed out with the motor, or something spinning, and all I hear is this loud squeal down the road. Like a whistle being blown and then the air getting sucked back in again, then blown out, but really really fast.

Is anyone following me?

I'm not sure what else to say here, but if anyone has a guess, I'm really looking for ideas.

Thanks.

Ryan

[SV_Mustangs]

im not really sure what the problem could be. hmmm Mayb have someone else start it and give it gas while u try to located the area the whistle is coming from? wiether it be the engine, exhuast, transmission or axels?
Other than that i cannot help. But welcome to AFM, there are man y brilliant mustang minds here so im sure someone will come along and help you out.

[MineralIronHors]

Im thinking an idler pulley or something. We had the same problem on my dads 2001 cobra. The bearing in the pulley might be wore out, try some WD40 on the idler pulley but make sure not to get any on the belt, it may cause the belt to slip then. That's my guess

[masterfly]

Originally Posted by SV_Mustangs

But welcome to AFM, there are man y brilliant mustang minds here so im sure someone will come along and help you out.

Thanks man, I noticed the people here are up to snuff with their cars so I figured what have I got to lose by asking.

Im thinking an idler pulley or something. We had the same problem on my dads 2001 cobra. The bearing in the pulley might be wore out, try some WD40 on the idler pulley but make sure not to get any on the belt, it may cause the belt to slip then. That's my guess

Good idea, I'll try to find where it is after reading the Haynes manual and hopefully avoid the belt. I've been told a few times the belt is good so I know it's got nothing to do with that.

The sound is just getting louder each day, soon I'll be annoying the neighbors.

[MineralIronHors]

The best bet to check the idler pulleys is to remove the belt and spin the idler. If you hear any friction or slight squeal (it wont be loud because it isnt spinning fast enough or constant but you should be able to detect if that is in fact the idler). This will only take a few minutes to do this and with a Haynes manual, you will be just fine on putting the belt back on correctly.

[shinerstang]

Originally Posted by MineralIronHors

The best bet to check the idler pulleys is to remove the belt and spin the idler. If you hear any friction or slight squeal (it wont be loud because it isnt spinning fast enough or constant but you should be able to detect if that is in fact the idler). This will only take a few minutes to do this and with a Haynes manual, you will be just fine on putting the belt back on correctly.

+1 Do you find it happens more when you have the defroster or AC on? If so, check your AC pump. A shot of oil charge into the system may help. It is cheap and you can do it yourself for about 10bucks.....

[masterfly]

I thought I'd post an update here so I'm not leaving you guys hanging. Somebody suggested to me that the noise being caused was a metal bar connected to the timing belt, but not the belt itself. He said this metal part wasn't suppose to be loose. This made sense to me, it didn't look like it was supposed to be spin, judging by how hard it was to actually spin it.

I took the car in for an oil change and mentioned this growing-more-annoying-by-the-day noise. The mechanic pulls on the timing belt and immediately says, here's your problem, it's not tight anymore. He unscrews something, tightens the belt, and is done in two minutes tops.

That with the oil change, he topped off power steering fluid and washer fluid. The last time I had my oil change the shop told me something like 39 bucks, then it somehow came to 60 with some surprise charges and labor fees.

When I had this work being done on my car I was worried they would charge me up the ass for the oil and the belt. Total was 49 bucks and he didn't charge anything for the extra work.

Looks like I found a new mechanic.

As a side note, I dropped in a K&N air filter finally and that helped the car in more ways than I thought. Sounds a little cleaner, drives smoother, surprisingly faster, good changes overall.

No wonder everyone recommends a cold air filter off the start.

Thanks for the help and suggestions guys, my car is slowly getting improved