Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Noise under the hood

[barryg41]

Early last April I was on my way to Talladega, stopped just over the Mississippi line at the rest area on I-55. I heard a slight chirping sound. But it was so slight. Made another stop at Knoxville, AL. and the chirping was gone.



Just a tip to the wise, when I stopped for fuel and the bathroom. I did not shut the engine down because the turbo temps was still high. Well after ten minutes of idling it was just getting down to 300 F. I never shut it down, never got cool enough to shut down.



Anyway, yesterday I stopped at the Mobil to get fuel for the truck and fuel for the human. I heard the chirping again. I can't tell what it is but it is coming from the passenger side under the hood. I don't think it is the A/C but it sounds like it is coming from the alternator. It could be the belt but it is an OEM replacement. The shutdown chirp is a little more than normal. That is why I think it is the Idle pulley. Could it be the tensioner idle pulley?



Any body got any ideas? Anybody had this happen to them?

 

[Motorhead]

To ck for a noisy belt, CAREFULLY spray some water or windex on the running surfaces of the belt and see if it goes away. If so, it is just a dry belt. You can put a little parifin wax on the rib side and it will quiet it down for good or atleast a long while.

 

[lkuykendall]

I believe I have the chirp you are talking about. At first I thought it was an idler pulley but now I'm not sure. Like yours, mine started while I was on a trip and then stopped. I noticed the chirp again this past weekend. I plan on tracing it down this weekend.



Len

 

[Billy Diesel]

Taken off Dave Fritz's site, www.dodgeram.org



>

Q: What causes the chirp sound from under the hood when I shut down the engine?



The best explanation is that the engine suddenly lurches to a stop due to the high compression, and the accessories such as alternator, water pump, fan, etc keep turning and produce the belt chirp. This is normal and will not cause any trouble.

There was a report in TDR #20 that a Goodyear Gatrorback belt #4080810 stopped the chirp in a 97 model.

>

 

[lkuykendall]

The noise I am hearing is not the shutdown noise. It makes the noise when idling or running at low rpm (at least I can't hear it at higher rpm). It is a constant noise when it is making it.



Len

 

[barryg41]

I just took my belt off to check the idler pulley. It doesn't have any slop in it. I did make the chirping noise for about 3 minutes when I started up the truck. Then it just quit. I tried to listen to the alternator and couldn't hear anything coming from it.



Maybe Motorhead has the right idea. Just a dry belt. A little belt dressing or soap might help.



Like Len's truck it does it while running. It comes and goes. This belt still looks better than the one I took off about 8 months ago. I can still read the part number on the belt.