whirring under the timing belt covers

"Dad. The truck is making a sound when it comes down to idle."

I did the timing belt, etc., several thousand miles ago. I think less than 10K ago. There is a whirring sound coming from under the timing belt covers. It increases and decreases with rpm increases and decreases. I'm guessing it's one of the pulleys. Seems to give a little rattle, too, as it settles down after giving it a little gas. The bolt backing out of the idler pulley, maybe? What's your guess?

I will post an answer soon...

Didn't you replace that at the time you did your timing belt?

It's all new. I'm thinking about how I can take a look while removing as little as possible...

It's louder underneath the vehicle than up top. Sounds like the tensioner pulley side from up top. Gonna have to break it down.

I took the passenger side tbelt cover off. Didn't uncover any laxity in the belt. Belt looked good. At this point, could be the bearings in any of the pulleys or accessories. I did not change the cam pulleys when I changed the tbelt. Wondering if it's one of them. Guess I'll have to wait for it to get louder.

Does the fan spin freely when the engine is off? I have light resistance to spinning the fan when the engine is shut down. I'm thinking it may even be the fan.

Any suggestions appreciated. I'm banking on a non-interference engine if something siezes, by the way!

SF, are you positive it's something with the T-belt? I'd run the truck for a minute with the vee belts off just to verify it's not an alt, a/c, p-steering thing first. If it's definately with the T-belt, it could be the water pump, idler pulley bearing or tensioner pulley bearing. AFAIK, the cam sprocket bearings are under the valve covers are lubed with the engine oil. I doubt it would be them.

Joel

I'm not positive it's under the covers. I'll try removing accessory belts tomorrow.
My cam pulleys do not look like the pictures in the Haynes manual. They are black and plastic. Are these OEM cam pulleys? Glad to know they are lubed with engine oil. Yeah...kinda silly to suspect them!
Thanks for the help.

Alternator. Died in the drive through at Wendy's. Towed home, swapped a rebuilt in. Noise gone. However, the battery is not holding a charge. Shoulda swapped that out before going for a ride. Hope the alt is good...

Your alt's not that old, is it?

.. the battery is not holding a charge. Shoulda swapped that out before going for a ride. Hope the alt is good...

I've had incidents where I went thru 2-3 remans before I got a an alt or starter that worked. I swear they just clean them up & throw them in a box and sell them as reman or rebuilt.

Joel

The alternator was the original. I put a new battery in and the battery light in the cluster is on. Looks like I'll be returning this alternator. I want to fix it ASAP, but I don't want to do it again.

Ramblin': Specifics on a new Bosch hot alt, please. As many times as I've seen people post about remanned alts, I should have known better...

Yep I'll get the part# for you when I get home, I'm at work right now.

Don't be surprised if you have a 3-5yr old battery that it doesn't go within a few days of the new alt. Weak alt's seem to finish off an older battery - least that seems how it always works for me.

Wow - that was your OEM one? That's great. My original only lasted 49k miles, just BARELY within the warranty period. I'm on my 3rd now, the Bosch one, still working good after 2yrs.

I got a new battery last night. I'd still like to get the Bosch info, but I've got an OEM alt coming in at 4 PM. I'm too impatient! Going out to take the reman out and back to Advance now.

Swapped in a new alternator. All better. Should have never doubted my timing belt abilities! It's funny how the original alternator didn't give the hallmark signs that it was failing, but the reman unit gave those signs: battery and brake light illuminated, no blower fan, dim headlights... It only made a whirring sound. That's my first alt changeout and it was very easy. Here's a quick DIY - 1) Remove skid plate - 2 14mm bolts.
2) Disconnect neg battery cable - 10mm
3) Loosen alt belt - loosen 12mm bolt and loosen belt with 10mm adjusting bolt
4) Remove upper mounting bolt - 14mm with 3" extension - alt now free
5) Disconnect electrical connections - 10mm nut and clip on harness
6) Remove the alt - there's enough room to take it topside by the hose. Watch the plastic fan blades.
7) Put it back together - make sure your battery is charged before starting.

And avoid reman units, eh?!