Long one coming. I have a 2005 Toyota Tacoma, 175K miles, 5 speed AT. About 1-2K miles ago, I did a big overhaul to the serpentine items. New water pump, new tensioner, new idler pulleys, new harmonic balancer, new belt. Only original items left are alternator, PS pump, and AC compressor.
Everything working fine for 3 months or so. One day went to start it up it up and got a loud chirping sound coming from engine bay. Chirping quickly went away within 10-15 seconds. Chirping sound consistent every time car is started. Chirping sound will stop within a minute sometime and other times will continue for as long as I drive.
I removed the serpentine belt and started engine, no chirping which confirmed it was serpentine related. From their I checked the bearings on everything. The new tensioner and old PS pump seemed to have excessive play. Got a new tensioner under warranty and new PS pump. Chirping continued after new parts installed. From there, I checked belt alignment and alignment was well within tolerance.
I can't seem to isolate the sounds location but it definitely doesn't sound like it's coming from the ac compressor or alternator.
At this point I have checked everything that I know to check and thrown more money at it than I wanted to. Since its serpentine related, I don't think it's a super serious issue (could be wrong?). At this point it's just super annoying so I just crank the radio up. But that's not a permanent solution. Anybody have any ideas on what it could be or other things I can check?? I am at a loss.
Does turning the A/C on, or turning the steering wheel all the way over provoke the chirping?
Hey gents,
Yes, the new pump works great. No whine or noise from new PS pump at all.
Chirping present with AC on and off with no difference to speed/volume one way or another. Same with turning the wheel one side or the other. Speed/volume dependent on engine speed. So pretty loud fast when I first start the car but as soon as I put it into gear and the revs drop, the chirping speed drops and gets a bit quieter
Have you tried using a different belt/belts?
So the new belt I put on was a gates brand, which I have always been told is one of the better brands. I kept the original belt as a backup belt. I did end up throwing the old one on (not sure brand) to see if it made a difference. Chirping sound still present with no noticeable difference.
The really odd thing about this whole process is that all the times I have changed out parts on the belt drive (ie new tensioner, p.s. pump, swap belts) the chirping will go away completely for a few days and then randomly start again.
Watch Scotty’s video for further guidance on pinpointing the source - https://youtu.be/UqkoagAP3S0