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4th Tension Pulley Replacement in 3 months, HELP!!!
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Catherinek102427
New User
Aug 14, 2007, 5:26 PM
Post #1 of 5
(2158 views)
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4th Tension Pulley Replacement in 3 months, HELP!!!
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I am having issues with my 02 Ford Focus Zx5, I have brought my car in serveral times for noises coming from the passenger side engine area and by the time I get to the repair shop the noise stops. It only happens at the beginning of the day when I first start my car and occassionally when I have let it sit up all day. It sounds like a loud grinding and once I put the car in gear it quites a little bit, but when I make right turns its loud again. It only does this for the first 15min but its enough to raise serious red flags. I have also taken my car in to have the tension pulley and assembly replaced 4 times in the past 3 months. Can you possibly tell me what could be causing this? I have had to pay for the pulley to be replaced 2ice and 2ice it was repaired under warrenty. The people at these auto centers seem like they are only qualified to do oil changes and I don't want to have to pay to get this looked at again. Can someone PLEASE HELP!!!! I really appreciate it!!!!
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Aug 16, 2007, 5:27 PM
Post #2 of 5
(2153 views)
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Re: 4th Tension Pulley Replacement in 3 months, HELP!!!
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Did replacing it work for a while? Why are you paying for the same part again? If it's really bad it's up to the shop to take care of that with where they get their parts. I'm confused as if it didn't fix it at all why did they even try the same thing again and again?
This part has little to do with steering if any at all. Seems like they are barking up the wrong tree and you have a valid concern with this and THEY should take notice!
T
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Catherinek102427
New User
Aug 16, 2007, 6:41 PM
Post #3 of 5
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Re: 4th Tension Pulley Replacement in 3 months, HELP!!!
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After reading my original post I see how it could be a little confussing, let me go into more detail. I originally brought my car into a Pepboys location in New Orleans, LA on June 15th complaining of vibrations. They quickly diagnoised the problem and said that my tension pulley needed to be replaced. Literally 1 minute after driving away from the shop it started to vibrate again, so I brought it right back in and they said they thought they had put on the wrong size belt, WRONG. They then realized after putting it back in the shop that the tension pulley they just put on broke (they called it defective). So they put another one back on and I went home. Not even a week later my car started to make a very faint vibration noise when I made REALLY HARD right turns. I didn't think anything of it, I figured it was just a CV Joint going out and you can normally ride on those for a while before you really have to bring it in. So on July 1st I moved all the way up to Greeley, CO and the whole drive up I was very careful because the noise was getting louder. The Day I got up here I took it to Sears to get it looked at. The mechanic told me that the bearings in my altinator were going out (I just replaced it myself in January). So as he was going to replace my altinator, when they took my belt off the tension pulley fell to the floor. So I immediately called Pepboy's to find a near by location and the closest one was an hour and a half away. My car can't run without a tension pulley, so I told sears to go ahead and replace it. The next day I started my car and it was still making that crappy noise.  So I brought it back to sears (the noise stopping by the time I got there) and told them to look at my CV joints and make sure it wasn't a problem with the suspension. They told me it wasn't my suspension and sent me home with no answers. So on Sunday Aug 12th I was starting my car for the first time that day to go to the store and on my way the belt broke. So I hauled it over to Sears again for them to look at it, and they noticed the pulley had broke again with the belt. So they kept my car overnight because they couldn't get the part until the next day. Soooo all damn day they had my car and all damn day they had different people looking at it and they couldn't figure it out. I finally got a call around 7ish saying it was going to be ready for pickup before closing at 9pm. So I walked, literally 7 miles to get my car. (I don't know a sole up here) and they told me they think they ordered the wrong size belt or something. SO I START WALKING HOME!!! Then about freaking half way back they call me and tell me sorry, yes my car is ready, the belt was just getting hung up on something during installation. WTF, ok, great, now I know that I am working with a bunch of level 1 mechanics. So when I pick up my car it sounds fine, no rattling no nothing. The very next morning I start my car and of course its still making the same noise. I've just had it!!! I don't want to have to pay someone else to look at this for me. Every morning it does this. I crank it, its vibrates, rattles, cackles, sounds like girgling. When I back out it runs smooth, I put it in drive and it starts lightly to grid then I make a right turn out of my apt complex and its really really loud gridding or rubbing, I hit a few small bumps and you can hear something rubbing. By the time I get to work it stops. I don't get it!! I need help, I'm lost as to what to do. I know the best option is to leave it with someone else overnite, but I am up here with no other vehicle, no friends for a ride and no money to pay for another repair. I had to get an advance to cover the last repair. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!
IM DESPERATE!!!
Sincerely,
Catherine
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Aug 16, 2007, 8:52 PM
Post #4 of 5
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Re: 4th Tension Pulley Replacement in 3 months, HELP!!!
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Bear with me. I'm trying to put all the symptoms together for what is causing this. First you must be dealing with some turkeys because this shouldn't be that hard to diagnose.
What I'm thinking is the power steering pump is causing the problem and the belt ends up whipping and the tensioner can't take it. You must be fit to be tied by now - I would be.
This belt as any must be on the pulleys properly. Just look at it when it idles and it should be smooth and in the right grooves. It's possible that the alternator which you said has been replaced doesn't have the right pulley on it. Count the grooves on another and they should be identical. It may be six or seven grooves but they all have to match. I don't know this exact car real well but Ford probably didn't make this car but did a joint venture with a Japanese company so I am not sure who designed what. Ford did make both six and seven goove pulleys on at least the Lincolns a little older than your car.
................................... Still thinking............... Yes it must be the pulleys don't match and the load of the power steering can be the largest load on the belt would drive it nuts. This if so should fail quickly - not even days. One I had to fix only made it less than 10 miles with an unmatched pulley and it destroyed the belt on that one. This was a livery service and they get their fleet fixed by the first person who can do it. Owner had the correct pulley and I was the sucker who answered the phone at night to go fix this.
Count those grooves and I bet that's it.
Good luck. Hope it's that simple,
T
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Catherinek102427
New User
Aug 17, 2007, 9:33 AM
Post #5 of 5
(2145 views)
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Re: 4th Tension Pulley Replacement in 3 months, HELP!!!
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Thank You SOooo Much for your quick reply. I am going to go check that right now and get back to you, because this, again, will be the first time I cranked my car today and its most noticable the first time.
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