# Project Shut Up Truck



## Fred S (Aug 26, 2006)

I got started today on a major amount of work on the old 95 3.0.
The truck's motor has gotten embarassingly loud, emitting a cacaphony of squeaks, whines and rumbles. I started tracing them today.

Already known was the noisy clutch bearing. In addition to that there are a whole bunch of sounds coming from the area of the belts. To locate them, I started taking things off and listening to the sound between each step.

First I removed the fan, shroud and clutch. This removed the "Whooooommmmm" sound.

Next the power steering pump got debelted. Some squeaks went away with this one.

Next came the AC compressor belt. Even less squeaks.

Finally the water pump belt came off leaving a bare engine. And suddenly the truck was very quiet indeed. I could hear the motor purring without all that background to drown it out. Sounds pretty good! And I could now tell just how much added noise I'd been dealing with.

Don't worry, I ran the truck without the water pump for 30 seconds at most, and on a cold engine. I ain't stupid.

I'm going to fit new belts this afternoon, but I already know that I need parts.
The idler for the AC has a bad bearing. The AC clutch has a bad bearing.
The alternator isn't 100% smooth, but I think that's due to the brushes dragging.
Lastly, the water pump is toast. Even turning it by hand causes it to emit a moaning sound.

So stage 1 of Shut Up Truck will be a new idler, or rebuild the existing. Water pump, timing belt, tensioner if necessary and AC clutch. I'm hoping to have this truck purring like new before summer.

I'm going to try to simple replace bad bearings wherever possible, since that costs a whole lot less. I'll let you all know how things go.

Fred


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## rrhyne56 (Dec 13, 2006)

Good luck with your project!

How does that 3 liter run? I have a 4 cylinder 94 that gets along OK; its no hot import nights demon by any stretch


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## dvdswanson (Nov 6, 2005)

since your w/p is toast as you say, replace the timing belt as well if you haven't done it for a while, a piece of mind is cheaper than not knowing. replacing the bearings is a good way to go as long as you know the rest of the component is in good shape.

how many miles are on the truck? your fan clutch may need to be rebuilt if is constantly causing the "Whoooommmmm" sound as you say, try to turn the clutch assembly, you should have slight resistance, if it spins freely you need to add silicon to it, if it doesnt turn then you need a new one. the fan clutch will lock up when the ambient temperature in the engine compartment reaches a certain temp, very noticeable and feels like the tranny is slipping for an auto. at cold start it will be hard to turn as well so let the vehicle warm up 5 min or so to get a good test.


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## 88pathoffroad (Jun 6, 2004)

How do you rebuild a fan clutch besides simply replacing it?


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## dvdswanson (Nov 6, 2005)

88pathoffroad said:


> How do you rebuild a fan clutch besides simply replacing it?



you buy a kit, all it is is a tube of silicon.


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## 88pathoffroad (Jun 6, 2004)

How the heck does that make a fan clutch work again?


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## rrhyne56 (Dec 13, 2006)

Just as an aside, an interesting possibility - of putting in an electric fan and doing away with the need to pull power off of the crank for the fan, minor as that may be.


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## Fred S (Aug 26, 2006)

It looks like my fan clutch may have a problem. I was playing around with the new ones at work and found that at room temperature, they'd all start off stiff but after a few revolutions they'd totally loosen up and freewheel to the point of having almost no reistance.
The one on my truck does not do that, it stays stiff no matter what.

So I may be replacing the fan clutch as well.


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## dvdswanson (Nov 6, 2005)

88pathoffroad said:


> How the heck does that make a fan clutch work again?


you replace the silicon inside the clutch, as the temp rises the silicon gels and hardens locking the clutch up. if the clutch is locked up before you start dont even bother trying to rebuild it just replace it.


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## dvdswanson (Nov 6, 2005)

Fred S said:


> It looks like my fan clutch may have a problem. I was playing around with the new ones at work and found that at room temperature, they'd all start off stiff but after a few revolutions they'd totally loosen up and freewheel to the point of having almost no reistance.
> .


thats exactly what they are supposed to do.


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## Fred S (Aug 26, 2006)

The saga continues...

Replaced the fan clutch tonight. Major difference in sound from before. It sounds like there's no fan at all. I guess I can forget about the electric fan conversion once and for all. I now see why people can say that a properly working fan clutch will waste almost no horsepower.

This weekend I'll attack the water pump and other bits on the front of the engine. Got the parts ready to go.


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## rrhyne56 (Dec 13, 2006)

that has to feel good, to get that out of the way and moving on.

What are your plans for the truck? Daily driver, project car?


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## Fred S (Aug 26, 2006)

rrhyne56 said:


> What are your plans for the truck? Daily driver, project car?


I have a very country view of trucks. They're work machines and do better without silly things like chrome and good paint that just get messed up.

Average uses for this truck include hauling garbage, hauling fertilizer, and hauling motorcycles. Plus occasionally hauling ass. It ain't the prettiest on the road, but it's mine and I want to make it last.

Fred


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## KerryLib (Aug 2, 2005)

Fred, I agree w/ your assessment of trucks. If you aint willing to dump a load of S**T in the back end, then it is a car. You buy a truck with the intention of putting it to work, either as it's primary function, or at least for weekend projects.


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## Fred S (Aug 26, 2006)

I'm done, with part 1 at least. It took me two days of working when I felt like it and taking breaks when I felt like it. It's cold and rainy outside, so there were a lot of breaks. The only surprise was that the right hand cam seal was weeping. Both right and left seals got replaced. The old timing belt looked fine but had a bit of slack in it. The belt tensioner was shot, the bearings felt and sounded rough.

The cooling system was amazingly clean. I didn't see a speck of rust and barely any scale.

There's a coolant hose that you'll probably never see if you own a 3.0 engine. It sits behind the timing belt between the valve covers. It's a short hose with a 90 degree bend in it. Because it's very hard to get to, I went ahead and replaced it. AutoZone part number S-038 is a good fit once you cut it to the right length. This isn't a part that you can look up at the store, so make a note of it.

Both lower radiator hoses also got replaced, again just because they were twelve years old and hard to get to.

New water pump and thermostat, all new belts, and cleaned everything that came off before reinstalling it.

Interestingly, the AutoZone pump came with a gasket. The original pump had no gasket. Both pumps had the same height, so I omitted the gasket on the replacement. Had I used it, the pump's pulley would have been out of alignment by the thickness of that gasket. The old pump was sealed with Permatex. The new pump recommended the gasket AND Permatex. In other words, the gasket is useless on its own and is just included for people who are afraid to install without one. None of the parts I took off of the cooling system used a gasket.

So it's back together and running well. The engine sounds wonderful now. There's one new noise, a sort of high pitched zinging sound that varies with engine RPM. I think it's just the AC'd idler pulley that I have yet to repair. I can get to that later.

Next up, the clutch throwout bearing.

Oh yeah, and I took some pictures while I had things taken apart. If there's a way to host them on this forum, I can put them up. I think they'll be useful for somebody who hasn't done this before.


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## NicHB (Mar 5, 2008)

How hard is it ot replace the A/C clutch?


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## smikster (Aug 12, 2008)

I would like to hear more of what you've done to this truck


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