97 Grand Caravan common engine noise

I hear this noise on many Caravans - friends and while stopped at red lights - when idling it makes a noise sort of like a squeak - sort of like a whistle - like metal against metal - two knives rubbing against each other I heard it described as once. Give it a little gas and the noise goes away. Otherwise engine runs fine. 3.8L.

Been searching the net for similar threads...some say tensioner some say water pump...my water pump was replaced a year ago...noise has been there for several years and I want to get rid of it! When thread I saw said to be careful spraying libricants near the serpentine belt.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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gregb
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Another comment - I once had a tensioner go bad - bearings went out and the tensioner came off - just laid inside the engine comparment - while on the interstate! First symptom was lost power steering! Don't want to get stranded like that again.

Reply to
gregb

I can't speak to the 97 with 3.8, but I had 2 things causing squealing noise on my 92 with the 3.0. Used to squeak and squeal most all the time, but especially when it was humid...I just lived with it...high mileage vehicle, what are you gonna do? :-)

At around 162k, the head gasket went out...while fixing that up, one of the things they replaced was the timing belt tensioner...got quieter!

Later, I was doing what little mechanic work I could attempt to do and replace the O2 sensor. While under there, I noticed that the serpentine belt had slipped a notch. Took it in to my mechanic, and they replaced the belt and tensioner...wow, even quieter!

Now at 185k, it's still quieter than ever (if you ignore that tapping valve or whatever it is) :-)

Wesley

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Wesley

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ramtec1

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