Chirping noise in engine area when cold

Hey guys, I need some help for my 2017 TRD Sport Auto 4WD with 92,000 miles. I am the original owner and I have had all the routine maintenance done at a dealer. I have a chirping issue I can’t figure out. I started noticing it a couple months ago, and it was more of a belt squeal that got worse when accelerating. I got a new belt and new idler pulley, and the chirping stopped. It came back a few weeks later, so they put another new belt and idler pulley under the parts warranty. They checked everything thoroughly and said they couldn’t find anything wrong with the belt or pulleys. The chirping stopped for a couple weeks, and came back very slight. I decided to ignore it and see if it got worse since I barely noticed it.

Now that temps are colder (40s in the morning), the chirping started again. It really only happens the first start of the day, and it can sit for hours and cool down but it still won’t chirp again. It doesn’t change at all when I accelerate, and it goes away as soon as the engine starts warming up. Once I drive down the road for a couple minutes, it goes away for the rest of the day. It’s more of a chirp than a squeal, and it almost sounds like little birds. It’s definitely coming from the belt/fan area.

 

I’d start by replacing the tensioner pulley ($30ish) before it explodes and fuses itself to the tensioner ($130ish). Good luck!

 

Welcome to the forum

Remove the belt and turn everything by hand to see if there is some roughness or play.

You can also run the engine briefly without the belt on for a listen, you will have a bunch of warnings on the dashboard but won't damage anything running for a minute with the engine cold.

 

Could also need a belt. Try wd40 on the pulleys I do it with it running possibly while it’s chirping use the nozzle spray the bolt not the belt. Do one at a time if it stops you found the issue could possibly resolve it.

 

What's the status on the belt squeal?

 

OP hasn’t logged in since 10/31/2023,,, same day of post, so I’m gonna guess they’re not returning.