1994 Ford Tempo engine noises?

TEJOIS

MEMBER
1994 FORD TEMPO
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
65,000 MILES

Hello I just bought a 94 tempo, for a second car, I can hear a squeeking noise, sounds like a belt noise, bought belt dressing, did not work to quite the sometimes engine noise, could that it's the cam bearings cause it starts chattering at higher rpms and then starts to squeek a little bit then comes and goes, already changed the oil too, how many gears does the auto trans have on a 2.3 w/o overdrive?

1 Reply

FIXITMR

MECHANIC
9,990 POSTS

The trans has 3 gears. You start out in 1 and it shifts twice. There is no overdrive or lockup. The shift points are controlled by an adjustable arm dropping down from the butterfly assembly on windsheild side of throttlebody. As far as squealing it is usually caused by alternator belt. But there are 2 other belts as well and 2 idler pulleys that can squeal also. The small waterpump belt tensioner pulley way under passenger rear of motor is known to fail and get noisy. It can lock up and make belt squeal. Your main serpentine belt can get worn and the grooves slip and cause a squeal. If you replace any belts, dont buy the cheap 1. They dont last! Hopefully the previous owners did not use non detergent oil and plug the engine with gunk and hard carbon. This causes oil starvation especially at high rpms. I use an additive like lucas oil stabilizer to keep worn engine quieter and it slows down leaks too.