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Im losing my mind. belt sqeak

blu3fan

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Arizona
yesterday I changed the serpentine belt.
from the stock original belt.
to a new one.
Now it sqeaks. not at idle. anything gas and its squealing.
tried tightening.
tried loosening.
tried putting belt grease on it.
nothing works.

I read online I might have put it on backwards.
but theres a grooved side and a flat side. cannot see there being a right and wrong direction... unless im wrong..

ideas ? or just buy another belt ?

92 xj 4.0
 
Last edited:
I've seen in the past that glazed pulleys can cause a belt to make noise where it shouldn't. Also make sure you don't have a bad bearing anywhere causing problems, spinning each pulley by hand with the belt off will let you know if there's any excess drag anywhere.

I'd double check and make sure that everything is installed properly. I've accidentally forgotten to re-install the spacer for the idler pulley before, and nothing I did helped until I found that spacer in my tool box...
 
I know for a fact that I am missing the black L bracket for either the alternator
I do not believe it effects space front/back. I think its side to side.
here is the pic of which it is.
But it never squealed with the old belt.
wanted to mention

No drag on any components.
Squeal comes from ac side.
its the belt. plain and simple.
trying to figure out if due to mis-alignment. or just bad belt now.
1fc245d8-f849-4cde-876a-5c421b1e525f.JPG
 
Low quality belt? Gates is usually my got-o for quality belts. Belt grease always seems to make it worse. Break out the long ruler and make sure everything is well lined up.
 
Double check belt routing.

Upon further thought, That bracket may affect pulley alignment.
 
Not likely, but you could check if the crank is walking forwards/backwards.

I had a similar problem I chased for a week and it ended up being crank walk.

How tight is the belt? How much can you move it up and down?
 
Crank is not walking.
This issue started only by changing the belt.
Old belt was just the original belt.
belt deflection is 1/2 inch up and down.
been working on cars a long time.
Its not too loose.


Four shot. You could be right. the old belt could have been so old that it warped around the misalignment without sqeaking.
Ill dig up that bracket this weekend and re-attach it. until then I can just squeal around town lol

and yes. it is the roadmax belt.
 
Last edited:
yesterday I changed the serpentine belt.
from the stock original belt.
to a new one.
Now it sqeaks. not at idle. anything gas and its squealing.
tried tightening.
tried loosening.
tried putting belt grease on it.
nothing works.

I read online I might have put it on backwards.
but theres a grooved side and a flat side. cannot see there being a right and wrong direction... unless im wrong..

ideas ? or just buy another belt ?

92 xj 4.0



Mine did it, it was the crank pully rubbing on the timing chain cover!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
So.
I double checked.
And used my brains before I did any work.
the L bracket.
does nothing
0604121340.jpg


as you can see it only supports the alternator.


Thinking about getting a new belt and seeing what happens.
 
Onto something.
Went and looked.
belt shows wear signs on it. on the flat side.
something is rubbing somewhere.
Now the hunt is on. gotta wait til daylight.
could be timing cover as said above.
 
Hats off to whoever said use. Straight edge. Power steering pump pulley is not fully seated on the unit.

You probably know this already, but just in case. Thread a long bolt into the pulley, then use a nut on the bolt to push against the pulley. That minimizes the risk of pulling the threads out of the pulley shaft. Getting the pulley really warm helps - last one I installed spent some time in the oven at 200*F first.
 
You probably know this already, but just in case. Thread a long bolt into the pulley, then use a nut on the bolt to push against the pulley. That minimizes the risk of pulling the threads out of the pulley shaft. Getting the pulley really warm helps - last one I installed spent some time in the oven at 200*F first.

the correct tool is the only option for me. the pulley installer tool.

https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-too...uller-installer-kit/2075_0?_requestid=6201315
 
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