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squeaky belt

ruggedjeep

ruggedjeep

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Sherman Oaks
Hey guys 2 weeks ago i changed my water pump, along with the pulley and im idler pulley, but i kept the same belt, its pretty knew has less then 10k miles on it. Everytime i start the car there is a loud screaching noise obviously coming from the belt/pulleys... i cant figure it out, i tightend the belt a little nothin, added some belt dressing, nothin...
what u guys think....
 
Tighten it more. I think you'd be surprised how much a serpentine belt needs to be tightened, especially a somewhat worn one.

--ron
 
from what i read in the haynes manual it sais tighten till in inly goes in a 1/4 inch when u push on it between the 2 center pulleys... i also posted this in OEM tech and 2 guys said to loosen it up a bit... damn now im confused.. should justget a new belt ?
 
A new belt would not hurt, but you'll still tighten it more than you would think. I just did a new belt, and 1/4" deflection is relative to the amount of force used to deflect it that amount...

--ron

PS: carry your old belt as a spare.
 
Sounds loose to me too, although your idler pully might be making noise too, good rule of thumb is to replace it every other belt change or so.

As for the tightness, I go by the turn method. I tighten the belt up until I can turn it no more than 90° with my hand at the middle of the longest stretch (from the PS pump to the water pump).
 
Did you check that everthing turned freely, everthing you replaced?
How tight is the belt?

--ron
 
Tighten till it stops squealing, then see if you can twist it like GSequoia mentioned...

--ron
 
not sure where that is, but regardless traffic is crazy in this area at that time, im sure its worse there... ill keep messin with it tonight hopefully ill get fixed... if that doesnt work we'll go from there and see if we could meet up. Thanks by the way i appreciate the help
 
No problem man.

Fifth and Flower is just on the other side of the harbor freeway, down in the central business district where all the big buildings are. (In fact mine is that biggest of 'em :))
 
If you get a drop of coolant on a serpentene belt they squeal/squeak like crazy, all things being correct. Changing a water pump usually does the dirty deed, on the belt, or on the pulleys.
Check that the crank pulley isn't slipping on it's rubber bonded hub and rubbing on the timing cover. Check that all the grooved pulleys are in alignment, I've seen the power steering pulley creep 1/4" off it's shaft making the belt squeal/squeak.
Belt dressing dosen't work on serpentene belts, the tackyness makes the squeal/squeak worse. Clean that crap off your pulleys with brake cleaner and a wire brush if need be, all of them, all the way around.
Put on a new belt. A Goodyear Gatorback belt has segmented v's that break-up the harmonics of an overly tacky or wet belt.
Tensioned to a 1/4 turn with two fingers in the middle of the longest run like Sequoia said.
 
RobertF said:
If you get a drop of coolant on a serpentene belt they squeal/squeak like crazy, all things being correct. Changing a water pump usually does the dirty deed, on the belt, or on the pulleys.
Check that the crank pulley isn't slipping on it's rubber bonded hub and rubbing on the timing cover. Check that all the grooved pulleys are in alignment, I've seen the power steering pulley creep 1/4" off it's shaft making the belt squeal/squeak.
Belt dressing dosen't work on serpentene belts, the tackyness makes the squeal/squeak worse. Clean that crap off your pulleys with brake cleaner and a wire brush if need be, all of them, all the way around.
Put on a new belt. A Goodyear Gatorback belt has segmented v's that break-up the harmonics of an overly tacky or wet belt.
Tensioned to a 1/4 turn with two fingers in the middle of the longest run like Sequoia said.
Click to expand...
Hey Robert,
Thanks for the info, i will give it another shot tonight.. i played with it last night and its still the same.. i wasnt aware that the belt dressin would make it worse, ive used quite a bit i will definetly clean it up tonight and do as you said. Hope it works.
 
Go to Napa and have them lookup a tensionmeter for you called Krikit II. The gismo runs about $12 ~ $15 and it is real handy: takes the guesswork out of how tight is tight.
 
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