Still got the squeal

[~Ben~]

I posted a couple months back about a squealing noise I had when starting up my car... Someone suggested my belts were probably dirty (which made sense, considering the mud in my engine compartment), so I sprayed on belt conditioner every now and then and the problem seemed to not be quite as bad anymore. Recently though, the problem has actually gotten worse, to the point where every single time I start up the pathy, I hear the squeal. Sometimes its real short, sometimes its louder and actually lasts for a good 20 seconds after the car has started. Conditioner doesn't even temporarily fix the problem anymore, and 95 percent of the time I start my car I hear this noise.

 

 

After talking to a few people who know things about cars, I've figured that its probably a loose belt, and more than likely is my fan belt. I can't think of anything else it really could be, so I'm almost positive that this is what it is (although I guess it could be a different belt). So my question here is how exactly would I go about tightening a belt? Do I need to actually buy a new belt and install it or do I just need to tighten the one I have? I watched a friend install my new AC belt, so I kinda have an idea of what to do, but I'm not sure enough to go ahead and start messing with things.

 

 

So if someone can give me a detailed explanation of how to tighten my fan belt, that'd be real helpful. Pictures obviously help to; its a 95 so if you have a WD21 taking pictures of your belt to explain what you're talking about would definitely be good. And of course there's always the chance that I'm completely wrong about having a loose belt and that its actually something different; and if you know what that is, then please tell me and what I can do to fix it.

 

 

Thanks

[meangreenmachine]

First you will have to determine what belt is loose If yours has a/c there should be three. You can do this by actually grabbing the belt (with the engine off of course ) the belt should feel firm and tight. Inspect each belt for cracks, heat glazing or anyother damage. If the belt has been slipping for a long time it is probably shot anyways.

 

One belt is for the power steering in my opinion this is the worst one to tighten. You have to loosen the lock nut for the adjustor and the two bolts that it pivots on.

 

One belt is for the A/C. this one is the easiest. Loosen the lock nut right on the idler pulley then above it is an adjustor. Check this pulley it may be shot. I had the same problem on mine. I couldn't find a pulley but the bearing in the pulley is a common one found at any alternator shop. The number is something like a 6305d IIRC.

 

The last belt is for the alt and fan and is adjustable by the alt. Loosen the adjustor lock at the bottom and the pivot at the top.

 

Sorry no pics yet maybe someone else can help with that.

[fondo]

1)Loosen bolt on top of alty (below a/c compressor). 2) Remove skid plate. 3) Loosen bolt next to adjuster block on bottom of alty. 4) Tighten adjuster screw to desired belt tension (careful not to overtighten or you run the risk of taking out alty bearing(s) and/or water pump bushings/bearings) 5)Tighten bottom alty bolt and top alty bolt, start motor and rev to see if the squeal is gone. 6) Replace skid plate. Also you may want to see if the squeal is coming from the p/s pump or a/c compressor belts before going about this. Belt dressing is only a temporary fix when it comes to belts and over time it crystalizes and eats away at the rubber in the belt. Next time try the "Search" button when a problem as simple as this comes up. It will help keep the clutter on this forum to a minumum, which is beneficial for everyone. Hope this helps :type:

[94extreme]

it may or may not be that fan belt. my AC belt does it now and before it was the ALT one.. just look, loosen the tightening bolts first and then tighten the adjuster and then retighten the other bolts. i'd change the belt. it's cheap and you probably need a new one anway.

 

it doesn't get easier then this man.

[Pavelow Leaks]

My alternator belt has always been the squealer on my pathy...I changed it, its tight..but it still howls like my wife when I get in some mud or water and it gets wet. The easiest way to see if its your alternator belt is watch your volt meter while its screamin, if the meter jumps up after it stops...its the alty belt.

[~Ben~]

Yeah I was thinkin I might change the belts anyway; belts are cheap to get so I might as well. And like you said, it's probably shot anyway since its been squealing for so long.

 

I went out the other day to see which one felt loose, and I'm pretty sure it is the fan belt. The descriptions you gave help, I can probably do it based on those. But if anyone wants to get pictures, that'd be helpful too.

 

 

Thanks guys

[adamzan]

I'll be changing mine soon, and yeah its probably your alt/fan belt. I'll take some pics when I do it so you can see. Also be carefull with the adjuster bolt, the long one. I snapped the head off mine and just use a crowbar to move it now. Mine slips so bad that when it howls the battery light comes on inside the truck.

[Mookie]

Check your ac idler pulley bearing too. That will cause quite the squeal at startup.

[adamzan]

My ac idler pulley, when the belt is on makes a sh sh sh kind of noise. Could it be a bearing? Don't mean to hijack your post.