3.3 v6 loud squeling

[bandit22re]

i changed my thermostat a while back and a couple days after that there is a loud whining squeling noise coming from one of the pulleys i think. i tightened and loosened the front two belts just playing around to see if it would go away. testing to see if it would do anything but it wont go away. weird thing is that it only does it at idle when the engine is warmed up. when its cold and i start it, it's fine. until it gets warmed up a bit. after its warmed up and its idleing and whining i give it just a little bit of gas and it goes away. anyone know what it could be? and last week i was driving on the lake and there was like 3 inches of water on top of the ice. i drove like 5 miles through the water at like 15-20 mph and after a bout 4 miles the check engine light came on. nothing looked wrong. i figured it would dry up and the light would turn off. but its been on since then. ill have auto zone check it out pretty soon but any one have any idea's? its a 96 pathfinder se

[morpheus]

i changed my thermostat a while back and a couple days after that there is a loud whining squeling noise coming from one of the pulleys i think. i tightened and loosened the front two belts just playing around to see if it would go away. testing to see if it would do anything but it wont go away. weird thing is that it only does it at idle when the engine is warmed up. when its cold and i start it, it's fine. until it gets warmed up a bit. after its warmed up and its idleing and whining i give it just a little bit of gas and it goes away. anyone know what it could be? and last week i was driving on the lake and there was like 3 inches of water on top of the ice. i drove like 5 miles through the water at like 15-20 mph and after a bout 4 miles the check engine light came on. nothing looked wrong. i figured it would dry up and the light would turn off. but its been on since then. ill have auto zone check it out pretty soon but any one have any idea's? its a 96 pathfinder se

 

Squeel is definatly your belts, maybe they're loose, maybe they got saturated with antifreeze, maybe they're just old, dry and weathered.

 

Check engine light could be anything, pull the codes and go from there.

[88pathoffroad]

Could also be the harmonic balancer making noise. Sometimes they can separate from the isolator and cause all kinds of problems.

[HitTheTrails]

Could also be the harmonic balancer making noise. Sometimes they can separate from the isolator and cause all kinds of problems.

 

that's what happened to mine. i was hearing squeeling sounds so i went and bought all 3 new belts to change them (tightening didn't fix problem). i changed the belts but during reassembly i noticed that the crank pulley( also refered to as harmonic balancer) didn't line up quite right. i ignored it and started up my engine. WOW! loud banging and squeeling sounds. shut off engine right away. looked at the pulleys and belts and realized that the crank pulley had separated from the inner hub (the outer part and inner part are connected by rubber, thats what makes the pulley a 'harmonic balancer') and was moving towards the radiator. so i had to order up a new crank pulley, and it was pricey!!!! i think the dealer wanted $350 and i ordered it online for like $180 but when it arrived the bore of the pulley was slightly smaller than my existing pulley and i had to enlarge it to make it fit onto the shaft. what a PITA!!!

so bottom line, don't just assume its bad belts, it might be the harmonic balancer, or it could also be a bad idle pulley....

Edited March 17, 2009 by HitTheTrails