RedRider3141 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I'm having an issue with my Pathfinders accessory belts, I replaced them with some Gates belts about 9-10 months ago and they started to squeal real bad at start-up this fall. I've gone back in and tightened them again and it improved but seemed to get worse again. Anybody have any tips on how to make sure the belts are tight enough without making them to tight? The manual says 3-5mm of deflection under 22lbs; how have you guys been measuring this? I'm tired and I'm sure my neighbors are tired of hearing my belt at 6 in the morning. Gripe: NISSAN WHY DIDN'T YOU PUT ON AUTO TENSIONERS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) Just curious, how long do they squeal? Is it just a short burst during start-up, or is it a long drawn out thing that wakes up your whole neighborhood? Besides the belts being loose, moisture can do this. It's unlikely that your belts would be damp on every start up, but could be a contributing factor somehow. It's a long shot, but maybe there is coolant getting on your belts. Other than tension and water, doesn't this happen if your belt is glazed? If became glazed somehow, wouldn't it slip and squeal a bit? If you are strictly asking how to not over-tighten your belts, then I would suggest taking them off and starting over. Carefully install each belt and tension it according to specs. Start with the belt for your water pump and start the engine after each installed belt to check for squealing. I have heard Gates to be a good brand, but maybe the belt is stretching a little bit or it was improperly manufactured. To measure the inflection of the belt, you put tension on the belt, then apply 22lbs. of force on the belt in the location that the manual instructs (usually between the furthest two pulleys) and measure how much the belt moves. A lot of the procedures in the FSM aren't easy, but that's how you do it. Edited January 24, 2012 by 1994SEV6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Poly V stuff usually doesn't glaze, but it might be worth it to take the pulleys off and sand them down or take a wire wheel to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider3141 Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Just curious, how long do they squeal? Is it just a short burst during start-up, or is it a long drawn out thing that wakes up your whole neighborhood? Besides the belts being loose, moisture can do this. It's unlikely that your belts would be damp on every start up, but could be a contributing factor somehow. It's a long shot, but maybe there is coolant getting on your belts. Other than tension and water, doesn't this happen if your belt is glazed? If became glazed somehow, wouldn't it slip and squeal a bit? If you are strictly asking how to not over-tighten your belts, then I would suggest taking them off and starting over. Carefully install each belt and tension it according to specs. Start with the belt for your water pump and start the engine after each installed belt to check for squealing. I have heard Gates to be a good brand, but maybe the belt is stretching a little bit or it was improperly manufactured. To measure the inflection of the belt, you put tension on the belt, then apply 22lbs. of force on the belt in the location that the manual instructs (usually between the furthest two pulleys) and measure how much the belt moves. A lot of the procedures in the FSM aren't easy, but that's how you do it. The squeal will go on for 2-3 minutes if I let it... I live in the Pacific NorthWET and mornings here are often soggy, even when it isn't raining. I have noticed it to be significantly worse on wet mornings then cool dry ones. I did check for coolant and my radiator is holding a constant level over the last few months so there is no reason to suspect it is leaking. However there is an A/C line that passes from the Passenger Firewall around the front of the engine over the belt and then down to the A/C compressor that has a film of dirt and a little oil. Its not dripping or anything but it definitely looks like that line is leaking and slowly oozing down hill. I had the A/C recharged this summer because it was 100% dead when I got the car a year ago. It was strong all summer but I haven't really been able to test it since it's been a pretty steady 40F here since fall. But that's a whole different issue.... I just rechecked the tension after I made my first post and the belt has definitely lost some tension since I last re-tensioned it. This would match with the fact that the last time I re-tensioned it the problem improved/almost went away but eventually came back. I gave it a couple of turns and felt the tension again and it felt better but with out a gauge to measure 22lbs I'm really guessing. I'll watch it this week and see if it improved. Also I haven't touched the A/C belt since I installed it, from what I can tell it doesn't seem to squeal like the main belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Mine developed all kinds of squeals shortly after getting new belts. We tried various things, and it doesn't squeal at startup anymore, though it's got this whine when I rev it that I half suspect is still a slipping belt. IIRC my dad messed with the tension, and I sprayed some belt dressing on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Some shop installed a Goodyear Gatorback belt like 15,000 miles ago on my PF and it's been quiet. If nothing ends up working, I'd recommend Gatorback belts or OEM belts. Don't use belt dressings, they just make the belt slip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Tighten it till it stops. New belts stretch in after a while and sometimes require a couple adjustments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow4me Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Could there be a bad bearing on one of the accessory pulleys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camelfilter Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I had a gnarly squeak from my belts. Sometimes it would go away for a bit depending upon the temperature or humidity. Turned out to be coming from the idler pulley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Could there be a bad bearing on one of the accessory pulleys? Could be? I found out that I had a bad alternator bearing by systematically removing the drive belts (first one by the way). The voltage output was fine but, the pulley had an "ever so slight" play in it. It sounded like a squeel at first but started to sound really bad as time went on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider3141 Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Tighten it till it stops. New belts stretch in after a while and sometimes require a couple adjustments. So far this seems to be the solution. This morning was wet and damp and no sqeal after tightening it last night. And again after work no squeal. (When it would normally squeal almost as bad as the morning). I'll post if it comes back and start elimination any other causes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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