Squeaky belt

CJ5 · Postby **CJ5** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:43 pm

I get this loud squeaking/squealing noise from what i think is the fan belt now n then when idling, giving it some revs makes the noise worse then it goes away; but only temporarily

put soap on the fan belt (idea from the internets) its helped a bit but it still happens; think i should put soap on the other belt too ?

im really rubbish with under the hood stuff when it comes to cars so don't laugh at me if this is a stupid question

i just want to get rid of the damn squeaks

any other tips?

AJ · Postby AJ » Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:01 pm

if a fan belt is squealing like yours, it is either too loose, or it's worn out....my recommendation is to replace it

CJ5 · Postby **CJ5** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:28 pm

AJ wrote:if a fan belt is squealing like yours, it is either too loose, or it's worn out....my recommendation is to replace it

its fairly new; about 3000km since major service and replacing the belts

think it might be the other belt thats squealing? might rub soap on it n find out..

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:56 pm

We have all had it from time to time but what worked.. brain ticks remembers what I did but not whether it worked. My bet the belt is slipping- you rev it up the spinning works like your tyres dropping a wheely. Adjust the belt not too tight- you are not playing a violin and you do not want excess stress on bearings and belt. . If the belt is loose soap would make it worse.If after adjusting it is still squealing try soap and water spray on with dispenser It might just settle down after you have used it for a few days. Some cars always seem to have noisy belts but you do not have long belts so it should be ok.

CJ5 · Postby **CJ5** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 5:43 pm

Mr Morlock wrote:We have all had it from time to time but what worked.. brain ticks remembers what I did but not whether it worked. My bet the belt is slipping- you rev it up the spinning works like your tyres dropping a wheely. Adjust the belt not too tight- you are not playing a violin and you do not want excess stress on bearings and belt. . If the belt is loose soap would make it worse.If after adjusting it is still squealing try soap and water spray on with dispenser It might just settle down after you have used it for a few days. Some cars always seem to have noisy belts but you do not have long belts so it should be ok.

well i guess it isnt loose coz the soap helps. drove around for 15mins n no prob (soaped both belts) until i came home to park n got a little bit of squeal when it idled, it went away quickly with a few revs - but before that stopping caused no squeals

i guess soap is just very much a temporary thing. what would work better; grease?

Fatty · Postby **Fatty** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 6:09 pm

if the \"other\" belt you're referring to is the belt for the aircon pump thingo... there is a tensioner that you can loosen or tighten a bit to stop the squeeling. greasing the bet sounds like a really bad idea to me.....

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 2:08 pm

Grease is not a good idea- you can try a squirt with WD40 or a silicone spray but not too much. The new belt may settle down. Another thing I heard is to take the belt off and re install it 180 deg - maybe worth a try. There is even a chance that it is a pulley not the belt- you might be able to hear better with a plastic tube or metal rod held near your ear- usual precautions. A belt manuf or distributor may offer some other idea- Gates are one of the big ones and if you rang their office one of the engineers might give you some tips.

CJ5 · Postby **CJ5** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:15 pm

Mr Morlock wrote:Grease is not a good idea- you can try a squirt with WD40 or a silicone spray but not too much. The new belt may settle down. Another thing I heard is to take the belt off and re install it 180 deg - maybe worth a try. There is even a chance that it is a pulley not the belt- you might be able to hear better with a plastic tube or metal rod held near your ear- usual precautions. A belt manuf or distributor may offer some other idea- Gates are one of the big ones and if you rang their office one of the engineers might give you some tips.

reading around on the internet before said not to use WD40 or anything else oil based.. one site suggested getting 'grease sticks' or something like that from auto shops so thats why i thought grease would be a good idea..

might just stick with soap till it comes time for a service then ill let my mechanic figure it out; just need the temporary fix

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 1:38 pm

This is what I did last night. I had a squeak coming from my belt when I start the car cold.

My belts were under 10,000km old and properly tight. The only evidence of anything wrong was surface rust on the pulleys.

A colleague of mine who used to be a race engineer for one of the V8 supercar teams suggested I spray degreaser on pulley, rinse it off and then use a decent amount of WD40. He felt that the rust on the pulleys or some grease might contribute to the sound. Anyway I did it last night. The noise died down a lot. In fact the whole engine becamame much quieter. I will drive the car for a few days and report back on whether this has cured the problem.

ForceMajeure · Postby **ForceMajeure** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:36 am

+1 for degreasing, i had a squeal for years until i degreased the whole engine bay at one of those $2.00 car wash joints and haven't had the squeal for a month now.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:44 pm

don't use grease or anything.

the belst usually squeal from them slipping, so while soap/grease/oil will stop the noise, it will also lubricate it and make it slip more.

I've heard there's some spray you can buy specifically for this purpose, it helps the belt grip. No idea what it's called.

best bet is as others have suggested, tighten the tensioners a little, it's possible that the new belts have stretched a little since they were put in.

GP · Postby GP » Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:25 pm

I wouldn't put anything on the belt as that will help cause the squeal. Degrease and dry thoroughly.
If the pulleys are not damaged or worn it can be caused by a worn bearing, Usually the alternator is the culprit

de Bounce · Postby **de Bounce** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:30 pm

hks_kansei wrote:I've heard there's some spray you can buy specifically for this purpose, it helps the belt grip. No idea what it's called.

Surprisingly it called "Belt Grip"
Belts that have been squealing for a while can also glaze and nothing will get them to stop squealing for long.
Only answer is to replace the belt.