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Squeaking Pulley

green97

green97

New member
Alright I am into this with a new tensioner pulley and a new alternator with no changes. I got a stethoscope and can't really isolate anything except that its cyclic and high pitched in the area of the tensioner on the main belt. Take belt off no noise. Take supercharger belt off same noise. The metallic squeak is only heard when the car is cold or engine is not up to temp. It can be 90 degrees and it will squeak if the engine is cold. As soon as its up to operating temp it quits. The car has a ~6mo old remanned power steering pump and a new water pump.

Please help me figure this out? Could the tensioner lever motion be doing it? New tensioner?
 


Have you changed the belt? Get a can of lube spray with the extension nozzle and spray the bearing area of each pulley individually until you find the one that stops the noise.
 
rickisrad said:
Have you changed the belt? Get a can of lube spray with the extension nozzle and spray the bearing area of each pulley individually until you find the one that stops the noise.
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No belt looks like new no cracks or wear. So something like wd40?
 
You can try and take a roloc disc with pliers or a sanding block and CAREFULLY hold it on the belt surface to give it a clean surface. Be very careful if you try this!! Yes WD-40 would be okay. Just a quick burst, you don't want to soak it.
 
Have you spun each pulley by hand without the belt? Listen for noises. Also put a wrench on the tensioner and move it back and forth listening. Check belt alignment to see if it is running true on the pulleys. On my 04 I have had a squeaky alternator pulley, tensioner pulley, and idler pulley over the years I have replaced.
 
I have spun each pulley by hand. All are smooth and quiet but when the belt goes back on it comes back on cold start. I tried the wd40 on the new tensioner pulley (installed on old tensioner) and it helped for a bit. In other words it made a noticeable change then came back. Its running on the smooth side of the belt. I am wondering if the new pulley paint is causing it as it has not worn off yet. Its like a short squeak about 1 time per belt revolution as a guess on timing.

Kinda pissed I bought a new alternator but it didn't solve it. The old one was just a bit squeaky without the belt and figured what the hell I will get a new one for piece of mind. Somewhat new to me car.

Maybe I will rough up the paint on the new pulley with some emory cloth. I used a gates gauge tool to measure belt wear and it is not worn.
 


how old is the new alt? i had a squeak thought it was a pulley, it spun rough anyways, still there, only on a cold start up, then it would go away. then my alt took a crap, replaced that and the old one was squeaking when hand turned. new alt installed and it still squeaked for a few days, then just stopped 100% the last few days i've noticed.
 
Scottydoggs said:
how old is the new alt? i had a squeak thought it was a pulley, it spun rough anyways, still there, only on a cold start up, then it would go away. then my alt took a crap, replaced that and the old one was squeaking when hand turned. new alt installed and it still squeaked for a few days, then just stopped 100% the last few days i've noticed.
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Same thing here just replaced it 2 days ago with a remanufactured oreillys lifetime warranty. Old one was a little rough but not noisy by hand. Tensioner pulley is a weak old.
 
green97 said:
I have spun each pulley by hand. All are smooth and quiet but when the belt goes back on it comes back on cold start. I tried the wd40 on the new tensioner pulley (installed on old tensioner) and it helped for a bit. In other words it made a noticeable change then came back. Its running on the smooth side of the belt. I am wondering if the new pulley paint is causing it as it has not worn off yet. Its like a short squeak about 1 time per belt revolution as a guess on timing.

Kinda pissed I bought a new alternator but it didn't solve it. The old one was just a bit squeaky without the belt and figured what the hell I will get a new one for piece of mind. Somewhat new to me car.

Maybe I will rough up the paint on the new pulley with some emory cloth. I used a gates gauge tool to measure belt wear and it is not worn.
Click to expand...


Sounds like you isolated where the noise is coming from. Take the pulley back off and look for any signs of where it might be rubbing. I would put a new belt on or try the method I mentioned earlier.
 
Put new belts on. Tensioner was maxed out on the belt stretch marks, SC belt was not far behind. Apparently the belt can look perfectly fine but be stretched out enough to cause problems. Squeak is gone. Thanks for all the input.
 
So about a few days later after I put new belts on in july the cold squeak came back. Yesterday I installed a new tensioner. Still have the same f*&@^ng problem.

Powersteering pump is 6 months old (remanned)
new tensioner pulley
remanned alternator
New belts
new tensioner and pulley

The problem is definitely on the primary belt, supercharger belt removed confirmed. Stethoscope says its the alternator or tensioner area. I am thinking it is the alternator. I can't reproduce the noise with the belt off. Everything is tight and smooth.

I could just ignore it, goes away after 10 minutes of warm up but I hate squeaks.
 


i had a cold start belt squeak as well. ended up being the alternator. then of course i got two bad ones in a row within a month, but thats another story for another day lol

mine i could hear it make sounds when turned fast belt off and cold. they get pretty damn hot, things expand and it frees up is my guess.
 
I changed the alternator today and still get the squeak. I tried my old belt and it made no difference. I did check the pulleys again and the powersteering has some play in it up and down. It is was replaced recently but I am guessing it is a re manufactured unit. Anyhow the squeak seems to be sourced at the tensioner. I used some emory cloth on the lettering on the belt as well as the tensioner pulley and still got a squeak. Pissing me off and all I can think is keep driving it and see if it goes away or turn the radio up.
 
So I ordered a set of gatorback belts which are no longer available but continental makes the same thing. Watched a youtube that showed the same type of squeak with a new dayco and then fixed with a gatorback. Hopefully this will fix it.
 
Ok update, I have had 3 cold starts (getting cold very cold here) on the new belts (previously only squeaked on the main belt) and not a peep. I watched chrisfix on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUe6uKxTv8 replace a belt making the same noise and it fixed it with a gator back. Well it worked for me too. He mentioned dayco belts do it and that is what I had before.
 
Thanks

green97 said:
Alright I am into this with a new tensioner pulley and a new alternator with no changes. I got a stethoscope and can't really isolate anything except that its cyclic and high pitched in the area of the tensioner on the main belt. Take belt off no noise. Take supercharger belt off same noise. The metallic squeak is only heard when the car is cold or engine is not up to temp. It can be 90 degrees and it will squeak if the engine is cold. As soon as its up to operating temp it quits. The car has a ~6mo old remanned power steering pump and a new water pump.

Please help me figure this out? Could the tensioner lever motion be doing it? New tensioner?
Click to expand...
My squeak was the belt itself, still not long enough to show need to be replaced.
I did the terrible thing of spraying it with WD40. Stopped the squeak for now and it's fortunately not slipping.
 


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