Belt Squeakin again.... so so so so upset.

wouldn't adding tension on the tensioner help this then? also replaced the tensioner recently, But, If you add tension to the belt it doesn't help. Its not the ac.. no change whether or not ac is on or off. What would a fan "clutch" have to do with a belt squeakin on the fan pulley? the clutch is bolted to the pulley, and shouldn't have any affect on the belt. Bad fan clutch basically means the fan isn't spinning, or is always spinning so that doesn't really make sense to me.. I may be wrong.

 

It seems to me like something is prematurely wearing the belt really fast.. but I cant tell by looking. And eventually it doesn't grip, and starts slipping.. Or somehow something is misaligned.. But if its misaligned it seems as if it would squeak immediately. New belt or not. Soap works for a day. Can a water pump get sluggish? like not want to spin properly? and be wearing on the belt until it doesn't have enough grip? any why should my water pump be bad at 60k?

 

I doubt fan clutch is the issue, it will fail fully engaged or fully disengaged. Is the belt tensioner automatic or setup manually, im too lazy to look under my hood. If it was misalignment, you would be able to see it with your eye, you could try putting a straight edge from pulley to pulley to get a rough check.

Something is definitely wearing down your belt extremely fast/causing it to stretch. I still think it is a heat source.

 

Agreed it shouldn't, but I went through the same issue. I'm not sure but maybe the AC clutch can cause the pulley to become loose. For the record, this issue happened in December/January and in MA I'm damn sure not running the AC that time of year either. Like I said, you've done lots of the obvious stuff so I reckon it can't hurt to look to the illogical.

Not sure if this is an option, but on my old Chevy Celebrity the compressor was acting up and the car wasn't worth fixing. I found the belt for the non-AC and just used that. If that exists and can be had cheap it would maybe help narrow it down.

 

its all a single belt, auto tensioner that always keeps tension even as belt stretches. New Gatorback belt didn't work either. Was quiet for a few days. Started the light chirp this morning, so I had to soap it. All I know Is to just replace everything.. ive already spent about 400 bucks on this issue and nothing has fixed it. Been though 5 belts in 3 months. Replaced the balancer twice.. ( I screwed up one) The tensioner, and belt each time I did anything. Was going to try to stick a hose up to something this evening to try to really pinpoint the sound,, but its quiet as can be since I left work.

 

Only thing I can think of.. use an ice pick or similar tool to check each groove on each pulley.

 

Can you give us a pic of the old belts?

 

kinda noticing the gatorback is only chirpin a little when cold. Been kinda warm.. Yesterday after work I started it, seemed quiet, and was still quiet when I got home 30 minutes later. Just now started it,, it barely chirped a little for a minute then stopped. The other morning was frosty when I first heard chirp from the new belt. (even though truck is garaged). I'm 75 % sure the chirp is coming off where the belt first runs onto the water pump. Really don't know though for sure if its the Pump itself draggin, or the pulley has a spot in it. And a new pump doesn't come with a new pulley..

 

ran this belt for a couple weeks. It made it like 2-3 days before it was making racket.. I then soaped it every day sometimes morning and afternoon to keep it quiet. Cant really tell much from the pics.. When you look at it really really really close.. it looks like it "might" have a very slight bit more wear on one side of the ribs than the other.. but I cant be sure.

 

The AC runs when the defroster is on so it is very possible for it to run in the winter.

@Lthompson, try cleaning the pulleys and installing a fresh belt...its possible the soap and belt dressing that you've used has left residue on them. When you're cleaning them check the alignment of everything since you've had it all pulled apart a few times now there's a chance that things are off a bit.

 

Very true, on our trucks it does. Not 100% sure if it did on my vehicle I had this issue with (1997 Olds Achieva, Quad 4 engine) but the pulley was spinning regardless so if I remember correctly the spinning is all it needed to cause the AC clutch to squeak sporadically. It's been 15 yrs now so I cannot recall if I actually turned the AC on to see if it got worse.

 

already cleaned multiple times.. cleaned and scrubbed.. The dressing made it terrible unless heavily heavily coated. Been an on going thing, with multiple threads. Soap is actually the only thing that ever got it to shut up, and it barely takes a touch. soap and water are the only things that have been applied since. and I'm on my 5th belt in 3 months and cleaned last several times. Not buying another belt. Even though ive bad the belt, balancer, and tensioner off.. In reality, they bolt where they bolt, you cant get that wrong so Is there really any way they can be misaligned? It acts as if somehow yes, but how does it just randomly happen. haven't messed with the water pump or power steering. but had to take off the alternator and AC compressor to change the tensionor. But problem is still there. the same problem that was there before I started taking stuff off changing parts.

 

Your waterpump is making the noise

 

Dayco belts squeak. I had an S-10 pickup that I replaced everything on the belt drive and it would still squeak. Just like you said, it would be quiet for a few days and then start squeaking again. Drove me nuts for over a year. Put a Goodyear belt on it from Rockauto and the squeak never came back. I will never use another Dayco product.

 

At this I'd suggest getting a mechanic's stethoscope and prying around, or just have a shop look at it.

 

Thinking of it when my AC clutch in the 97 Olds went, a friend did caution me not to wait on the repair as it could wobble and chew up or throw the serp belt.

 

Remember though, when you run your Defroster, your A/C compressor runs to help speed the defrosting process by dehumidifying the air.

 

Nowadays yes. On the 2 cars I've mentioned they were 1988 and 1997 so I don't know if that was the case then. Plus they were GM so

 

Yeah the two daycos I used started squeakin real quick.. THen went back to OEM, and it lasted a little longer.. like a couple days. Now I'm using a gatorback.. it is quieter, Was nice for a couple days, but sound is back intermittently.

 

Next time you hear the noise put a stethoscope on the alternator. Failing alternator can give you a belt type chirp sound. If you remove the belt and spin the alternator you can usually hear the chirp.