Gonna bite the bullet and ask a stupid question.

I recently had a whine in my engine bay. Turned out to be every single pully and the alternate clutch. All replaced under warranty. Does a little bit of mud and water typically do such damage? Ive see people literally go up to the hood in water. Are they just asking for it like apparently I was? Am I to stay out of the mud? Or was I just unlucky or did I do something stupid? Better asked as did my stupid cause this?

 

How many miles? How deep do you go? How well do you clean up after?

 

Im sure if you off road in muddy conditions constantly and it gets on belts and pulleys, eventually it will wear them out quicker than usual. The sand is abrasive so im sure its not the best thing for the engine bay.

Just my .02c. Good luck!

 

I had a horrible squeal after a recent muddy off roading trip. Dealer replaced belt under warranty. I also found it odd that mud could cause such a problem.

 

27k, deep enough to get mud splatter on the underside of the hood. And, I rinse careful of the alt.

 

I've never been incredibly muddy, but I have done some engine bay dunking with no long-term ill effects.

Day 1 - AWC - 22 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

After this plunge I had a slight squeal for an hour or so but it went away completely before I finished the trial.

 

If they get wet at all, they whine and shortly after will blow out

 

Sounds like you wheel at an industrial hazardous waste site. On the beach and mud is fine.

 

Last time I got dirty I had a lovely squeal after a few water crossings. It lasted a little longer that I thought it would; even after a two ride at highways speeds. It finally went away and has been fine since. If it keeps being a problem I'll try a good brand of belt and go from there.

 

Was mostly in NJ...

 

These could all be misinterpreted very easily

 

Are we still talking about his truck?

 

Not sure why anyone is saying no.

The dirt and dust of the Pines (I'm assuming that's where you went) can absolutely get into your pulleys and help wear down bearings and lubrication. Been wheeling there with my Jeep for years and absolutely saw pulleys wear faster than normal. That said it was mostly idler/tensioner pulleys. My AC and PS were original.

Edit: you're not dumb if you do. You're dumb if you go off roading and DON'T expect to replace things a little earlier than usual. It's just the name of the game. Never go off road if you can't afford to fix or tow your vehicle.

 

Back in the day I ran a shop where we ran our company Tacos off road in the sometimes swampy areas of Florida. We'd get belt squeal form deep water. Carrying a little can of spray belt dressing in our tool boxes cured it. I think it was Permatex, but Im sure there are other brands out there. If the alternator, tensionor, etc., bearings take a water hit, not so simple.

 

Yes, definitely but probably not as bad as tightening your belts too tight.

 

Mudding destroys all. Just Battle scars, enjoy!

 

Certain algae and fungi/lichen will impact belts, seals and idlers. This is especially true in mid Atlantic states or equatorial marshlands. Annealing is rare from biological sources but can occur from mineral deposits in output waste steams from manufacturing or illegal waste disposal. Burnished and reversal of heat treating may result in harmonic distortion, especially when combined with misalignments or torque...your most likely root cause.

 

THIS!
Nothing is safe from mud. I use my truck (gun range, hauling, camping, offroad) but diving in to a shitty old mud pit to make a bunch of drunks holler? Nah, that's what POS trailer rigs are for.

 

Pine barons? That mud is horrible. It's full of sand and salt. That salt is what's eating away at your belt

 

I used to go quite regularly out to Stave Lake, it is a dam reservoir that it quite low and a regular mud hole to 4x4 in, in this area. This mud is thick and sticky. I would regularly come out of there unable to identify my truck or it's colour, aside from mine was the muddy one. Mud got everywhere. Including the pulleys and belt. I never had an issue, ever, with mud destroying a set of pulleys. The pulleys spin at high speed even at idle and will throw any debris off them quite quickly. You would be more likely to throw a belt off before you did any sort of damage. Go and get muddy! You will be fine.