squeaky belts

all of my belts are in fine working order but there a bit squeaky any 1 have a remedy for this problem or similar problems you've encountered....
thanks,
Doug

 

my pulleys sqeeked for the first few moments after a cold start...I sprayed water on them one time...they dont seem to sqeek much anymore.

I wouldn't use WD40. You don't want to attract dirt to your pulleys or belt.

 

some companies actually make a belt dressing, and you just spray a little on the pulleys and it seems to work fairly decently.

 

it could be the harminic balancer.... mines bad .... there goes another $120

 

Oldie but a goodie................try rubbing bar-soap on the contact-side of the belt.

 

are you sure it's the belt, and not a pulley(s)?

 

x2 I think it is silicon based.

 

yea i think its the pulleys i squirted a drop of wd on 1 and it shut it up but soon after it came back. its not loud i cant hear it in the truck but when i get out and its idling it drives me crazy. cant have her sounding like that, all i want to hear is the fan and the exhaust.

so guys what do i need to do ?

 

depending on what pulley it is....replace it. they are usually pretty cheap, and they aint hard to replace either.

 

My truck had a morning squeal, here is how I handled it.

I looked into the cost of the belts and pulleys, I found the factory pulleys are $33 and $140, I also looked into aftermarket pulleys, Dayco listed both the same for $28, they were plastic though, I didnt like them.

I bought the belts, hemmed and hawed all summer and finally decided one day to change the belts and look at the pulleys. Both pulleys were in excellent shape, the covers that keep dirt off of the bearings had rust spots on them, the rust was contacting the pulley face as it was rotating, making the noise. The bearings felt fine, looked good.

A little bit of scotchbrite, a little oil to prevent further corrosion of the metal, new belts and all is quiet at startup.

Good luck!

 

Belt squeels are usually caused by the belts being too loose.

Since the first generation trucks have 3 belts - you have to determine which belt is loose.

The rule of thumb to check a belt for tightness - is find an open area of the belt, preferably the longest portion that's not contacting any pulleys. Grab the edges of the belt with your thumb & fingertip. TWIST the belt. If you can twist the belt beyond the perpendicular point of its original position - then its time to tighten the belt. Each accessory (A/C ompressor, alternator, steering pump I believe) is adjustable to tighten the belts.

NEVER use any belt dressing or lubricants on the belts. It can deteriorate the belt. You're better off buying a new one!

Pulleys are a different story. If you can take the belts off and spin the pulleys by hand and *feel* how the pulley spins. If it feels rough or has rough spots - it probably needs new bearings. The A/C idler pulleys are normally the first pulley/bearings to go bad when you're offroading a lot.