dan1495

I just put a new belt on my '90 and get what sounds like the belt chirping when I start it after letting it sit overnight. It will go away after a mile or so. I have tried to isolate it to one of the belt driven components but have found nothing obvious. Does anyone have any other suggestions other than trying a different belt? The new belt was a Dayco I purchased at a local auto parts store.

54greg

Belt tensioner

dan1495

I looked a little closer this evening and discovered that the belt is not centered on the tensioner pulley. The noise went away for a few seconds when I sprayed some Windex on the pulley. The old belt was also a little frayed on the inside edge confirming it is riding up against the lip of the pulley. I don't see how anything but the tensioner pulley can be out of alignment so I guess I'll start with that - if I could find one.I can center the belt but as soon as I start it the belt shifts toward the inside. If anyone has any other ideas I'd live to hear them.

Vette Daddy

Check the bolt that holds the tensioner to the motor for tightness. Something's not in line and is throwing the belt off center. Does it look like there is a "rub" mark on the top surface anywhere?

dan1495

The bolt is tight, and I don't see a rub mark anywhere. Thanks for the replies.

Paul Workman

I'm wondering about the tensioner bearings. With the belt off does the pully wabble even a little?

My stock tensioner pully went bad and I replaced it with one for an LT1. It fit just fine, works flawlessly, but has no ridge guides on the pully. It is smooth. The belt has never come off, and the pully now has 23k miles on it and several 7600 rpm run-ups w/o a hitch.

That said, if the belt insists on migrating to one side of the tensioner, I have to wonder if the tensioner is installed correctly. The bolt may be tight, but it sounds like it is not perpendicular to the centerline of the belt.

Just grabbin' a straw here. Good luck!

P.

dan1495

Paul,

Thanks for the reply and I'm glad to hear your surgery went well. I can add little more to the story since my original post. I replaced the pulley with one like you described and the wear issue seems to have gone away. Not a perfect solution, but it will work for now. I also replaced the squeaking belt with a Gooodyear and the squeak is now gone, but the tensioner makes a rattling noise when the engine is cold which goes away in a matter of minutes. Since the Goodyear belt is longer than the Dayco belt it makes me think the tensioner is reaching the end of its travel with the longer belt.
At the end of the day I would like to just replace the tensioner - if i could find one.

Thanks again.