Paul Wood

Belt dressing is usually a product that is formulated to degrease the belt and to make it grip on the pulley better.

A squeak is rapid vibration that we hear. Usually this is slippage of a worn belt against the surface of the pulley.

If you put silicone on the belt it is just masking a more serious issue. Same applies to WD 40 as it lubricates the two offending surfaces.

Ajax is granulated talc, pummice, ash, and who knows what. It could be acting in two ways in my humble opion. One, it may just clean the surface of the pulley and belt enough to make the two not slip or two it could be acting as a dry lubricant. Either way it is an abrasive and that gives me cause for concern.

Identify the cause and the solution will be easy! It is either the belt slipping or it is a bearing failure of one or both of the tensioners. Good Luck.

fendermender

Yep, just got em both and a balancer from there. Actually I think it's Gatorback. For the price I think I'll do the tensioner/idler pulleys too.

fendermender

Yikes!! You still got all your fingers??

Zap City

I just resolved a chirp issue that has been driving me NUTS. Turned out to be alternator bearings going bad. New alt=peace and quiet. Me happy.

C5Vette168

I used a bar of soap. Squeak never came back. The smell of Irish Spring lingered for a few weeks, though.

Bailout13500

Bump to see how the Comet worked out in the long run for the OP?

dbaker

Sometimes ( note I said sometimes) belts squeak because they are dirty/oily.

I've used the dry powder cleaner routine and it works well on the dirty/oil problem.

\db2
carolina

Bailout13500

Dry powder cleaner and 75 miles in and out of traffice and still no Squeak!!

I love this board!

Ikester

Dont waste time on just band aids like WD-40. Its either:

1. Main belt Tensioner

2. AC belt tensioner

3. AC idler pulley

From my experience, it was first the main tensioner, (2005) then a few years later noise came back and it was the AC tensioner. (2008) These parts have been updated by GM over the years such as better dust protection on the pulley.

been quiet ever since

Bailout13500

No arguement from me but in my case the engine had been "dressed" so everything was shiny and oily. I did the screwdriver stethescope on the bearings and heard nothing.

Ordered a tensioner today Just in Case!

Camjamsdad

Well I replaced both belts, both tensioner pulleys, both idler pulleys, and she's still squeaking. Hmm. Removed both belts. Still squeaks. Oh oh. Balancer has absolutely no wobble. The squeak is worse on deceleration. Goes away when it heats up mostly. Any ideas? For those interested, rock auto sells metal replacement pulleys for the ac. They only list one part number but the idler and tensioner use the same pulley.

Qwik01

I replaced the harmonic balancer, and both idler pulleys on mine. Squeeled liek crazy. Put on new belts. Went away but comes back time to time. May be time for me to get new tensioners. Plus I only notice this when the car is cold. When it is heated up it goes away. Any one else having that issue only when cold?

Joe Babe

take a soap bar and rub iton the underside of the belt, works for a long time

MACKASH

^Soap on the belt really works?

bobbell42

after reading this thread and all the others Itried some belt dressing, this made it worse! I changed the belts , the upper pully ,still squeaked!, Thought it was crazy but a little comet on the serpintine belt worked! thanks for nthe suggestions

boy at heart

spraying belt dressing does not fix the problem and may give you more problems as it will attract dirt and debris to that area as you drive. Find the root problem and deal with it. Been there, done that; it doesn't last and parts replacement is the only real fix

no01k

99 vette..when engine reaches 196 degrees squeak stops

sainthinds

try holding a wire brush gently on the main belt while its running too scuff the top of the belt over time they wear real smooth and look shiny. that causes a chirp sometimes

Zorlac

My squeak is killing me like that stupid pig in the Geico commercials. Two new belts, two new idler pulleys, two new tensioner pulleys but the same tensioners. Not a waste because all the pulleys sounded rough but still a squeak starting around 2000 RPM. It's the AC portion causing it. So I'm down to the drive pulley, AC bearing or the spring loaded part of the tensioner. The squeak is worse with the AC on but doesn't completely go away when off. Even with a scope I can't zero in on it. Watching the ribs on the drive pulley I do see a slight wiggle. So do you guys think I need to replace it?

Harry Marsh

Are you people trying the Gatorback belt?
Lots saying, "replaced belt"
But not saying what belt replaced with...what brand



I was in your shoes 2 months ago
I spent 10 straight days, an hour or two per day

I changed all of the pulleys (new bearings in them)
From idler to tensioner
Bars of soap, WD-40, belt dressing, roughing up pulleys - etc etc...read every thread on here
Took off the alternator and almost replaced that......
I even bought a new Advanced Auto belt and tried that (reduced squeek, but did not go away)



A $30 gatorback and I haven't heard a squeek. Doesn't matter if the engine is cold or if it's raining outside
I had ordered this on day one and was waiting on it to be delivered.


Do the gatorback and save yourself a lot of time and energy
Replacing the bearings in the pulleys is probably a good idea anyway. But nothing worked for me....until I went to the new Gatorback belt