Quickshift_C5

Probably a simple issue here, but looking for ideas before I go through the effort of replacing the belt.

Took my car to the car wash (auto touchless) this weekend and accidentally chose the underbody spray option out of habit from using it all winter on my BRZ. Immediately afterwards, I fired the car back up and the belt started squealing. I drove it all day Sat and it never stopped. Haven't fired it back up since then.

I've been told this might go away in time, which I doubt because it's clearly dry by now. Here are some questions I had:

Is there something I can do with this belt, as it sits on the car, to get it to stop squealing?

Or, am I forced to replace it now?

Using the 3.4 pulley, which belt should I use and what type/brand is the best?

What's the easiest way to replace it, any instructions/videos somewhere (I did watch a couple that showed having to remove the blower...).

Adrians99FRC

It can either be the main belt or the Ac belt .. Or it could be any of the idler pulleys

How many miles?

Stock or aftermarket crank pulley?

Have any idler pulleys been replaced before?

How many miles on Ac belt and serpentine belt?


I had to replace a worn idler on the alternator side, change the plastic power steering pulley to a metal ls2 one, and a new belt .. Nice and quiet for a couple weeks then the crank pulley started wobbling enough to cause a chirp and throw a belt

Now I'm replacing the crank pulley (doing a cam swap while it's apart), along with both Ac idlers and a new Ac belt .. Damn gm dealership replaced the Ac Compressor last summer and didn't bother replacing the worn out idler pulleys .. I have 124k and there worn slap out

Hopefully it goes away or it's just the belt needs changing .. But while you got the blower out for the belt change check everything (idlers for noisy bearings, power steering pulley if it's stock for cracks, etc)

PEETYZ

^Adrian99FRC had a post not too long ago with some good info.

This is a rather common problem.... It can come from a number of things. Chased down lots of things and mine was actually a bad AC idler pulley. Got a new belt and pulley cheap from Rock Auto just havent had time to pull the blower off to change. How did I get sound to stop? Cut the old AC belt


Try getting a spray bottle of water and spraying it on different sections. If the sound stops once water is on it for a sec or so that is your problem area. Definitely double check your crank pulley for wobble as said above.

If you are using 3.4 pulley with stock crank pulley and current bracket you will want to use a Gates K060900 for supercharger.
The AC will use a Gates K040420.

Quickshift_C5

Thanks guys, guess I'll have to pull the blower and check it out. Not entirely sure the best method on checking the pulleys yet to see which may be bad. Is that something that could happen after getting blasted with water? Seems a bit odd.

Car has 51k miles total. 11k of those miles are supercharged. No pulleys have ever been replaced except going from a 3.6 to a 3.4 for boost.

If I have to replace a pulley, I then I have to worry about alignment. Is there a tool I need for that?

Maybe I'll just buy both belts and check the pulleys out when it's off. What is the best way to do that?

Adrians99FRC

squirt some water on the main belt while its running to see if the sound goes away .. if not then its the a/c belt


the idler pulleys are smooth (or atleast most of them are) so no alignment issues .. just unbolt the old one and bolt up the new ones

check the idlers by spinning them .. should be smooth and quiet .. mine make a rattling / grinding noise b/c the bearings are shot .. check your power steering pulley to see if you got cracks if your running the stock one

if I were you I'd go ahead and swap it to the ls2 while you got everything apart .. the plastic one will crack with the extra stress from the supercharger (mine cracked all the way across and around the hub and wobbled pretty good) .. there only $20 or so for the metal ls2

also if yours has the ecbm in the way you can take the alternator off, unbolt the big bracket and pull it up enough to get a puller in there without disconnecting power steering lines

do the water test first and see where your issue is .. but while you got it apart might as week replace both and check everything .. main belt is around $25 and a/c belt is like $12 or so

Quickshift_C5

So...

1. Squirt water on belts to determine which section is bad. Remove belts, then test and check all pulleys.

2. Replace serpentine belt (Gates K060900)

3. Replace A/C belt (Gates K040420)

4. Replace OEM power steering pulley with metal LS2 version

Mine is a 2001 ZO6. Do you know offhand if that applies to me? I can check when I get home otherwise.

Adrians99FRC

yup

you'll only have one idler on the serpentine belt and two on the a/c belt .. the rest of the idlers are on the supercharger bracket and should be fine

as for the ecbm .. some got it right infront of the power steering pump and some dont .. if you dont I think you can change the pulley without taking anything apart .. you'll know as soon as you pop the hood and think to yourself "how the hell do I get in there" theres only like a inch or so of clearance infront of the pulley

think I got my pulley on ebay .. but there everywhere for $18-$24 or so .. just search ls2 power steering pulley .. it will look like this -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-GM-POWER-STEERING-PUMP-PULLEY-05-13-CORVETTE-LS2-LS3-LS7-GM-12568997-/131129849757?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e87f2b79d&vxp=mtr

edit -

here is the link to the thread I had when the first round of chirping happened and I changed the belt, idler, and power steering pulley

has a few pictures to show you how I changed the power steering pulley with the ecbm in the way and not disconnecting any power steering lines (except for the reservior)

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-f...d-a-kit-2.html

Quickshift_C5

Should be fun. Thanks for the help!

Quickshift_C5

Interesting. You said in your thread it would only squeak when warming up and then went away. My car has been doing the same thing for a long time now. Only after it was blasted at the car wash did it become constant. Must have had the same effect as when you put the dressing on yours.

Adrians99FRC

Yea mine would go away after 10 minutes of driving or so

First time it was the idler pulley, power steering pulley, and belt

This time it's the crank pulley and Ac idlers are shot .. Water pump bearings didn't sound to healthy either .. But then again I have 124k so I'm replacing everything while it's apart this time

Before you take yours apart look down from the drivers side with a good flashlight while it's running and see if your crank pulley is wobbling .. That will cause a chirp and eventually throw a belt once it wobbles enough .. Put some nice slits in my hood liner when it threw the belt

Quickshift_C5

It looks like it has a very slight wobble. I can't tell if it's actually wobbling or not. I sprayed both belts. Spraying the supercharger belt made it almost go away.

I called A&A once I looked at it. They sent me some instructions on how to get the belt off, but I'm still confused. I don't understand how to get the tension off the belt so I can remove the blower to access anything. This is all new to me. Crash course.

Also, it looks like my power steering pulley is right on top of the EBCM. The bolt is barely 1/4" from it. I may save that for next winter, as the pulley looks perfect right now.

Adrians99FRC

Mine had a wobble to it .. Also when you get the blower out .. Take pics of the front of the crank pulley .. The rubber or whatever bonds the thing together should be even all the way around .. If it isn't then it's separating and causing the squeak .. I'm on my phone but one of my threads has pics of what I'm talking about

As for removing the blower .. There's a manual tensioner on the passenger side .. Two bolts loosen it and then you can remove it .. Then unbolt the blower and take the two boost hoses off (one intake, and the one pointing down) .. Then pull the blower (also check if yours is self contained or has oil lines to the motor)

Do the power steering pulley now and you'll thank me later .. .. It's a pain in the butt to get it all back together and you'll not want to do it over after you do it the first time .. Power steering pulley isn't as bad as it looks and might as well do it while it's apart .. That plastic one will break sooner or later with the blower, same with the crank but that's a bigger job (gotta drop the steering rack)

Quickshift_C5

I bought the V3 Si self contained in the black powdercoat finish. I'm going to start on this tonight. Picking the belts up locally this afternoon. Doesn't sound terribly difficult. I can see the pulley on top where there are marks in the black finish where it looks like they put a bar on that to tighten it.

Suppose I can just loosen that and it will create some slack in the belt and give me a place to start.

Adrians99FRC

its not that bad .. hardest part is putting it all back together .. trying to get the belt wrapped around pulleys the right way, getting the bottom boost hose hooked up, and getting a bolt started is the fun part


thats the piece you need to take off .. two bolts hold it on .. you'll know when you loosen the right two bolts b/c the belt will go loose

Quickshift_C5

I am trying to remove the blower. I've removed the two bolts of the boomerang bracket and it loosened up and pivoted creating slack in the belt. I can't figure out where to go from here. The belt still has tension. I can't remove the boomerang bracket since there is still a little tension andthe pulley is still attached. I don't want to unbolt the blower yet because there is a little belt tension.

Anyone have some thoughts on this?

Arnie Chamberlain

Remove the two bolts that hold the alternator in place and push the alternator all the way down in the bracket. This will let you slide the belt off the alternator pulley and give you enough slack to pull the head unit out.

Quickshift_C5

Shortly after writing this I just went ahead and unbolted the blower without a problem and it slid down. Got the belt off without removing the blower. The bottom exhaust hose is still connected, so that's the only thing holding the blower on. All the pulleys look, spin, and feel ok (no side wobble) and the crank pulley looks good. Only issue I found is the steering pump pulley has a very very slight wobble. Couple of friends are stopping by for a second opinion and lift the blower so I can undo the bottom hose.

Adrians99FRC

go ahead and do the power steering pulley .. it wont take long for it to crack all the way .. mine had a little wobble to it and was cracked all the way across and around the hub

Quickshift_C5

Got the job done. Only needed a belt. No more squealing.

Adrians99FRC

now that I think about it .. you might be able to do the power steering without removing the blower now that youve got a new belt on it already .. just take off the manual tensioner and alternator then move the belt out of the way on the drivers side