So my belts were making a very small squeeking noise so I decided to use some CRC Belt Conditioner on the belts.

OMG

Now the belt squeel at an obnoxious level that is like nails on a chalk board! I can't get them to stop, tried 409 cleaner, tried spraying down with water and tried using more conditioning spray. It stops sqeeling when your spraying it but once it dries gets loud again.

This is one of those "why can't you leave well enough alone" moment. Anyone have belt conditioner make your sqeeling noise worse and anyone know what I can do to get rid of it (short of replacing the belts, which look in fine condition)?

Thanks

 

The only way to get the squeel to stop is replace the belts(all of them)
When you get the belts off you will have to clean ALL the pullies with brake clean because of the conditioning junk you sprayed on the belts. Its the only way to do it.
Also make sure your idler and tensioner pullies are good, if they go bad they may start to squeel also.
I know this is'nt what you want to her but its the only way to do it.
Good luck

 

It might not be a belt but a pulley. I replaced all 4 recently and my squealing stopped.

 

99% it's one of the pulleys ,,, I had the same problem. Changed them all before they found the right one. What a pain in the a$$.

 

don't forget the air conditioner clutch... that is what caused my squeal

 

Thanks for the feedback...that sucks.

What does the inner belt go around, that is where the noise seems to be coming from? I see it goes around the AC, then where does it go?

Thanks

 

You can probably reduce or even fix belt squeals with lubrication or belt dressing but it will probably return quickly. A belt change is the easy fix but you need to make sure that’s the issue.

ET who was one of the C5 design engineers posted a great summary of the system and I’ve copied it below. Run through that procedure to identify where the problem lies. If it’s a belt that’s good news and is fairly straight forward once you work out the technique.

Let the engine cool down first or it gets painful. Identify the main belt tensioner from the picture. It’s the top pulley on passenger side. Place a socket wrench on the tensioner nut and push it toward the middle of the engine until there is enough slack to remove the belt. Repeat this procedure for the A/C belt, although the tensioner is a little harder to reach because it is under the power steering fluid reservoir.

Once you have them off its worth cleaning the pulley with a wire brush.

Putting them back is the reverse process but make sure you install the A/C belt before the main belt.

Here’s a pic to identify the components.



Belt Squeal Courtesy E-T

You have two belt systems on your car. One is the drive belt system, the other is the air conditioner belt system. The drive belt system consists of the serpentine belt, the power steering pump, alternator/gen, water pump, harmonic balancer, idler pulley, belt auto-tensioner pulley. The AC belt system consists of the compressor, harmonic balancer, idler pulley, belt auto-tensioner pulley.

First thing you need to do is isolate which system is squeaking. This can be done by releasing tension on the drive belt tensioner and removing the serpentine belt. This is the outboard belt of the two belt systems. If the squeak goes away, then it’s the belt or a component of the drive system.

If the squeak is still there, then it’s a component of the ac belt system.
To verify this, release the belt tension from the tensioner and remove the belt. If the squeak goes away, then it’s a component of the ac belt system.

A common problem is the belt tensioner on either system but verifying which system is at fault is the proper procedure.

You could replace both belts, but you may still have the squeak. If you want to find the culprit, isolate the system, then spray the belt of the offending system and see if the squeak goes away. Try to stay away from the idler and tensioner while spraying. I find that belt dressing may be good to identify a belt problem, but it is a temporary fix at best.

The real problem has been the tensioner and the idler. Both of these components have a sealed bearing which has been know to dry up or redirect the grease away from the bearing, thus causing the squeak.

If you find that a belt change does not correct the problem, then a change of both the idler and tensioner pulley is in order. If you just change the idler or the tensioner alone, it will cause the other component to go bad in a month or so. This has been the case with many members. There was a change made to the dusts seals to help correct this problem in newer C5's. Lots of tensioner and idler pulleys have been identified as a problem and it can affect either system. One is not more prevalent than the other. So find out which system is squeaking first, in the drive belt system. It could also be the bearing of the alternator, power steering pump, or water pump too, but these are less probable.

 

thats handy info, I just replaced all my tensioners and it still squeals, changed the main belt didn't put the air con belt back on, quite as a mouse, fitted the air belt tho it looked good not new now squeals, so at least I know where its coming from, belt or clutch

 

I agree its the pulleys