Serpentine Belt Chirp
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 116
Likes: 0
From: Springville Alabama
Serpentine Belt Chirp
At first, I thought it was coming from my clutch, because it only happened when the clutch was engaged. It was actually coming from my serpentine belt. When the speed of the engine increases, so does the chirp. I took the vette in to have some work done on it and asked them to check my belt. The sprayed some belt dressing on it and the chirp went away. The mechanic told me to put a product called door ease on the belt. SHould I just get a new belt, or what do you guys think?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 5
From: The 7th layer of hell - Western Washington
Never use belt-dressing all it will do is mask the problem - a failing belt. If you want to spray something on to the belt to make sure it's the belt chirping and not a pulley use brake cleaner, it will dissipate quickly and not leave a residue on the pulleys.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 389
Likes: 1
From: Roswell GA
I agree with the post above. Check the idler pulley and lube it with wd-40. You can also look at the inside of the belt and see if there are cracks. If there are a lot of cracks you would want to replace the belt.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,836
Likes: 244
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Originally Posted by wildman
replace The Srpentine Belt With A "gates" Brand Belt.the Dayco,goodyears Chirp.a New Gm Belt Will Chirp Too!.most Auto Parts Stores Carry The Gates Belt,or Can Get One Easily.
Many here, including myself, have been using the Goodyear "Gatorback" belts for replacements for several years with no issues. It's been my observation that the chirping is usually not the fault of the belt per se (barring excessive wear) but often from debris such as sand, grit, and debris getting into the pulley grooves combined with a worn belt. I think too many people are replacing belts without taking the extra step of wire brushing the pulley grooves all the way around.
There have also been a couple issues with the idler pulley (not the bearing) dust shield design on the earlier C5s and also maybe a tensioner that is starting to fail. The squealing or other noise from these two components are not from the belt at all, but sometimes erroneously attributed to the belt(s).
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
