KILL THE MOUSE!!!
Squeaky belts!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 216
Likes: 0
From: west coast fl
Squeaky belts!
I have changed the belts about every six months on my 98 because they start squeaking. I've tried the belt dressings with no help and silicone sprays. This is getting old so any feed back is welcome. 
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 9,298
Likes: 4
From: American Canyon Lethal Injection
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 216
Likes: 0
From: west coast fl
Believe it or not I have the gatorbacks, I've tried three different brands now with no luck. Every time I've put new belts on the squeak goes away for awhile so I didn't think it was a tensioner but now I don't know.
Former Vendor
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 8,995
Likes: 2
From: Spring Texas
St. Jude Donor '08
it's a possibility. The squeak could be bad bearings in the tensioner. It might also be the AC compressor but if it is the compressor you'll only hear the squeak when the AC is on.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 431
Likes: 5
From: Chico CA
Good likelihood of this with a '98. The serpentine belts more chatter when they are worn - the little ribs crack at odd intervals, and make a chirping or chattering noise in the pulleys.The tensioner is a wear item. Mine folded up on me at 73k miles on my '99. Just leaned out about a quarter inch at the top and tossed the belt right off. Look at the gap on the tensioner - if you've been replacing belts, you know where the tensioner is. If the gap isn't dead even, the tensioner mechanism is failing. Even if that's okay, the pulley can squeal. So can the one on the idler, low on the driver side.
If you change one, I'd change all of 'em. An idler and a tensioner is in place on each of the two belts. Check that A/C belt while the main one is out - it's sort of buried, so while the main belt is off is a good time to look. With the speed with which these engines rev and drop off, the changes in thrust on the tensioners can cause some wear. Worth it for the effect of that power, though.
:Good luck. Not a big investment, but better than being stranded due to a belt failure. And if a new belt is thrown (as mine was), time for another new belt...
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 216
Likes: 0
From: west coast fl
Thanks for the replies, I'm going to do some close inspections of my tensioner. It seems that the chirp is coming from the a/c belt but does not matter if the a/c is on or not. I'll let you know, thanks again. 
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Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 4,984
Likes: 497
From: Hilton NY
Does this happen the first time you start the car in the day and then goes away after a minute or two? If so, it could be that the steel damper is rusting where the belt contacts it. My '98 had this problem until an aluminum ATI damper was installed and all the squeeking went away since there is no steel to rust. Someone posted that he cleaned the grooves on the stock damper and the squeeking went away for a while because all the surface rust was removed. If you live in a humid climate then rusting overnight could be the cause of the squeek.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 16,795
Likes: 62
From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
when the belts are off, hand turn/spin each of the pulleys.
They should spin freely and smoothly without any wobble or play.
If one of them wobbles, does not turn smootly or feels gritty , you have found the problem
They should spin freely and smoothly without any wobble or play.
If one of them wobbles, does not turn smootly or feels gritty , you have found the problem
Racer
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 452
Likes: 2
From: Lynnfield MA
worse over time, after helping for a short time. After replacing
the belt several times I took a good look at all the pulleys and
found one of the composite pulleys had a chunk taken out of it!
Anyway, one more thing to look for...
Pro
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 513
Likes: 1
From: brick nj
squeaky belts
if your belts are new or in good shape with no cracks the noise is probably from glaze on the pulleys.this may sound crazy but it really works.i read it in a hot rod magazine a long time ago.try rubbing a little bit of toothpaste on the ribs and back of the belt.the fine abrasive in the toothpaste will clean away the glaze on the pulleys leaving them a little dull looking instead of shiny.this will keep the belt from slipping on the pulley which causes the squeak.valve grinding compound is good also if the glaze is very heavy.i am the foreman of a large nissan dealership service dept. and we have been doing this for years with 100% success.the factory will not pay for belt adjustments after 12,000 miles and the customer refuse to pay because they feel the car is still new,so this is the perfect solution.plus when you open the hood the engine has a fresh minty smell.(just kidding)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,256
Likes: 1
From: Charlotte NC
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11
I keep having the same problem even after 2 belts. Im going to see my mechanic at the race shop thursday to look into it. Ill let you know what he thinks my problem is 
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,526
Likes: 18
From: Santa Fe TX
I replaced the following:
Tensioner Pulley -- no fix
Idler pulley -- no fix
Removed belts -- fixed
Put AC belt on -- tiny sqeak
Replaced AC belt with GATES belt -- no squeak with this belt only
(comparable in price to gatorback, always been partial to gates)
Put original Main Serp belt back on -- squeak back
Replaced main belt with Gatorback ($25 at autozone -- gates was $42, so I went with gatorback on everyones recommendation)
So far fixed. I still have a slight crank pulley wobble that I think could be the cause of the problem over time and I will be looking into that further - but so far 40 miles today squeak free.
Tensioner Pulley -- no fix
Idler pulley -- no fix
Removed belts -- fixed
Put AC belt on -- tiny sqeak
Replaced AC belt with GATES belt -- no squeak with this belt only
(comparable in price to gatorback, always been partial to gates)
Put original Main Serp belt back on -- squeak back
Replaced main belt with Gatorback ($25 at autozone -- gates was $42, so I went with gatorback on everyones recommendation)
So far fixed. I still have a slight crank pulley wobble that I think could be the cause of the problem over time and I will be looking into that further - but so far 40 miles today squeak free.
