klammer76

I have a 98 coupe with 47,000. I have had a squeal on & off for a while. Last year I removed the serpentine belt and squeal went away (or so I thought). I replaced the A/C & serpentine belts with Gatorbacks an d replaced the serpentine tensioner & idler. Still had a slight squeal. This year it was quiet until last week. The squeal is louder when the A/C is off. When I turn the A/C on the squeal is still there but not as loud and the pitch changes (sound lower). Squeal gets louder the more when accellerate. I can't seem to locate the noise with a stethescope. Any ideas? I can replace the A/C belt tensioner & idler but don;t want to waste the $ if that's not it. Alternator, water pump, power steering or A/C compressor how do I tell?

Thanks,
Klammer

tstar

Hmmm You could try squirting each pulley assembly in turn with some lubricant until the squeal stops or lessens. Assuming you can squirt the bearings in em...

You could also try "de-glazing" the pulley valleys on the AC belt with some 400 grit sandpaper too... in case the belt is slipping on the pulley.

skydive120

Lowes sells some great stuff to stop the squealling belts, thought my problem was worse than it was but turned out to be a glazed belt.
Wish I could tell you what its called but all I know is its from PB and can buy it al Lowes, sprayed it once 6 months ago and no problems since then.

Chris

AFTRBRNR

I had the same problem. When you get the belt wet it would temporarily shut up. I used sand paper to try to deglaze it as well. Didn't work for me so I changed the belt completely. My belt was chewed up on the threaded side. New belt; no noise, happy once more.

klammer76

What puzzles me is the squeal is worse with the A/C off. A/C on, it's there but lower pitch and less squeal. I really hope it's not the compressor.

Retserof

Over time, I replaced both belts, both idler pulleys and both tensioners on my 98 and the belt/pulley squeal comes back eventually. This time, it is somewhere in the alternator belt system (I removed that belt temporarily and the noise went away. I cannot isolate the sound any further.) I reversed the belt's orientation when I reinstalled it and the squeal was gone for a few hours, but now it's back. This makes me think that the belt itself is to blame. It was glazed on one edge.

So, now I'm going to clean the dust off the pulleys and install a new Gatorback belt instead of another GM belt. I'll let you know if it helps.

Retserof

The Gatorback belt seems to have eliminated the chirp-chirp noise from the drive belt assembly, but it's only been on for an hour.

sixspdvet

If your still having the problem do this, go over the your local Chevy Dealer, ask to see the Vette Tech.. ask him if he has some Silicone Lubricant Part number 18010908. It come in the Brake Pads, most of them don't use it.. Open it and put some on your finger, rub some on both sides of the belts, start the car and let run for a few.. You can do it again but if you use enough you won't have to..

The part number won't be listed in parts, but it will be listed as 18010909, I think it comes like 12 to a pkg.

I have used this for years on all my cars and it works great... Not sure if this will help you but give it a try.

Ernie

Retserof

Well, the new Gatorback belt seems to have done the trick -- over 300 miles and 7 hours of running time later and it is nice and quiet.

dezcapt51

Same problem but with a different twist elimanated the drive belt and componets so the ac belt or pulleys were the culprit. Changed the pulleys and belts and squeal went away but came back recently Squeal was pretty loud at idle and louder upon accelerating. It is in the ac system but with new belt and new pulleys I'm Finally removed the ac belt for some peace and quiet. Any suggestions?

road pilot

I had a similar problem turns out it wasn't the belt but the
bearing!!Good luck.

benjiusn

I had a similar problem it turned out to be the harmonic balancer pulley. I would only get a little squeak when the car was cold then eventually it did not go away and instead of a small squeak it sounded like a flock of birds under the hood. If you look down at the crank pulley and it is moving forward to aft about 1/2 an inch or so then that is your problem. The rubber material breaks down and separates on the factory balancer.

Good Luck,
Shannon

my6thvette

Had the same problem until my A/C belt broke. Noise went away but no A/C. Replaced the A/C belt and it was quiet for about 6 months and then started squeaking again. Got some Prestone belt dressing from Walmart and sprayed it one the A/C belt, while running, and the noise instantly stopped. Is still quiet, after 2 weeks, but will keep the belt dressing handy in case it comes back.

passbyu

how hard to change the pulley?do you have he p/n for a new one?

motogib1

Try this thread, lots of good info from a post by a former GM C5 development engineer.