My balancer went out 2 weeks ago, and right before it did my belts got all squeaky and then they jumped off completely. It's difficult to tell when something like that is going out because it has to be running to be diagnosed, and either everythings moving or it's not. I thought it was my tensioner last spring but it turned out to be my a/c compressor clutch going out.

 

Like I said, they don't sound squeaky or anything that I would normally associate with "Oh shit, what now". If you can imagine the sound volume of the belts normally and double that, that's what mine sound like.

 

Tighten the tensioner shown here:

Stealth 316 - Alternator Drive Belt

 

Are you noticing and vibrations from any of the pulleys while it's idling?

 

Well I went to go tighten the tensioner today and it seems like it was tightened all the way. Also the other one I have in the box* (from when I bought the car) seems to be a little bigger than the one that's on the car.

Edit: The pulley directly under the motor mount has a little vibration in it.

Edit #2: The (*) pulley I have is a second Edit #1 pulley.

 

Any other ideas!?

 

just a bump to keep it in active. i'm curious too..

 

Afternoon bump. Come on guys, I don't want it to turn out being something major and finding out way too late.

 

My car used to do the same thing. It did not make a squeaky sound but sort of like a dry raspy sound coming from the belt area. I took it to mitsubishi and they tol me that it was my hydraulic tension they said it is either bad or just needs to be adjusted,which i thought was really weird because it was just replaced three months proir to it sounding likethat along with belts, waterpump....... i decided to leave it alone because i did not have the funds to fix it at the moment weeks later it went away on its own .

 

Update!

Alright, I changed out the a/c idler pulley and I replaced it. This one is good, has no vibration and spins nicely in the hand. Sound was still there. So I brought it to school and my teacher brought out the stethoscope and we put it up to the bolts on the a/c idler, the p/s tensioner, and the a/c tensioner. the a/c tensioner was a lot louder than the other two so I replaced the a/c pulley and put a little bearing grease on the inside of the bolt hole and on the washer where it meets the bearing. I tightened it up and I still had the sound.

 

I've got the same problem, I just replaced my alternator and did the 60k service (new waterpump,timing belt, tensioner, timing tensioner pulley, timing idler pulley) I get it all back together and it starts squeaking a few day later. I suppose the A/C tensioner or P/S idler could have been squeaking the whole time and I just couldn't hear it since the alternator got replaced because of bad bearings. Oh and both accessory belts are brand new. I've already adjusted the belt tension and can't get rid of the squeaks. I don't want to go too tight since I think that's what killed my alternator bearings in the first place.

 

Well I determined the best way to describe the sound is if you continuously rub two pieces of computer paper against each other. That is the closest to the sound i have.

 

Have you checked to make sure that the lower timing belt cover is tight and not against one of the accessory belts. A belt rubbing against the timing cover is about the only thing that I can think of that would cause a paper rubbing sound. A pulley giving problems would usually be more of a metallic sound.

 

Sometimes its as simple as the weather. Summer my ac belt does not squeak, then in the winter its noisy as hell. "shrugs"

I dont know if its just temperature related.

 

get some WD40 and with the small straw that attaches to the spray head, shoot the belts one at a time and see if the squeak goes away... Don't soak them, a little WD40 on the effected area will show quickly.

 

Thanks for all the ideas you guys are giving.

My teacher also put out the idea of taking off the accessory/power steering belts. He figures if the noise is still there if the those belts are off then its a t-belt issue. Then put them on one by one until the noise comes back. I know when the idler pulley on my jeep went, I wasn't able to start the car once the belt was off. Will the same thing happen to my car now or will it still start up and ill just lose accessories?

Does anyone have a picture of what the lower timing over looks like? That way I'll be able to have a little familiarity when I jump into it.

 

Does anyone have a picture of what the lower timing over looks like? That way I'll be able to have a little familiarity when I jump into it.

Check out the picture below that was taken from CAPS. It's part number is 02007Q which includes the gaskets and all that go around it.

 

it will start without the accessory/power steering belts.

 

DOnt know if this could be an issue, I was having some of the same problem. It ended up being that my Accesories were not lined up correctly after a new AC comp was installed. I adjusted them with a good straight edge on re-install and the noise and my random belt squeal went away.

 

well I did have the alternator off, maybe that' the problem, I'll check and see if she's lined up straight. Of course getting a straightedge down in there could be problematic, has anyone else noticed that the engine compartment was kinda cramped?

 

It is slightly cramped, but honestly of my 3 cars it's the easiest to work on. Both the other ones have a lot of room under the hood, but it seems everything was laid out terribly and is almost impossible to get to.

 

Well I narrowed it down to the accessory belt. Took it off and started it up and the noise went away. how would i check to see if everything is lined up?

 

It's the a/c pulley. I turned on the a/c today and it made a squeal noise when it turned on. Is it possible to swap out the pulley on the compressor or do I have to buy the whole assembly?

 

I have the exact same problem.... when I turn on the AC it sqeals.....

 

bump to know if the a/c pulley can be separated from the compressor

 

Yes it is possible, but it can be a tedious job. Tight area and several c-clips. I did this last year though and restored my A/C to working condition, it was TOTALLY worth it. Get a good c-clip pliers before you start this job and you will be fine.

 

The a/c pulley is an easy replacement if you ask me. I bought a whole a/c compressor on here awhile back and was going to swap out the pulleys because the one on my car is a 4 spline and I need a 5 spline (aka the 5 spline belt rides on the outside of the pulley! why the mechanic that swapped my motor didn't mention that I don't know) but the diameter of the 5 spline pulley was a little larger and wouldn't bolt to the other a/c

There should be several bolts on the outside radius of the pulley, you can see them fairly easily but it will be annoying without something to hold the pulley still while taking them off.

 

There should be several bolts on the outside radius of the pulley, you can see them fairly easily but it will be annoying without something to hold the pulley still while taking them off.

I think my problem lies within the pulley's bearing. I'm pretty sure it's not the outer part of the compressor. It'll just be a while before I get anything done.

 

Ahhhh I see. I feel kind of retarded now. My a/c makes a horrid squealing noise as well when I turn it on, though if I run it for awhile, it eventually stops and the air still works. I haven't ran it in awhile though since it hasn't really been warm in a few months.

I'll be swapping my compressors out eventually, when I get motivated enough haha.