Belt/Pulley squeak

[TClark22]

I am sooo tired of the belt and or pulley squeak on my procharged 2v...

I am even more tired of replacing the belt every few months just to get it to stop for a short period of time...

Why does this happen? I don't even DD the car anymore and its happening just a quick...

If changing the belt didn't involve taking off the headunit then i wouldn't be as tired of it.

So what are the common reasons why they generate a squeak so quickly?

My current squeak actually is different than normal. The usual squeak i used to get was squeak at cold start, idle, rev then once it warms up a few miles it goes away. Now it doesn't squeak at cold start up and idle and if i sit there a rev it, it still doesn't squeak. But as soon as load is put on the engine is squeels like a pig.

This alone will keep me away from centri in the future. I plan on ripping this setup out this winter but i can't stand it like this and i want to enjoy the car until then. I don't think its coming from the procharger and i just replaced the small procharger idler pulley which was causing a different squeak last year (bearings were shot and actually loose in the pulley)

The town i live in is termed the bubble because everything needed is within a few miles and with this squeal, thats not enough to get rid of it! When i take it to work it will squeak for a few miles and once i am on the highway it seems to work itself out. Its pretty bad when you can hear it over a centri with no inlet, open bypass, and offroad exhaust.

Any advice?

 

[redfire04gt]

I had that too...think it was my tensioner. mine would chirp real loud at idle nd first start up then go away once warm. then it got so bad that it never went away. that was back when I had a single bolt tensioner and a p1sc. i never tried a new tensioner...i swapped to a 3 bolt cover and tensioner along with the d1sc when i built my motor and have no squeak at all and i used the same idlers minus the grooved idler thats not used on the 3 bolt cover. you could pick up a cheap tensioner from auto zone and try that.

 

[redfire04gt]

or take the head unit off and go back to a stock belt to prove its not the blower or idler.

 

[Stanger00]

I have a Goodyear tensioner sitting in a box. Only used for about 100 miles when I drove it from my house to AED to have a new motor with 3 bolt timing cover installed. Let me know just pay me shipping fees and its yours man. I've known you around the forums for 7-8 years now.

 

[A Suede Futon]

I was going to say bearings.

 

[TClark22]

you guys thinking the tensioner isn't putting enough tension? i mean the belt seems tight.

also what bearings?

Is it possible that its my A/c? When i turn the a/c on it would seem to get louder

 

[redfire04gt]

The single bolt tensioners get play in them quick unless you have a thumpr. You can see it with the car running the tensioner will bounce back and forth. Could be the bearings in any pulley that has them...if I remember correctly the only pulley's that don't have bearings are the crank, power steering, alternator and the blower pulley.

 

[Stage 4.6]

you guys thinking the tensioner isn't putting enough tension? i mean the belt seems tight.

also what bearings?

Is it possible that its my A/c? When i turn the a/c on it would seem to get louder

I had a similar problem with my 01 Roush w/Vortech SQ mine was the tensioner, couldn't find anyone that sold a good one at the time so I just bought a stock tensioner from ford and been through 2 gatorback belts in 8 years never had the issue again Thankfully, cause your are correct about what a PIA it is to replace the belt.

The noise might get louder with the A/C due to the compressor engaging and putting a little more strain on the tensioner or possibly bad idler?

 

[Stanger00]

The bearings in the idler and tensioner pulley will go bad and chirp. I don't think your A/C compressor is the problem. If you want to try to isolate add some dressing to the belt or water and see if the chirp goes away. If the noise is still there than you have a bearing going south. I don't know how many pulleys with bearings run with a procharger system.

I thought with a procharger you didn't need to remove the head unit to change belts?

The thumper tensioner is on my buy list because the stock tension just bounces around way too much at idle. I can only imagine what it does when I load it up and unload the motor. Probably the main reason my belts jump ribs and shred.

 

[TClark22]

The bearings in the idler and tensioner pulley will go bad and chirp. I don't think your A/C compressor is the problem. If you want to try to isolate add some dressing to the belt or water and see if the chirp goes away. If the noise is still there than you have a bearing going south. I don't know how many pulleys with bearings run with a procharger system.

I thought with a procharger you didn't need to remove the head unit to change belts?

The thumper tensioner is on my buy list because the stock tension just bounces around way too much at idle. I can only imagine what it does when I load it up and unload the motor. Probably the main reason my belts jump ribs and shred.

I just had a belt shred on me last summer, just 2 ribs though. It made a mess of my engine bay and destroyed the head blanket on the underside of the hood.

There is only 1 idler pulley with the procharger kit that has bearing in it and I just replaced it cause it was causing a ridiculous noise when the old one shot (the bearings inside had to be torn up cause i could move them around in the pulley, the bearings didn't budge in the new idler).

I will never add belt dressing ever ever again...OMG what a bitch, it fixes the problem for a short time but that shit gets flung everywhere. And i am pretty sure adding water makes it squeak too but i don't have too much experience with that. Only time i have purposefully watered down the engine bay was to clean it and it squeaked after.

May try the tensioner, lol but i would have to take the head unit off just to replace it! Having taken the head unit off so many times i stripped out one of the bolts holding the bracket on...so last summer i had to fix that.

I remember having to grind the stock tensioner down just to fit with the procharger bracket.

Think your goodyear tensioner will help? Send me a pm with your price and maybe a pic of it. Just looked up that thump tensioner...HOLY SHIT $450? but damn it looks sexy. Not going down that route since i will be taking the crap off in a few months

 

[TClark22]

oh and btw i am running a 108-1/8" belt right now i believe. Used to run the 107-7/8"

 

[Stanger00]

You don't need a running hose to water the belt. I used a bottle if drinking water and just poured enough to wet the whole length of the belt while it was running. Might want to wear safety glasses.

My car has been shredding belts after a couple hundred miles of driving. I think 2 years is pretty good.

It's a pain but you may need to check those pullies with bearings. If they spin with little to no resistance they are bad or going bad.

The good year tensioner.

 

[Tunedprt91]

I changed my tensioner to a thumper and all my problems went away. I would have a new belt put on and after a night of hard pulls it would squeal like crazy. I tried belt dressing which like stated would make it stop for a day but that stuff got everywhere. Alot of members who went through the same stuff recommended a thumper to fix my problems and it did. I say try one out tclark

 

[TClark22]

You don't need a running hose to water the belt. I used a bottle if drinking water and just poured enough to wet the whole length of the belt while it was running. Might want to wear safety glasses.

My car has been shredding belts after a couple hundred miles of driving. I think 2 years is pretty good.

It's a pain but you may need to check those pullies with bearings. If they spin with little to no resistance they are bad or going bad.

The good year tensioner.

Yea, i just checked out oreillys for possibly pulleys and they look to be 20$ a piece so that would be easy. I'll try the tensioner thing first. You said just pay shipping?

Also did anyone else have to shave down the part below for the tensioner to work with my procharger bracket?


IMG_0378 by TClark04, on Flickr

I changed my tensioner to a thumper and all my problems went away. I would have a new belt put on and after a night of hard pulls it would squeal like crazy. I tried belt dressing which like stated would make it stop for a day but that stuff got everywhere. Alot of members who went through the same stuff recommended a thumper to fix my problems and it did. I say try one out tclark

Yea i want to try one and damn do they look good, but can't justify spending the 450 when I am planning on a motor swap in a few months.

I may just have to eat it, change the belt and tensioner and deal with it if it starts to squeak again.

 

[TClark22]

I think i found some of my belt noise issue...


Untitled by TClark04, on Flickr


lol so i bought a new tensioner and belt hoping it will last til winter quick 60 bucks for hopefully months of squeak free enjoyment

 

[01yellercobra]

Had the same thing happen to me. Sad part was I didn't have the blower on.

 

[redfire04gt]

single bolt tensioners suck! the single bolt tensioners don't last very long before they get play in them.

 

[blown98riored]

I had all the same symptoms as described above. After 10 yrs of fighting belts, pulleys, and tensioners with a Vortech V1 on a 98 cobra, I found that ford had a TSB on the some of the cast aluminum tensioners and SOLD(imagine that...LOL) a replacement that was Metal. I ended up getting one for $250. Was $315 before I negotiated with the parts guy. But anyway that helped a little but the main problem was the idler pulley that is with the vortech kit had SKF bearings with rubber sealed sides and were rated to just 17k rpm's. After doing calculations with my crank pulley and the size of idler pulley, it was turning 24-25k rpms. I got some metal sealed bearings that were good to 28k rpms and havent had any belt issues yet! over a year now!! Maybe worth lookin into...

Goodluck:beer: