Yet another squeak/chirp pulley/belt issue

[Bullyent]

04 with an annoying chirp AT COLD START ONLY then goes away completely after a minute or so.

2.3 gen 2 whipple
Metco 4lb lower
Metco 3.2 alternator pulley
Billetflow idlers
Reichard belt tensioner

Almost certain it’s the idler pulley. Came in at every angle and only gets louder as I get closer to that pulley. So I find the part number (203 FF oriley auto) and replaced it. Pressed it out and pressed it in. Same chirp only this time a new chirp began with my throttle. as my RPM went up, the chirp would chirp faster. Only lasted about a minute or so after comepletely warming up then it’s gone. No squeak/chirp or anything. But most likely when I start it up tomorrow morning It will chirp.

 

[MG0h3]

Easiest way to isolate a belt vs bearing is dumping a little water on he belt. A belt chirp typically will go away for a moment, a bearing will not.

I had luck flipping my belt; so the writing/numbers are the opposite of how they are now. Lasted for well over a year before I Pullied down.

Belt alignment is also an issue with your metco lower.






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[Bullyent]

Easiest way to isolate a belt vs bearing is dumping a little water on he belt. A belt chirp typically will go away for a moment, a bearing will not.

I had luck flipping my belt; so the writing/numbers are the opposite of how they are now. Lasted for well over a year before I Pullied down.

Belt alignment is also an issue with your metco lower.






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Thank you for the reply. Yeah I was thinking the same with a possible alignment issue. I’ll definitely look into that as well. I’ll try spraying water on the belt tomorrow. Hopefully it’s that

 

[MG0h3]

Just use a cup or water bottle. Basically a mouthful of water while it’s running will do it.

A lot of times it’s a “dry belt” so the water temporarily quiets it. Sometimes it’ll fix it for longer if you hammer it with water. I think it’s compounded on our cars it’s the high tension.


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[01yellercobra]

Gates green belt?

 

[Bullyent]

Gates green belt?

Nah it’s some brand called micro VET.

So I sprayed with water and the chirp went away so looks like it is a belt issue. Could it be that my belt is fine but the alignment is bad? Any recommendations for belts?

 

[Bullyent]

Just use a cup or water bottle. Basically a mouthful of water while it’s running will do it.

A lot of times it’s a “dry belt” so the water temporarily quiets it. Sometimes it’ll fix it for longer if you hammer it with water. I think it’s compounded on our cars it’s the high tension.


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You were right. As soon as water got the belt chirp went away immediately. Could it be my pulleys aren’t aligned? There’s no belt wobble from what I see. Any recommendations on belts?

 

[Bullyent]

Gates green belt?

Never mind lol I guess it is gates but not green belt

 

[MG0h3]

Try flipping it. I can’t tell you why it worked for me. Someone else recommended it and boom.

Maybe the belt had a weird area combined with minor inconsistencies in the pullies it squeaked.

Another thing is the belt will hold the form it has on the car. Take it off and throw it on the floor. It’ll look like the diagram on your radiator cover


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[P49Y-CY]

this might not be accepted practice, because i have never seen it mentioned before and something about it doesn't seem right, but after chasing belt issues for a long time, what cured it for me was spraying silicone spray directly on the ribbed side of the belt while the car was running.

had to be sprayed in the valley down by the crank pulley on the ribbed side right before it goes into the pulley while the engine is running. took a couple of times at varying rpm, and the noise finally was permanently gone.

anything else i did - changing belts, water, flipping, sanding the smooth side - the noise just kept coming back. and just like op, i thought it was my bearings at first and even bought a few replacements. =(

has to be silicone spray - do not use pb blaster or anything else that's not good for rubber!

what sounds bad about it is that the belt would become too slippery, right? but i have never noticed any belt slip or adverse effects anything like that.

it really was the only thing that worked for me. and i only had this problem on my 2.93 upper coupe. the 2.80 on my vert never gave me a problem, probably because it uses the factory belt with the 4 billetflow idlers. best of luck with it!

 

[Bullyent]

@P49Y-CY yeah it’s very irritating to start up such an immaculate car and the belt is screaming. I’m going to switch belts to a gatorback. (Continental Elite Poly-v 4080825) 82.50 inch belt length from summit racing.
Current belt is a gates micro-v at (not green) from the previous owner.
Just going to switch it out to get some peace of mind. A lot of people are saying the gatorbacks are the way to go

 

[01yellercobra]

this might not be accepted practice, because i have never seen it mentioned before and something about it doesn't seem right, but after chasing belt issues for a long time, what cured it for me was spraying silicone spray directly on the ribbed side of the belt while the car was running.

had to be sprayed in the valley down by the crank pulley on the ribbed side right before it goes into the pulley while the engine is running. took a couple of times at varying rpm, and the noise finally was permanently gone.

anything else i did - changing belts, water, flipping, sanding the smooth side - the noise just kept coming back. and just like op, i thought it was my bearings at first and even bought a few replacements. =(

has to be silicone spray - do not use pb blaster or anything else that's not good for rubber!

what sounds bad about it is that the belt would become too slippery, right? but i have never noticed any belt slip or adverse effects anything like that.

it really was the only thing that worked for me. and i only had this problem on my 2.93 upper coupe. the 2.80 on my vert never gave me a problem, probably because it uses the factory belt with the 4 billetflow idlers. best of luck with it!

Maybe there's something in the silicone spray that softens the rubber and causes it it be a little stickier.