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I changed the belt prior to the harmonic balancer & 4 times after the balancer-even tried a Gator back belt, changed the tensioner also. I isolated it to the main belt. Took it to Chevy mechanic claimed dirty pulleys-cleaned them all, they put on a new belt-one month later same morning chirps until warm up...Help what gives? Thank you.
4 Replies
Had that problem on a Trailblaizer. The tensioner was not tight enough was not even at half way mark. Finally put a shorter belt on it, it listed one on an earlier model called for one an inch shorter. Replaced it with shorter belt and customer is still happy. PS Had changed tensioner and power steering pump earlier in the year.
Check for pulley misalignment. The power steering pulley is pressed on and can be pushed on too far so that it does not align with the rest of the pulleys. If you look at the belt you will see that it goes around the crankshaft pulley, then it goes around the water pump on the way to the power steering. The water pump is driven by the back side of the belt and so the belt slides across the pulley and makes the noise when the crankshaft and power steering are not perfectly aligned. A little penetrating oil will make a temporary change in the noise when sprayed on the back side of the belt to prove if the sound is what I suspect it might be.
Agree with both 1-2-3. Here is what gives; when you start the engine cold, plus after sitting overnight, that drained the battery somewhat, now the alternator has to work a bit harder for a moment to revive the battery! Plus the belt is cold and so is everything else the belt has to turn. After it runs and warms up everything just works better! If you were to lets say, leave your headlights on without the engine running for awhile, next start up the belt will squeal again until the battery is brought back up. However if the belt and all the componets are operating properly, there should be no noise. Replace the belt, (with the right one) and tensioner with top quaility parts only! Some of these aftermarket tensioners are junk to start with! Now, how old is your battery??? Have you sprayed anything on this belt?? If so, what was it?? This aplies to BOTH belts!
I did all of the above and still had noise within a month. Changed with proper size 6 times before fix. Don't get me wrong, please check all of the above like I did before jumping to a shorter belt. I just exhausted myself after all the above had been checked, but after 5 comebacks I found the problem.
So in the end, the problem you found is not enough belt tension at the time it is making this noise,..I agree!
The marks on the tensioner were not even going to half way with the new belt, put shorter on and had good tensioner mark at just under half way. If you know what I mean.
Yep i know.
Well It may be the Power steering pulley alignment. I sprayed some water on the belt at startup and no chirp until water dried-so definitely an alignment deal somewhere. The engine has never thrown a belt yet. The tensioner is new. The belt is top quality Gates. It is annoying as heck- it makes a nice car sound cheap or is that chirp. I will stay on the dealer until they make the fix. They claim dirty pulleys were the culprit. They cleaned & installed a new belt last time. They claim that there is an alignment laser tool to shoot all of the pulleys for alignment-I gotta tell them do it rather than diddle fart around...
That will stop the noise for a few seconds no matter what the problem is! That doesn't really confirm anything but it is indeed the belt making that chirp. Does it make this noise all the time?? If not then it must be another problem as the belt alignment is probably staying the same, one would think. Low belt tension is most likely the trouble! Do you know the Gates number? If so post it.
I don't sorry, the Dealer put it on. Prior to that belt I put a Gatorback belt on it took two gorillas to get it on-really tight. two weeks later Bam chirping again, then the dealer took it off and cleaned all pulleys & installed the latest deal. Could a bearing in the alternator or idler be the culprit?
Does it make this noise any time the engine is running? Or just the first start up each day then it's ok until the next day? If this is the case read #4 again! If it is a constant noise, have the alignment checked with the lazer tool. I have been ALL over the chirping belt deal and cleaned, sanded, replaced and cussed as much as anybody! So some more info. will help. Does it do it all the time???
Every morning until warm up, then it usually does not chirp for the remainder of the day until I sits for many hours sometimes overnight...The battery is brand new & stays on float charge..
How old is your battery?
three weeks old the most. Thank you for your help...
good luck
I think Gillespies is on the right track. Prior to the Harmonic Balancer being replaced it was quiet. In addition who knows the power steering pump may have been changed also, I bought the car used a year ago. The guy outsmarted me the car was warm when I went to see it & drive it. I will talk to the Chevy mechanic on this next time. I guess if the alignment was real bad I would have thrown a belt or two. I was told overnite moisture could be an issue also...Thank all of you for your help!
Here is one version of the tool you need. http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=1395&location_id=5014 Here is the one I have. http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=4935&location_id=3006 If I read correctly, the crank pulley was changed. Did they go undersized? If so, it could easily be the crank pulley that is the one that is out of line, and it might require shimming or even replacement. I have had vehicles where a pulley isn't square with the rest of the group and it took shimming to bring it back into alignment. The lubrication trick on the back side of the belt confirms its a misalignment issue, and not slippage due to insufficient tension. If that is doubted get a socket that fits the alternator pulley nut and see if you can turn the engine over with it. If the belt is too loose you won't be able to and the pulley will slip under the belt. BTW dealer techs would routinely only find contaminated pulleys and belts and so they reacted exactly as if this was an ordinary condition. Pulley misalignment isn't an ordinary condition so its actually not fair to expect them to have a plan in place to deal with it. If this has undersize pulley's (and it might not just be the crank pulley) then almost no one has "experience" with this problem and it becomes a nightmare to figure out. I have had cars that the correction of a belt noise condition required reinstallation of all of the original pulleys.
Ouch, I also heard that there is a replacement crank bolt(black not galvanized finish) with a serrated grip when the damper is installed. I will bring back to the dealer for evaluation. He told me he could change damper without removing the rack and only the subframe. I told him the history he claims the damper installed is OEM...I will post you once he reevaluates... Do you think the dealer owns an alignment tool? Thank you for the link. To bad you are not up in Long Island!Until then..Thanx.
I really tried not to reply but could not refrain, if this was a misalignment or a incorrect pulley problem, why the hell does it do it JUST on cold start then the rest of the day it's ok??? Think about it! Hope y'all figure it out.
OUCH!
Double Ouch...Good point!
Why does it only make noise cold? Maybe because it slides quietly once it gets warmed up? If they think the belt is loose, has anyone put a belt tension gage on this and measured the belt tension? The dealer should have one of those but its probably sitting under a ton of dust because techs rarely use them until they get a headache car. The same goes with the pulley alignment tool, it gets shunned as you see PR doing until the day a problem car eats the techs lunch. Good luck with your car, someone can use the tools and equipment that are available and prove what is wrong and solve it, or they can just keep trying things until they get lucky or someone gets fed up with the process.
WOW! Now this is a page full. LMAO! By the way, that shorter belt deal does work! Done that one too. No need to reply i am going to 'unfollow' this one for D. sure!!