Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultramaroon
There are idler pulley noises, and there is belt squeak. I started getting a belt squeak a couple years ago but the belt was perfectly serviceable. Looking closely, I noticed some grains of sand had worked their way into the valleys of the belt grooves. The grains lifted the belt away from the little alternator pulley enough for it to slip in spots while under load for a few minutes after starting the engine.
Spent an hour carefully picking out all the tiny grains with the tip of a hard needle (from a drafting compass). Eliminated the squeak and I'm STILL using the original belt.
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sorry,thought you were replying to the washing machine post.
yes, it definitely sounds like a rubber/belt squeak, and not a mechanical/metal squeak as i'd expect from a bearing. the 'chirp' is rpm dependent, but also sounds as a singular point in the belt striking a single pulley position, instead of a more rapid 'chirp' i would expect from a failed bearing assembly. i figured 50k in, it's not the worst thing to replace the belt anyways, though i was surprised the belt was squeaking already. i did find some chunks on the old belt that looked to indicate debris at the bottom of the pulley groove, but it was throughout every swath of the belt that i checked, which made it easier to replace the entire belt than spend a few hours picking all the pieces out for a part that was well-used..
thanks, i'll pull the belt again and check the pulley's, probably run a wire wheel over them all just to be safe