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Why does my alternator belt squeal so much on initial start up?

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njdaewoo

10+ Year Contributor
167
1
Oct 19, 2009
Piscataway, New_Jersey
Hello all,
My question is, whenever my car sits overnight. The initial cranking in the morning causes the alternator belt to really squeal. I replaced the belt and adjusted the new belt's tension several times but it has no effect on the morning squeal! After about 30 second or so the squeal stops and its good for the rest of the day. Is this a sign the alternator is on its way out? Thanx for any replies...
 
If the belt is good and adjusted properly, what condition are the pulleys in? Any rust on them?
 
because its a dsm and thats just something you have to live with :)

Nice, agreed. My belt makes a lot less noise AFTER my water pump was replaced. But it only squeals for 15 secs or so whenever it is fully cold. But after that, its good to go all day.

BUT before the water pump replacement, I can honestly say it was embarrassing when my baby would howl for a good 2 minutes.
 
i have been having the same problem as well i replaced my alternator and it squeaks at every startup unless warm. at night it is the worst i turn it on sqeaks for 15sec very loud then when i turn on my headlights the sqeak does not go away till i turn them off then on again i dont know what could be the problem with mine
 
Same thing happened to mine, even after a harmonic balancer install. In my case the alternator itself was loose causing the belt to ride slightly out of alignment. Tightened the alternator and tightened the belt banjo string tight, no more noises.
 
Tightened the alternator and tightened the belt banjo string tight, no more noises
..but, not too "banjo string" tight, for that'll raise havoc with the ALT and WP bearings.

All you need is a 1/4" deflection when you push down on the belt itself with your finger inbetween two pulleys. Or, if you can twist the belt more than a quarter turn between two pulleys, it's too loose.

Good luck-DSM
 
I have this problem too only with a cold start also. I have an unorthodox pulley and high compression motor. When i shift into second on a hard pull it squeals and i haven't been able to figure it out.
 
well i used the bar of soap trick on 2 cars(touch a bar of soap to where it rubs for a second or two). first car it made the belt quiet for as long as we owned the car. second car it made it quiet for about an hour then it started sqeeking again. Its kinda ghetto but sometimes it helps. I wonder if they have anything in the auto parts store that would work better then soap. maybe belt conditioner...

heres a youtube vid [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDzVDNdcQiM[/ame] but since the belts i did it to where easy to get to i did it with the car running... just a touch
 
Mine started the squeaking on cold start due to oil getting on the pulley/belt when my dipstick shot out. Might want to clan the pulley and change the belt. Worked on my first DSM :)
 
My 95 had a this problem for the longest time also. What I discovered atleast on my engine was. The bracket that holds the lower main bolt for the alternator got really egged out. To the point the alternator moved back and forth with the bolt in place. Even tight I can imagine this would cause stress and possibly throw the belt alignment off abit. Anyway what I did since this was my problem. I drilled out the hole for a bigger bolt, got a new oem belt and the squeak went away. Just another possibility it could be a number of issues and is a early warning sing for something else failing.
 
The reason a belt squeals is because its too loose. Obviously if you're belt is worn out, your pulleys are misaligned, or a bearing is seized that will cause it to squeal, but 95% of the time, it just needs tightening. End of story.

p.s. NEVER use belt dressing, it doesn't work!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Same here, the colder it gets the longer it squeals. Sometimes through third gear
 
Mine just does it intially on start up for about 5 seconds max, unless i turn the heating on then it squeals a little longer
 
Mine used to squeal quite a lot too. I just kept tightening the belt until it finally went away. Strange though there was VERY little belt deflection to begin with. I worry now they are too tight, but it's better than the squealing and carrying on. That shit is embarassing.
 
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