Changed the belt, different squeal??

[BoBbOrAzE]

Ok, so my car was making this loud ticking after i would start it and the speed of it would match as i revved my engine. i went with it like that for about 3 days trying to figure out what it was. eventually the stock alternator belt popped off.

So i went to napa and got a belt that was 1/4 inch longer cause thats all they had, and i tightened her up as best i could. Now all the ticking and slight squealing from the old belt went away completely and sounded great. But a day later when i started her there was a verry loud squealing noise and mostly just when i turn the wheel. after about 2 min of driving it goes away and it very faint when im finally at where im going. The noise is extremely loud and is a totally different squeal.

I would have put belt dressing but the napa guy said it gets gunked up on ridged belts

Does anyone know what this is??
Is it too tight?
too loose?
new belt?

 

[wyominghotwheel]

sounds like a loose belt.....what you could try to do to diagnose it, when the car is cold....take a can of wd40 out with ya, and pop the hood....start the car and when it start's squeeling, squirt some wd40 on the belt and see if the noise goes away....chances are it will, and you will find the belt is to long and loose.........hotwheels of turborides

 

[BoBbOrAzE]

i guess it probably is too loose, i pulled it as far back as i could but i guess i didnt reallllllllly pull it all the way, so ur sure it doesnt make that noise when its tight??

and is that true? belt dressing gunks it up?

 

[kalla]

You will find in the service manual that the standard deflection on the belts is actually quite small, meaning that you will probably need to increase the tension on the belt(s) responsible. Also, I recommend you go to the dealer and buy the correct belt.