The Top DSM Community on the Web

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. Log in to remove most ads.

Please Support ExtremePSI
Please Support Morrison Fabrication

Guide to fixing that annoying screeching belt (It finally works!) [squeal]

This site may earn a commission from merchant
affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

gdem69

Probationary Member
24
0
Sep 23, 2008
Laval, Quebec_Canada
Its been a good year (ever since i had to replace my engine) that my alternator/ac/powersteering belt made that anoying noise that all 2g dsm owners are very familiar with. Its happens when its cold outside and you start the car, it happens when you turn your lights on at night, when you use your vents in the car and when you do tight turns while parking.

The two big issues are the tensioner for the atlernator and the bolt that holds the tensioner in place. I sent my car to two garages and both told me that my pullys have to be aligned and that i would possibly have to change most of my pullys (typical for mechanics to make a simple fix a big issue)

How To Fix Your Belt (Atleast How I Fixed Mine)
First check if the belt is worn out. in most cases because the belt has been squeaking for so long, chances are that you will need to replace it. To replace it, you will need to jack up your car and loosen the bolt underneeth the altonator which is holding it in place. then play around with the tensioner on your alternator making sure that your are loosening it and not tightening. with a lot of patients and a bit of time because its so tight and awakward, you will be able to slip that old worn out belt and replace it with a bran new one.

Then check the bolt that goes from left to right through the tensioner. One of my issues was that this specific bolt would get loose very often so i purchased a new nut with a nylon linning in it so it would prevent it from getting loose again. It worked out beautifully.

Then compare the tension of your belt to the belt which is to the left of your alternator. Obviousily to adjust the tension for your belt loosen the nut and bolt that hold the tensioner in place (the one described above that goes from left to right) and then tighten your tensioner accordingly. I think that this is the problem with most of these mitsubishi's the altinator tensioner.

Finally im going to let many in on a little secret that my friend told me. There is no risk in this but just the same do it at your own risk because i dont want to be responcible for anyones actions. Take a wax candle and rub it on the inside of your belt gently so that you dont ruin any of the groovs. Your soposeto do this while the car is on (while the belt is in motion) but because it is so tight i would never suggest for anyone to do this, it is really too dangerous. also jack up the car on the drivers side if you have a gst or gsx, you will find the same belt underneeth (the one closest to the drivers side tire) and continue to rub your wax candle on it to cover as much surface as possible. Dont exagerate with the candle because you dont need to put that much just pass it through your belt 4 or 5 times max.

Once everything is checked and done properly it is almost guaranteed that your car will never sqeak again and trust me it is a hudge relief because it was driving me crazzy as it has been to many. I put it through a test last night driving on a pretty cold night with my lights and vents on while parallel parking and to my supprise i didnt hear a single noise from that belt. What a relief!!! i wish all thoes who attemt to finally fix their belts all the luck possible. Hopefully my tips will lead you to success.
 
Bringing this back to life.

I just got my car up and running again, and sure enough - belt squeal. I removed the P/S belt to confirm that it is indeed the alternator belt that is squealing.

I have a newer alternator (around 1000 miles on it) and a new Gatorback belt. My harmonic dampener is a a newer Fluidampner. All surfaces were thoroughly cleaned with brake cleaner and a pick to get into the groves.

I tried the candle trick, but it didn't work. I've loosened the tension and tightened the tension, and neither have made a change.

Does anybody have any other tricks for me to try. I'm going home from work early today and my #1 goal for the day will be to conquer this belt squeal. I'm willing to try anything to silence this damn thing. I have a few different brand belts that are all newish, so I'll first try to change the belt to see if that fixes it. After that, I'm 100% open to options.
 
Ive never done this but perhaps lightly sanding the pullys with a medium grit (maybe 150) sandpaper will add enough friction to grab that dang belt.
 
Something else to check out if your running a Mitsu belt, is what part # are you running. Mitsu has a TSB on squeeling alternator belts. They have a replacement belt that is supposed to stop this issue & it isn't the number you get when you look up the belt in CAPS. I don't have the revised part # with me but will post it up when I get a chance.

I did pick up the revised part # but haven't got a chance to install it. For some reason the old belt (which is only a couple years old, bought all new belts when doing timing belt, didn't have squeel before, bought a new belt then it shows up :ohdamn: ) hasn't been squeeling most of the time on startup this year, so its been moved to the end of the things to do list LOL
 
Something else to check out if your running a Mitsu belt, is what part # are you running. Mitsu has a TSB on squeeling alternator belts. They have a replacement belt that is supposed to stop this issue & it isn't the number you get when you look up the belt in CAPS. I don't have the revised part # with me but will post it up when I get a chance.

I did pick up the revised part # but haven't got a chance to install it. For some reason the old belt (which is only a couple years old, bought all new belts when doing timing belt, didn't have squeel before, bought a new belt then it shows up :ohdamn: ) hasn't been squeeling most of the time on startup this year, so its been moved to the end of the things to do list LOL
Thanks for the post, Daren.

What does TSB stand for? ( I have a feeling that I should know this :coy: )

Let me know what that part number is as soon as you can. I planned to place a parts order with the dealership later today, so I'll just add it on. :thumb:
 
Ive never done this but perhaps lightly sanding the pullys with a medium grit (maybe 150) sandpaper will add enough friction to grab that dang belt.
I've heard of the old school V8 guys doing this for their v-belt accessory pulleys, but not for a ribbed serpentine belt. I'll reserve this as my last option, so if I have to do it, I'll let you know if it works.
 
Do you know what they changed about the belt, Daren?
The reason I ask is that I just remembered that I cannot use a stock length belt. The diameter of the outter section on the Fluidampner is a bit larger than that of the factory dampener. IIRC, I had to use a belt that is an extra inch longer.
 
I have always had a squel when I used a Gatorback belt (even as an OEM replacement). The belts that have worked best for me have been OEM Mitsu belts or the cheap Autozone belts. To be completely honest, every cheap Autozone belt I have had, has out lasted a Gatorback and never make a noise.
 
Brian, not sure about it being a 1g part #, numerious parts are the same through generations & on other Mitsu vehicles as well, so maybe this is the case?

I don't have the TSB with me here at work, but I do have a copy saved at home, so I can give it a look over for more details.

Paul, as far as changes, not sure what they are & don't believe they actually say what the differences are in the TSB, just tell you the defective part # & its replacement & how to replace/install the new one correctly. I'm also running a Fluidampr & don't seem to have any issues with my current OEM belt, as I didn't change belts when I installed it. Though when I origionally changed the alternator belt to the squeeling one, I do sorta recall it being a different length vs the stock one that was on there as the tensioned alternator ended up in a different location. No idea if the squeeling belt was shorter or longer then the origional factory one that was on there. I do have the origional belt & I believe they have the numbers on them, so I'll see what number that belt has on it & can also compare its length to the new replacement.
 
Well, I just cleaned off all the wax from the pulleys and installed a cheap parts store 39.5" belt on that I've had laying around since last year, and no more squeal. I can't explain how it's no longer doing it. The belt I used was one that I tried last year when I had this problem, and this belt squealed too. I tensioned it the same as I always do, too.

I'm just glad that it's fixed. Let's just hope it's permanent.
 
I too have developed this problem after a recent rebuild. It doesn't squeal all the time. It's more frequent if I shut the car off, and come back and start it up again within 10 minutes. Pretty annoying if you ask me. I thought it was the P/S belt as it increases when I turn the wheel, but I'm thinking maybe it's not now after reading this thread. Anyone know which alternator belt is supplied by Buschur in their timing and accessory belt kit?
 
i have the same problem but i have changed the belt twice and i am about to need to change it again, cause now my belt is one grove off thats dangling on the side, i dont know what the problem is i think it probably is the pulleys not being aligned properly, can anyone help me, i have a 99 420a.

when i first got the car it was making a chirping sound when i would let it idle, then after the first time i changed it, it was silent for about a day then it would only make it when i accelerated then it finally just shredded and i changed it again, and this time its been working silently but i makes the sound when i start it up in cold nights for about 5 seconds then stoped but i looked at it today and the belt looks like its about to come off. what do yall think it is, i am gonna take it to a mechanic but like someone said earlier i wanna just fix the problem, i dont want him to tell me i need a whole new pulley system when i only need to change screws.
 
any updates you wise men? I have a new belt installed on my car when I did the timing belt about 2 months ago. Mine isn't the alternator one though. It is the power steering belt. It is the belt ordered thru parts dinosaur 3 belt kit. They seem to be of excellent quality but if I apply any belt dressing or any fluid to my power steering pulley the squeal goes away. its been thoroughly tensioned and tensioned plenty of times. We in the community need a permanent fix!!!
 
I just looked and Autozone has a spray that coats the belt and stops the squealing. It's called Belt Dressing.

I tried that stuff. I noticed it said something about serpentine belts, but I can't remember if it was only for serpentine belts or NOT for serpentine belts.

Well I put it on and it made it much louder and made noises the entire time, instead of just while starting. My belt ripped apart on the way to work and the flailing belt ripped a wire off my alternator.

A new belt is under $20. Just make sure it's the right tension and a belt in good condition shouldn't squeal.
 
I had the engine out on my 96 2.4 a few years ago, and when I checked the alternator bolted down was slightly out of alignment to the crank pulley.
On older vehicles the mounting bracket was usually bolted to the block and if necessary you could shim it. On the 2.4 engine the mount is cast as part of the block. I figured the next time I pulled the engine I would see what was out of line and possible put a spot of braze into the mounting hole and see if I could bring it into line.
The mount uses two holes in the mount. I notice on later Hyundais, which used an identical mount the mount has two slots instead of holes. Is this how the later 2.4s were set up?
 
Alcon,

So i was doing some research on this and came across this youtube video and it definitely helped.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KreUV_i1JF8]Crooked Alternator Diagnosis - YouTube[/ame]

there are also other ways to fix this other then a bigger bolt i used spacers you just have to find some spacers and drill the hole a little bigger if you watch the video you'll understand what i mean.
 
I just looked and Autozone has a spray that coats the belt and stops the squealinbyg. It's called Belt Dressing.

Dressings like a few others posted about just end up ruining your belt. The first thing you should always be to check your belt to see if you need a new one. The solution I found with my 2g talon was my alternator tensioner needed to be tightened. What a relief to have no squeal! :hellyeah:
 
I have to 100% agree with post #44 and the video. I to had the annoying never ending belt squeal with my 2g eclipse. I tried everything from different belts and tighter or looser, anyway nothing worked even tried different alternators. Anyway I found the same problem the lower bolt had egged out and once you tighten the alternator it tweaks the whole thing alittle and there's were the belt squeal comes from. What I did to fix this was drill out the hole just big enough for a new bigger bolt to fit tightly. This worked perfectly and once you put the alternator on and tighten it down it won't shift and your belt won't squeal! Hope this helps you guys because it worked perfect for me and I haven't had a belt squeal since! Check that lower alternator hole I bet its egged out! ;) another way to fix this would be the j racing alternator relocation kit, which I have to run with my next setup!
 
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community
Boosted Fabrication ECM Tuning ExtremePSI Fuel Injector Clinic Innovation Products Jacks Transmissions JNZ Tuning Kiggly Racing Morrison Fabrications MyMitsubishiStore.com RixRacing RockAuto RTM Racing STM Tuned

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top