2G A newbie to DSM and the infamous squeal...

[Evil_Valk]

First and foremost this is not a question on how to fix it or a definite answer for those with the same issue. This is merely my experience with my problem and how it was fixed for my car. I drive a 99' Eclipse GST Spyder. I have owned it for about 40-50k miles, and after just a few months on cold start ups I was getting a terrible squeal-it would end after 10-20 seconds. Any load would make it worse i.e., fans/ac on, lights on, radio on, etc. After weeks of putting on new belts for the PS, Alt and WP, the squeal persisted. Tension on belts was to spec and I dressed all of them, still squealed. I searched every where, nothing would fix it.

I checked all pulleys, they were fine. No bearing issues and spun freely without wobble or noise. Checked my crank pulley aka harmonic dampener/balancer. Wasn't loose, didn't wobble, didn't look damaged in any way at all. I could not figure it out. I was upset, angry...every emotion, that was me for weeks.

I ordered a new harmonic dampener hoping it would fix it. I pulled it off, put new one on, belts placed and the tension was to spec. Cranked the car, and nothing. No squeal, rubbing screech, anything. With ac/fans, radio, lights and everything else I could turn on and nothing.

I am telling everyone this for 1 simple reason: My harmonic dampener was my problem, but it seemed to be in good condition with no truly visible issues. Looking at it closer after pulling it off, I saw that I had a chip out of the outer (alternator, water pump, crank) pulley wall. That chip was slowly but surely stripping the outside of the belt and pinching it. My belt was still good, but if you have this problem even if your crank pulley looks fine, you may want to think about taking a closer look at it.

Hope this helps anyone with this DSM squeal issue that doesn't seem to quit!

EDIT: I figured I would upload what my HB/CP looked like after pulling it off. To me it looked as though it was still in decent shape, until I saw the outer ring.

 

[Killerzeke]

Mine does the same exact thing. I was freaking out thinking it was the turbo or something.

Thxs

 

[bmxfelon420]

I have a Fluidampr and would recommend them. They're quality units and will do a better job than the factory pulley. Especially on a manual transmission car, lots of vibrations go through the crankshaft and can contribute to wear/breakage.

 

[Evil_Valk]

Yeah mine is an auto so I'm not as prone to that issue, .

My alt. belt tension also had to be very tight. My issue there is that me tensioner bolt or bolt housing is bad so it keeps pulling out slowly over time.

 

[backward_0]

Yeah my alternator belt has to super tight. That bolt sucks.

 

[Andrew_99_GST]

I had a belt squeal too. The tension bolt on the alternator was too long. It would rub against the belt. I just had to put on a shorter bolt, and my problem was fixed.

 

[nathan_spindler55]

those belts always stretch over time. especially under hard driving, high rpms etc. they always need to be tightened every once in awhile from my experience. but always let the car fully warm up and then tighten the belts. works for me no problem.

 

[TheCoastGsx]

Mine had that problem when I did the timing service the harmonic balance ended being broke into two peices it could have ended very bad

 

[mitsubishikid]

It's never a bad idea to have a spare set of accessory drive belts [and a few tools on hand] in case of a failure.
I usually keep the old used accessory drive belts when I change them out, I hide them in the spare tire hump in the trunk of my dsm.
I do this Just in case, I installed a defective belt /and of course the peace of mind etc..

 

[TheCoastGsx]

I had one fly off right before I had all the new timing parts done haha

 

[mitsubishikid]

I had one fly off right before I had all the new timing parts done haha

same thing happened to me only it was a brand new cheep parts house belt that failed on me.
[ I'm only using name brand belts from here on out]
And thank goodness, I did keep the old belt,which did save me the cost of having a tow truck come out and all, so I always keep the old accessory belts every time I replace them.

 

[2G Josh]

Mine only squeels sometimes... I don't get it.

 

[jimsgsx]

I have mine down to just a tiny squeak on cold starts vs never ending squeaking at every stop. God i hated that at every light. Embarrassing when your in a badass car and it squeals.

 

[TheCoastGsx]

It's most likely the balancer mine only did it at start ups and a little while running

 

[Silver gryffon]

Yeah, my balancer squealed only on startups. Then, it broke, car jumped time, now it's a rebuild. If it squeals, check the balancer.

 

[97_mitsubishi_gst]

I know I came in randomly but I'm not sure where to post this question (I just made my account), I have a 97 gst (auto) and I'm planning on buying a 95 gsx (manual) that had the bottom end go out, I know they both have 4g63t engines but will my gst engine go into the gsx without any big problems?

 

[Silver gryffon]

Engines are the same, it's the tranny that's different.

 

[97_mitsubishi_gst]

Alright I just wanted to make sure before buying the car, thank you very much.

 

[XFinisher]

I will have to look into this mine is driving me nuts!