alternator belt shredding [Merged 6-8] shedding falling off squeal noise thrown

[marksae]

Alright.. i've gone through some hell w/ my alternator belt on my 1g. Ever since I removed my AC belt, my alternator belt has flown off 3 times, and I've shredded 2 of them. If i leave it too loose, it flies off. If I tighten it too much, the belt shreds. I'll check my pulleys to make sure they're all lined up and aren't dinged up. Will overtightening this belt cause it to shred?

As this amalgamation of threads shows, the usual causes of alternator belt troubles are:
1. Failed harmonic balancer.
2. Bent pulleys.
3. Pulleys put on backward.

 

[majik2k5]

Ok, so I posted a week or two back about how I kept shredding alternator belts. So I went out and turned the waterpump pulley around just to be on the safe side since last time I did the timing belt I put it on backwards. It was good for awhile, and then the horrible squealing started about 5 or 6 days later.

I ended up getting a new belt tonight because the ridges in the old belt were eaten. But, I had the idle from hell right now with the new belt on, and it's smoking blue smoke like it's eating the belt. I can't feel any ridges being eaten at, but you can smell the belt burning.

My HKS turbo timer has a voltmeter on it, and when just driving it sits pretty steady around 17 - 18 volts right now. At idle it will drop down to around 16 or so. So I put the car on jack stands and took the tire off and painted a line on the crank pulley. Started the car and it ran fine and idled great about 1k. Drove about 1 or 2 miles down the road until I got to a stop sign and I noticed the spontaneous idle was back. No was consitant at all. It acted like the alternator wasn't turning.

I tapped the gas a little, and the lights brightened and the idle sat at about 1600 for around 20 or 30 seconds and then went back into the idle surging. I could also hear an almost slight belt squeal at idle.

So I drove about another 2 miles, then turned around and came back. About 8 or 9 miles total trip, and I took the wheel back off and looked at the pulley and the lines still match up. I'm not quite sure what to think. Any ideas?

 

[brodiedehass]

Ty,
By the looks of your voltage the voltage regulator in your alternator is bad. A bad voltage regulator will cause your alternator to run full fielded or "wide open". When it runs full fielded it is a large load on your belt. The magnetic field would be very strong inside of it and the high voltage can damage electrical components including your battery.
Best bet would be replace or rebuild you alternator.
Brodie

 

[luv2rallye]

yep and take it to a specialty shop that repairs alternators/starters for proper testing (see yellow pages) - not an auto store.

 

[highnitro12187]

Hey,

I just recently bought a 1991 Plymouth Laser RS non turbo. It need an alternator belt so i bought one and installed it today. Its went right on and everything seemed to fit. So i started the car let it run for a minute. Then i noticed that the belt was halfway off the large center pully (which i think is the water pump). That pully was not alligned with the other two so i was wondering what could have caused this and if i need to pull the engine to fix it

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[girlieracr4g63]

Are you sure you put enough tension on it? Also I would take some mild steel wool and wipe the pulleys grooves. Seems to be really rusted. Might be why the belt doesnt want to stay in place.


Wendy

 

[girlieracr4g63]

WHAT?? How did you get it on, and then you let it slip off? WTF You put it back on the same way you took it off, duh? Belts must be aligned properly in order to work at all. Yeah, do some preventive maintenance on your car, your pulleys are bad, extremely bad ... That makes me sick that people let that happen to DSM's, well any car for that matter. You may not have done it, but still, fix it at least...

Come on take it easy on the guy. This is his very first post. Plus he just bought the car. We all started out as newbs once, and Im still learning everyday. Even after all these years.


Wendy

 

[Mitsu RacerX]

Make sure your crank pulley is in good shape. Mine kept on throwing belts becuase the crankpulley(harmonic balancer) was coming apart. It would walk the belts just like yours did.

 

[99gst_racer]

WHAT?? How did you get it on, and then you let it slip off? WTF You put it back on the same way you took it off, duh? Belts must be aligned properly in order to work at all. Yeah, do some preventive maintenance on your car, your pulleys are bad, extremely bad ... That makes me sick that people let that happen to DSM's, well any car for that matter. You may not have done it, but still, fix it at least...

If you're going to contribute, at least be constructive, positive, and helpful. We are here to share knowledge and help members, not scare them away.

 

[highnitro12187]

I just got this car yesterday from a friend for cheap and im trying to get it to run nice and then im gunna fix it up. it didnt come with the belt so we had to tow it home. I bought the belt and then i noticed that the 3 pullys that it goes on are not alligned. It has proper tension but the it keeps slipping off. If i have to replace the pully do i have to pull the engine and how much is it for a new one.

Thanks,
Matt

(btw im 15 and this is my first car so i had to go cheap)

 

[reeper]

make sure your wp pully isnt the only thing out of wack, if it is the only thing it might be time to replace it.

if you decide to replace it I would recomend buying a nw timing belt also. who knows how many that one has, and if it brakes your looking into atleate a 1k rebuild on the head. maybe more if it kisses a piston.


also try cleaning the pullys, if there is a rust build up oe 1 grove it can cause the belt to jump.

 

[highnitro12187]

The car has a fully rebuilt head and a new timing belt so i wouldnt have to worry about that. Tomarrow im gunna take off the belt and clean up all the pullys. Also while i was looking under the car i saw a black spacer between the two pullys on the water pump. Is that normal because i saw a pic of one and both the pullys are right next to each other.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Tevenor]

If the guy who rebuilt it didn't know any better, they could have easily put the water pump pulleys on the wrong way around causing a misalignment. Either that or the crank pulley is really crappy.

 

[Dragon TalonTsi]

I didnt mean to take that out on him. Its just I see people on a daily basis for simple crap like that. Here's one from yesterday, why are my tires shaking really bad, instead of going after the cv joint or axle, I checked his lug nuts for proper torque, they were almost off completely. Now that bothers me, especially since there are people that dont even change their oil, ever. It just hurts to see DSM's treated like that. These cars are goddesses and B*tch*$, you love em and hate em. Sorry if I flew off the handle like that. Well, you are 15, take the time to stop, learn, and listen. These cars are a great foundation for trouble shooting and repairing almost any car. It teaches you the principles of basic and advanced mechanics. Trust me, what you learn here will pay off in a long run. Enjoy the site, make new friends, and dont be to trusting either (in the classifieds).

 

[dyno_detour]

My alternator belt squeaks loudly until the engine warms up. I know its the alternator belt, because when the headlights are on the noise is there, but when I shut the lights off the noise disappears. All of my belts are "tight" and are in excellent condition.
(I didn't have this problem during the summer months.)

I had my timing belt replaced this past summer, maybe when the mechanic put everything back together he may have overtightened the alternator belt.

Anyway, any suggestions?

Thank you for reading this post,

Ryan

 

[Eclipse98_RS]

I have the same thing with my car 98 GS-T. My problem is with my power steering belt though. Maybe i should just replace both of them when im in there this winter fixin stuff. The squeek i hear is also the same thing, but my buddy said the belt is skipping over and thats what makes the noise... kind of like the belt goes to fast and then the roller its on catches up.
Let me know what you find out, ### im pretty sure i have the same prob.

 

[luv2rallye]

Well it still sounds like the belt is not tightened properly, or it is cracked or glazed or the belt/pulley is not dry, etc. Also check to make sure the harmonic balancer (main pulley) is not separating. One thing both of you should also check is to make sure the water pump pulley was not put on backwards. If so it adds an offset so the belt is not running true. Just site from the PS pulley down the PS belt to the water pump pulley to see.

 

[Defiant]

My alternator belt squeaks loudly until the engine warms up. I know its the alternator belt, because when the headlights are on the noise is there, but when I shut the lights off the noise disappears.

That could stilll be enough to make a bad harmonic balancer start to slip.

 

[Andrew Dahms]

It sounds like there might be friction in your alternation pulley bearing. I would pull the belt and see how easy/smooth it is to turn the pully by hand. If it is very hard or if friction changes as you turn, the bearing is bad though its not too common in dsms (mostly fords). Another easy fix, though it wont solve the problem if the bearing is bad, is to spray the belt-pulley surface with honey goo or some type of silicon spray. Then let the engine run for 10 mins or so until the belt soaks the spray up.

 

[HustlerTalon]

I just finished installing my motor and when I turned it on, the alt belt was squeaking very loud found out to be that it was not properly aligned with my water pump pulley and underdrive crank pulley...easy fix if its that.

 

[fourreGsixty3]

I would go with that its not tight enough, and that in the mornings there is dew on everything, so it gets on the pulley, and provides just enough liquid to make it slip. I replaced all of my belts when I fisrt got my car, and when I got it back 1 belt was squeaking (power steering belt), well I wasnt sure what the problem was and they were all booked up for a couple days, so I just drove it thinking nothing of it...wel I lead to it snapping. So I would fix it quiet quickly.

Dustin

 

[yellowkyd278]

My alternator (or so I think) was having issues so I replaced it. I had to get the car jump started because the battery was dead. When it first started, theres was about a 3 - 4 second squeal. Then the idle was fine for about a minute and suddenly there was a nonstop squeal...

By this point, the cables were off and the car suddenly died (idle was fine).

The tensioner screw and bolt going directly into the alternator are as tight as I can get them. The belt itself will not twist more than 1/2 a turn either way.

I've included some photos of the upper/lower pulleys and the belt. Is it me or does the left side of the belt on the upper pulley look a bit frayed...

PS - All belts in the car and alternator are new.

What's going on??

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[Defiant]

Your harmonic balancer has shit the bed.

 

[yellowkyd278]

Defiant,

Does this mean that my first alternator was fine? It passed the tests at Autozone but I replaced it anyway.

Here's how the battery first died:

There would be squealing but only very lightly and in 1st gear in the lower RPMs. After that, there was absolutely no squealing and everything else seemed fine. I was able to drive for at least a good week like this. A few days later, when I was driving there was no squealing but the radio would cut in and out when the turn signal/brake lights etc... were applied. The volt meter on my turbo timer still read relatively healthy though. Later that night when I was driving there was still no squealing but the battery/brake lights would dim in and out and the volt meter warned me to pull over.

If it was the harmonic balancer all along, I'm definitely going back to Autozone to get my original back... But when the car died there still wasn't any squealing aside from the initial low 1st gear RPM band.

What do you think?

Edit:: Relevent parts that are brand new in the car:
- alternator belt
- powersteering belt
- timing belt tensioner
- idler pulley
- timing belt tensioner pulley
- crankshaft pulley/dampner

 

[overdoseheroin]

Your harmonic balancer has shit the bed.

I agree. Watch the crank pulley when the car is at idle to see if it wobbles. Did you get a new pulley fron Autozone? If so, what brand? If it was ATP then i can guarantee its shit becuase i had a brand new one on my car and a week later it came apart.

 

[yellowkyd278]

Everything was replaced with OEM parts as part of the 2.4L built by RRE.

It wasn't the harmonic dampener... I just tightened the tensioner bolt a slight bit more and all the squealing went away.