Harmonic Balancer gone bad...happen to anyone else? [MERGE]

[Boost95]

I checked the tension and teh belts again after driving for a week. Still they all look good and the tension is fine. I spun the alternator when the belts were off and it made no squeek. Its really getting annoying.

 

[BoBbOrAzE]

Hey bud I have had a very similar problem your talking about, ill try to help you out by telling you my story. After starting my car there was an unusually loud squeal for like 30 seconds and it would stop and sometimes randomly squeal in traffic. This was a verrry loud noise and very embarrassing. Eventually due to me assuming it was a squeaky belt my harmonic balancer/crank pulley split. Since the pulley wasnt fully attached it was slowly seperating and the belt would squeal as the entire pulley would wobble back and forth. Yes the line test is good but I would reccommend actually pushing or pulling the top of the pully and seeing if it has any movement away or towards you, that will tell you right away if thats the problem. With all that aside you could very well just have a very squeaky belt. I replaced my shredded oem belt with a simple napa belt. After allll this I still had a squeal yet nowhere near what it was like before though. After adjusting it a million times I realized no matter what i did, it would always loosen. So to finally fix the problem I slipped a large washer under the head of the tensioner bolt essentially making it pull tighter and I also tightened it pretty good. Started it up and never squealed again with perfect tension. Sorry for the long post but i hope any of that helps ya.

 

[Boost95]

Thanks for your reply. I pushed ,pulled, tapped my crank pully Id did not move at all and the lines are still lined up. When you say you slipped a washer behind it. Where you adjust on the alternator you did that? Let me know where you put the washer and ill give it a go.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[S_Ranger]

I know for a fact that my belt stops squealing when it reads 14.0v on my turbo timer. It's the alternator for sure. Check the tension of the belt and the pulleys like the ppl above said.

 

[BoBbOrAzE]

ha k so its probably not your crank pulley. I remember when I went to get my napa belts they gave me 2 belts made for our car and they were both 1/2 inch longer than the oem one. So keep that in mind that these things have to be pulled pretty tight, on top of it loosening and what not as the engine heats up.

Having my digital camera readily at hand I took a quick pic for ya. I know it doesnt look like the washer is adding much but I tensioned the belt a ton then added the washer and it worked for me.

 

[BoBbOrAzE]

oh and now that this is all coming back to me I think it worked because originally the head of the bolt was actually slipping up that "u" shaft its in as I tightened the belt and as I drove, which caused the entire belt to loosen slightly every time just enough to squeak. The flat washer head held it firmly in place as well as tightening it further.

 

[Boost95]

Nice idea, I will give it a shot and post 2morrow.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[vaboys2ndgen]

ah doh! i forgot about tightening that part. im also going to try that tomorrow good info. hopefully both myself and boost will have this alternator squell taken care of.

thanks everyone

 

[Andrew7DG]

I have had the same problem and you have linked it down the the alternator which makes me think that you have the same problem that i do. It is the alternator that is making the horrible belt noise and not the belts which explains why your belts are fine. My car did the same thing and i couldn't figure out what the heck it was because i tightened everything and the belt was fine and the car didn't have any symptoms of the alternator being bad. However when i took it in they said it was shot. Luckly it has a 2 year warrenty and it only lasted 1/2 of a year.

 

[JackalUO]

Hey there I have a 95 GSX with fairly low miles and I have a small annoyance.

I hear a squeal ( don't know how else to describe it) everytime I drive at low speeds specifically at the following.

2nd gear @ 2200 RPM (mild squeal)
3rd @ 3000-2000 RPM (more of a clunky sound)
light braking while engaging the clutch at the same time
Also sometimes while turning.

Could it be the TOB?

 

[MrBoxx]

I'll toss out a couple things to check that I've experienced, but noises are pretty hard to diagnose over the Internet.

First thing I'd check are the brakes. My wife's car this summer had a recurring squealing noise that I attributed to a small stone stuck in the brake pad. It only acted up at certain speeds. It could also be a brake wear sensor, that little metal clip that scrapes against the rotor. Your brake dust shield could be a little bent and may be rubbing against the rotor also.

Second thing I'd check would be wheel bearings. Normally they don't "squeal" so much as "roar", but it's always a good thing to check anyway, especially on these cars, since they're a pain to replace if they're seized. Jack up the car, try to wiggle each wheel, top to bottom, side to side. Wiggle usually means bearings are shot. While you've got the car up, check your axles and CV joints for tears in the boots.

Third, and this is just something I throw out there because it's weird: I notice you have a 1g BOV. I also have one, and at certain RPM's, usually around 2-3.5 thousand crusing through town in third gear or so, the BOV will "whistle" kinda like a tea-pot. I guess it could be called a squeal.

Those are all the basic things I can think of for now. Hope this helps a little, and good luck.

 

[gSx_r1der]

Thanks for your reply. I pushed ,pulled, tapped my crank pully Id did not move at all and the lines are still lined up. When you say you slipped a washer behind it. Where you adjust on the alternator you did that? Let me know where you put the washer and ill give it a go.

Thanks,
Mike

I'm having this same exact problem but this happend to me after a head gasket swap, I was told that it is the bearings inside the altenator from the pulley's. So what I was told was to get a new alternator and run that instead.

 

[JackalUO]

Thanks for the info, I'll try out the 1G Bov sound, that's porbably it since I just had the brakes done. It does sound like a whistle also. any recommendations on a different BOV besides the stock one?

 

[vaboys2ndgen]

ha k so its probably not your crank pulley. I remember when I went to get my napa belts they gave me 2 belts made for our car and they were both 1/2 inch longer than the oem one. So keep that in mind that these things have to be pulled pretty tight, on top of it loosening and what not as the engine heats up.

Having my digital camera readily at hand I took a quick pic for ya. I know it doesnt look like the washer is adding much but I tensioned the belt a ton then added the washer and it worked for me.

figured my problem out today. im missing that bolt/washer on the car all together once again. 2nd time its fell out and been missing.

 

[MCDGexx]

Ok my car is making a really loud squeel noise when I start it. The guy told us about it, it only happens when the car is really cold, and its coming from the timing belt area. It goes away after 10-15 seconds, like completely away. Isn't a giant problem that I know of, but kinda annoying.

 

[dsmatt]

old belts will do that

once they warm up from friction they stop making noise

replace your belts

 

[MCDGexx]

belts just got replaced though not too long ago I believe.

 

[Staytuned]

Old belts and loose belts will do that. Check all your belts for slack and tighten as needed.

 

[MCDGexx]

How tight should they be?

 

[MCDGexx]

just checked the the closest two belts, they seem good, couldn't get to the other ones, still too hot yet.

 

[Staytuned]

How tight should they be?

There should be no more slack in it than half an inch.

 

[Staytuned]

If the belts are nice and snug just hit them with a shot of Armour all or WD-40 and that will shut them up for awhile, just give them a little shot though not a lot.

 

[41085\\]

Yeah mine was squeeling too when I replaced my alternator. The alternator belt squeels everytime I start it up, so I just tightened it as tight as my power steering belt and it went away.

 

[MCDGexx]

like just a dab on one belt? or spray a little up the entire belt? or get the things the belts are on?

 

[Staytuned]

As long as you hit the belt with a little blast it will work.