mnetwork
20+ Year Contributor
- 1,017
- 2
- Feb 25, 2006
-
New Milford,
New Jersey
For a while now I have been getting squealing from my belts on startup. For the longest time I was just assuming it was my power steering belt as the pump is always a tinyy bit misaligned and because it has squealed in the past. The power steering belt has been and is fine. I just realized this the other day when I did my water pump. My alternator/water pump belt is the one that is squealing. Everytime I've ever bought a belt it always seems to be a little large. I have to max out the alternator tensioner just to get it tight. I have gotten two different belts in the past (different brands as well) and they both have been the same length. Does anyone else have this issue?
I'm thinking of checking out an OEM Mitsu belt and bringing my current belt with me to compare them. Can anyone else chime in on this?
The car didn't always do this and I can't make my belt tighter because the tensioner is maxed out. It stops after runing the car for a minute, it is just so loud and annoying. I also don't like any traction issues with that belt because the two most important things are connected to that belt.
Ok.. here we go... I went to the dealership and bought and OEM 2g Alternator belt. I took off my current belt (Gatorback) and compared them. Right away you could tell the OEM one was shorter. Probably about an inch or so. Put the new one on. Tightened up the tensioner and by the time I tightened it up a lot there was still a lot of space left to move on the tensioner. Started up the car, not a noise. We'll see how it is on the next cold start, but I think this solved the issue.
The gatorback belt that I have been using for the alternator and water pump was part number# 4040390. This is the one that shows up at Autozone for my car. It is a little too large and the OEM one is perfect. I'll update on the next cold start.
The beginning of yesterday was a nice wet and not too warm day, perfect for testing the belt. Started the car up, no squealing... no dimming lights for the first 10 sec. OEM belt is working great.
I'm thinking of checking out an OEM Mitsu belt and bringing my current belt with me to compare them. Can anyone else chime in on this?
The car didn't always do this and I can't make my belt tighter because the tensioner is maxed out. It stops after runing the car for a minute, it is just so loud and annoying. I also don't like any traction issues with that belt because the two most important things are connected to that belt.
Ok.. here we go... I went to the dealership and bought and OEM 2g Alternator belt. I took off my current belt (Gatorback) and compared them. Right away you could tell the OEM one was shorter. Probably about an inch or so. Put the new one on. Tightened up the tensioner and by the time I tightened it up a lot there was still a lot of space left to move on the tensioner. Started up the car, not a noise. We'll see how it is on the next cold start, but I think this solved the issue.
The gatorback belt that I have been using for the alternator and water pump was part number# 4040390. This is the one that shows up at Autozone for my car. It is a little too large and the OEM one is perfect. I'll update on the next cold start.
The beginning of yesterday was a nice wet and not too warm day, perfect for testing the belt. Started the car up, no squealing... no dimming lights for the first 10 sec. OEM belt is working great.
