Question: Squeaky sepentine belt

[killain]

I have a squeaky serpentine belt. Anyone know how to quiet it down ? It's only squeaky while it's cold, once the engine heats up it's gone. I'm looking for the easiest method to quiet this down, Belt dressing ????? :ugh

 

[myspot]

noisy belt

I have had good luck in the past in different vehicles by changing the belt to a gator style belt that is cross hatched rather than ribbed. I think that Goodyear makes the gator belt. Give that a try.

 

[catbert]

Belt dressing is a holdover from the old style strap belts, and really wasn't very good on them either. The serpentine belts should not squeak if they are fresh, but the Gatorback replacement belts are less prone than those with circumferential ridges. The cause of most underwood noise is either the idler or the tensioner going bad.

 

[BoDuke]

I agree with Catbert. My first thought was a pulley on its way out. I've also been under the impression that as belts age, they become more likely to slip on the pulleys making them them squeal until they get warmed up and friction gets a hold of them.

I put a set of the Goodyear gator style alternator belts on my semi a couple of weeks ago as preventative maintenance. They seem pretty stout compared to the 'regular' belts that were on there. I'll be leaning towards that style for my Vette and Suburban if they are available and the need arises.

 

[froggy47]

I replaced all the pullies both belts, ended up being the crappy balancer they use.

Videos below on all that.

 

[navy2kcoupe]

The belts WILL stretch with age. Make sure that the tensioner is within it's
acceptable window. If it isn't, replace the belt as a first step because it
needs it. If it's within the acceptable window, your problem could still be
the belt, but may be elsewhere as well.....
Andy