squeaky belts

[calais&statesman]

can anyone tell me the cause of squeaky belts on a supercharged v6 statesman and how to stop them from squeaking please? ive tried wd 40, candle wax drylube and crc belt grip, nothing worked, ive cleaned the belts and pulleys and its a bit better, but still squeaks, any help please

[IBLOWN]

Youve posted in the wrong section.

I think you may find the squeek is actually the idler tensioner losing its tension in the spring causing the bearings in the pulleys to squeek because theres no load on them.

[monkeys437]

Dont use WD40 on belts

[hako]

You'll need to remove the belts and then spin each pulley to find which one is causing the squeak...usually it will be the one that is extremely stiff or spins very freely which indicates the bearing is dry. The simplest way to make sure it isn't the belt making the squeak is to direct water onto the belt when engine is running - if sueak goes away then it is the belt - if it's still there it will be a pulley.

[HSV5L]

Tire shine sca brand spray it on the belts that will get rid of it.

[Boonz]

mine used to do this all the time on my vx, if you stand on the passenger side guard and look straight down at your belts, you will probably notice that the top s/c belt tensioner pulley is actually set back about 3-4mm. i had to space my tensioner pulley outwards with a 4mm shim, belts aligned, problem solvered.
theres actually a techline from waaaaaaaaaay back that says to replace the belt tensioner assembly with a revised part to help belt alignment, but the tensioner is $190 brand new...

also people who are using wd40 on their multi rib belts, you will get worse belt noise when dirt settles in the grooves.
use graphite power or baby power if anything or just simply replace the belt

[aussie4life11]

or spend the 25 that you would have spent on tire shine and spend 20 on a new belt. geez i should be a financial planner lmfao

[SM1D3Y]

In the same boat guys, but had the belts replaced yesterday. Start the car this morning and there's a squeak, noticeable for 5-10 mins or so. Pulley issue ?

[FstStig]

or spend the 25 that you would have spent on tire shine and spend 20 on a new belt. geez i should be a financial planner lmfao

Only problem with that is, these belts don't usually squeak. Belts only start to squeak is because they become loose and start to slip, in which they have either stretched or there isn't enough tension in them. Either that or there is dirt and crap in the ribbon of the belt. So really only time the belt should be replaced if it is cracked and worn. So we will save that $20 from spending it on the wrong part and we will put it towards the right part. Like mentioned above most likely one of the tensioner or idler pulleys. Remove both belts, spin all the pulleys (bar the harmonic balancer of course) listen for a the squeak to confirm. If you are still unable to hear the squeak, put the belts back on, grab a flat blade screw drive, kick the car over and put the flat blade end of the pulley bolt and your ear on the handle to listen for any internal bearing noise. <---- Note be very careful doing the second method.

[hako]

Just a comment of FstStig's excellent advice - if you spin the pulley by hand with the belt off, you probably will not hear the squeak as it generally will only occur when the bearing has the belt load on it and is under stress....so what you need to look out for is whether the bearing has a rough feel when turned by hand, or is very stiff , very free or has lots of sideplay.
When I bought my VS, one of the first things I did was replace all the pulleys (at 100,000km) as general advice was that whey will last about 100K's and if one fails and then snaps the belt, you have no waterpump, alternator or power steering and the car will only be able to be driven a few hundred metres before the engine cooks. So really a full replacement is peace of mind.

[SM1D3Y]

Thanks for the advice guys. Once this rain pisses off I can get under there and start sussing it out. Start with the tensioner and move on from there, what kind of ball park am I looking at to replace pulleys ?

[HSV5L]

Tire shine is $3.99... Works awsome.

[FstStig]

Thanks for the advice guys. Once this rain pisses off I can get under there and start sussing it out. Start with the tensioner and move on from there, what kind of ball park am I looking at to replace pulleys ?

Depending on which one it is and where you get it from. Repco Tensions are about $20 each. Also don't forget that it could also be the little coupler inside the Supercharger, apparently these wear over time and are a common thing to fail. Only about $28 to replace though. However they tend to send off more of a vibration then a squeak. Still can't hurt to check it out.

When you have the belt off, more the supercharger pulley back and forth, not in and out. If you have any movement, then the Coupler will need replacing along with some new Supercharger Oil.

FstStig