fanbelt?

[az_sv6]

my vz alloytec is squeaking everytime i turn her on in the morrning, could it be anything else but the fan belt? before i fork out $50 bucks for one.
and do you recommend doing it myself? it looks fairly bloody complicated.

[Benboy]

VZ's don't actually have 'fan belts'. They do however have engine drive belts. Squeaking could also be coming from the bearing in the belt tensioner or even the water pump. Best get it checked by a mechanic if you are not too sure about tackling it yourself.

[az_sv6]

Tensioner! thats what i wanted to say but couldent think of the word.
thanks mate.

[Jazza 91]

the ve which has the same motor somtimes have problems with the power steering pulley lining up correctly causing it to squeek. you could run a straight edge down the belt next to the pulley to make sure the belt is straight. the pulley is presed on and can be aligned using a puller

[az_sv6]

that sounds easy enough for me to do.
it also goes away after 10 min of driving.

[Exidor]

Pull the belt off and spin all
pulleys by hand. check for
binding or run-out paying
particular attention to the
tensioner. Do this with the engine cold.

And no, you will not be able to
spin the crank pulley unless your
a gorilla!

[az_sv6]

havent done any of that yet, just been putting up with it for the time being.
but im driving up to qld on the 17th. will it harm my car if i leave it and drive with it?

[Benboy]

It is impossible to advise of the safety of not diagonising the errant sound. It could be anything other than the engine drive belt or pulleys. It could be your water pump, alternator, or engine components. To leave it and to continuing driving, particularly if you intend a long trip, is both silly and irresponsible. YES - you may harm your car/engine by leaving it. Get it seen to by someone who knows what they are doing.

[plane driver]

Mine makes the same/similar squeal, but only if it is cold or hasn't been run for a while and only lasts maybe a minute or less. The strange thing with it though is that it doesn't change pitch or intensity with varying engine speed.
I've just put it in this morning for the 105,000 service and mentioned it to the service person. They have called me with what they have found needs doing beyond the normal servicing, or recommend needs doing which costs half an arm and a leg extra (very little for a change) and said the drive belt was worn and a couple of the pulleys were making slight noise but nothing to be concerned over. So they will replace the belt (I have a spare in the boot which I bought a few months ago for about $12 less than what was quoted for a current new one) so I will see what that may do for the squeal.
The squeal *could* be the worn belt but I would have thought it to do it most of the time and possibly vary with changing loads on it, ie steering, aircon, electrical loading via the alternator etc.

And even though very few cars these days have a belt driven fan, I think we all know what is meant by "fan belt".

[Spargo]

the belt squeak/chirp noise that happens on cold starts and lasts for a short time (10secs - 1min) is more than likely the power steer pulley slightly out of alignment. on VZ motors the pulley needs to be pressed ON further and VE motors it has to be Pulled OFF slightly (0.03mm Sorta stuff)
90 percent of the time this fixes it.
Also a good idea to change your belt at the same time...

And DO NOT spray lube stuff on the belts.. It makes it WORSE.
If you feel the need to lube your belt, use wax or soap, or some other Dry lube.