bad squeal coming from engine..Belts..tensioners??

[TheOregonFront]

hello guys my girlfriend has a problem with her car. theres a really bad squeal from the belts or something under the hood when the car is turned on and its even worse when the heat or ac is on. the belts have been tightened and we have thought about spraying the **** outta them with belt dressinig does anyone have an idea of what the culprit may be? thanks!!

[Chad]

well maybe the belt is too tight? try spraying it see how that works.. how old is the belt, what condition does it look to be in

[TheOregonFront]

well maybe the belt is too tight? try spraying it see how that works.. how old is the belt, what condition does it look to be in

hmm being that it didit before the belts were tightened i dont think thats the case. the belts seem to be in good condition. but i need to change belts on my frontier so i should prolly just do hers too

[dtatham]

The belts that are supposed to go on it run a bit long and after a few months they will stretch to the point that adjusting them no longer tightens the belt. Pick up a tension tester to see if they are tight enough. I found that the NAPA brand were the only ones I didn't have to replace after about 4-6 months.

[mrporkchop111]

i had a squeal also, and people told me it was the belts, but it wasn't, it was the water pump, so maybe that little guy could be the culprit

[TheOregonFront]

WOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks i will replace it and see if its stops!!!!

[TheOregonFront]

The belts that are supposed to go on it run a bit long and after a few months they will stretch to the point that adjusting them no longer tightens the belt. Pick up a tension tester to see if they are tight enough. I found that the NAPA brand were the only ones I didn't have to replace after about 4-6 months.

nawh the belts are plenty tight its gotta be the WP

[wheresthericego]

WOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks i will replace it and see if its stops!!!!

hope youre ready to take out the timing belt to change the waterpump

[TheOregonFront]

hope youre ready to take out the timing belt to change the waterpump

hmmm thats a bitch i assume? i guess the frontiers are too. and who was that you qouted in your sig. thats some funny stuff right there i literally LOL'd

[mrporkchop111]

np lol and yea good luck dude, and check the pulley system too

[dtatham]

Check the seep holes on the water pump. You generally start loosing coolant, with a need to add once a week or so, before you get any squealing. If you aren't loosing coolant, you need to do some more checking. It could be a tensioner pully on your timing belt. If that's the case, don't drive it until it's fixed.

[martiniac]

I have to change my belts every year when it starts getting cold out because of the squealing. Tightening or lubing them does not fix the problem. I have changed all of the accessories out withing the past 18 months. It's just something I have gotten used to.

[dtatham]

squealing belts

I generally get at least a couple years out of the belts that I get from Napa. Then again, I live in Florida and it doesn't get very cold. I never got more than 8 months for belts I bought anywhere else. They stretch to the point where there isn't any more room to tighten them in a few months, in fact they are almost tightened to the limit of the bolts when first installed.

[morepower]

this happened to my Protege a couple of years ago. I tried everything and finally found an old pro in Oklahoma City. He had me turn the car on, turn all the accessories on to max out the alternator. From a spray bottle, he sprayed the alt belt, and poof, noise gone. I had tightened that belt about two weeks before, but obviously not enough. Check your alternator belt again.

[TheOregonFront]

i will check the belts and spray them again sometime this week. so what mileage does the water pump/timing belt etc need to be done guys?