Belt Squeal

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Jun 15, 2003 | 05:08 PM

rotorhead

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From: Jackson, MS

Belt Squeal

Since I'm "back" on the site after my hiatus, I figure I'll bug you guys with more than one question in a day. My I-6 belt is squealing like a school girl at an ice cream party every time I crank it up. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to tighten up the serpentine belt. It's a relatively new belt (I'd say less than a year). What's the secret?

Jun 15, 2003 | 05:14 PM

rotorhead

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From: Jackson, MS

Belt Squeal

Okay, I just did what I should've done in the first place. I searched this forum to see if this has been dealt with before (it has!) Sorry for not doing that first. But it leads me to another questiion that I didn't see answered. If I get a new tensioner, what is there to changing it out? I'm a paramedic. If you have a wreck or a heart attack or get drunk and fall down, I'm your guy!! But I'm no mechanic. How do I change the tensioner?

Thanks again.

Jun 15, 2003 | 09:56 PM

jrs_big_ford_f150

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From: Dededo, Guam

Belt Squeal

I don't think its your tensioner. If it was you would hear squealing most of the time if not all the time. My bet is that your pullies are getting glazed. When the belt runs a really long time the pullies get smooth and lose thier grip on the belt which causes the squeal your hearing. I had the same noise for a while too at startup and whenever the belt got wet. HEres what you should do. Get a new belt and some emory cloth. When the old belt is off, use the emory to rough up the surfaces of the pullies. I did that and my squealing went away completely. Hope this helps you.

Jun 15, 2003 | 10:12 PM

Torque1st

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Belt Squeal

Make sure you get a new belt and don't try to re-use the almost new one you have. Follow JR's instructions above and scratch up those pulleys good to get rid of the glaze. Clean them off when you are done with a little brake cleaner.

Jun 15, 2003 | 10:19 PM

optikal illushun

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Joined: Mar 2002

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From: Coal Region

Belt Squeal

thats some very useful tips and im gunna be sure to do this as as my truck gets back from the body shop *bookmarks thread*

Jun 15, 2003 | 10:36 PM

GammaDriver

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Joined: Dec 2001

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From: Southeast FLA

Belt Squeal

For what it's worth, I was a paramedic (cert. PA Dept. of Health), and it is my opinion that (with the very low number of proper tools) the belt tensioner is one of the easiest things to change on our engines. (But how many miles do you have on the engine & belt tensioner, rotorhead?)

I'm not saying you need one, but I actively searched for an aftermarket belt tensioner that had some other design than Ford's plastic pulley with its side-guide-walls. This is a narrow and restrictive, friction-causing pulley in my opinion.
I found the new belt tensioner at NAPA, and it has a wider, completely smooth steel pulley that rotates nicely without any extra (unneeded in my opinion) friction on the belt. Between it and a new alternator I found that my MPG went up (believe it or not - maybe one ofthe bearings wasn't what it should have been, or the new bearings (or pulleys) really did make a difference).

Best,

Jun 16, 2003 | 04:27 PM

rotorhead

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From: Jackson, MS

Belt Squeal

awesome advice, and the reason i've always loved this site. As money is very tight right now (new baby on the way late August!), I'll try the emory cloth and a new belt and let you know how it works. When finances are better (in 18-20 years!! lol) I'll check with Napa about the new tensioner. I've had other people tell me that the factory tensioner is a "weak point", whatever that means. Thanks again for all the great advice.