Hey guys, I have a 95 Mazda Protege that I drive to work everyday (gets almost 40 mpg!!!!!!). Every morning when I start it up, the belt(s) squeal for about a minute and then it goes back to normal. Can anyone tell me what the problem is?

 

the belt is probably going bad. It's a simple fix, and the belts aren't expensive.

 

Thanks for the reply Crazy. I had someone tell me that it's just moisture on the belt and once the moisture drys off, the squealing stops. Any truth to this or is this guy nuts?

 

that can definitly be the case. check your belts for shiny surfaces and cracks and correct tension. if needed replace, if you think a squealing belt is annoying try walking home.

 

A cold belt will have less friction than a warm one. You may have to remove the glaze on the pulleys or the new belt may squeal also.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I will be changing the belt this weekend.

 

The belt is loose, Tighten it up just a little bit, The heaviest load is just when it is started and tapers off quickly. thus, the belt stops squealing.

 

Being a 95 i would check condition of belt first,look for glazing and all.Haven't worked on a Mazda in awhile but don't remember anything but a tensioner,which isn't adjustable,get a new belt.

 

When you change the belt, take a few minutes and throughly scrub all of the pulleys to remove any and all contaminants. Use a chemical that evaporates quickly and wipe it clean. Also ensure that your hands are clean when installing the new belt. Grease/oil from your fingers can be enough to cause the belt to squeal/chirp. This would be extremely annoying with a brand new belt.

Good Luck

Russ

 

All of the causes mentioned could be correct. Glazed belt, glazed pulleys, moisture, worn belt etc.

Most water pumps have a seap hole, that sometimes will drip moisture right onto the belt. This usually happens when the pump is getting old and the seals are loosening, usually an overnite thing. The belt will squeel until the moisture is driven out. Ditto with rain or high humidity affecting the belt.

A glazed belt means it is either old or has been slipping. You can replace the belt or tighten the tensioner, if you have one to see if that works. You might also be able to clean the belt a bit or roughen it up. I use alcohol on a paper towel to wipe the belt clean, concentrate mostly on the smooth side. It may take awhile. Then I might use some sandpaper and roughen the shiney side of the belt a bit. DO NOT USE a GREASE based solvent on the belt. There are some solvents that cause rubber to deteriorate so I would avoid things like brake cleaner and such.

Some people recommend spraying with WD 40, but in my opinion that just makes the slip worse but quiets the noise making you think you solved the problem. WD40 is oil based so I would worry about it attacking the rubber. I never tried this since it seemed counter intuitive to me.

A glazed pulley can be cleaned with alcohol or non greasy solvent and sanded or wire brushed to roughen it.

My expereince with those spray belt squeal products is that they don't work worth a darn on serpentine belts. They just seem to make the probelm worse and then you have a gummy mess to contend with. The sprays seem to work sometimes on the old style V belts.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

If for some reason you have to adjust tension on a tensioner system,it usually means you need to replace the belt.The belt dressings and such are a joke,spend the extra $$$ and buy a new belt....