Help with a chirping belt please

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Terrapin88

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I have a 98 Continental. Bought it last month. It had a bad waterpump. I replaced it with an aftermarket pump (GMB brand). I also replaced the idler pulley because it had a little bit of slop. The original belt was a Gates. When I did the water pump I spilled coolant all over the belt. Drenched it. Didn't know that was a no no. Put it all back together and the belt was chirping like mad. I had a Carquest belt in the trunk left by the PO. It appears to be unused. I sprayed the pulleys with MAF cleaner hoping it would get the coolant or whatever else off them. I installed the Carquest belt and there is no change. Still chirps something awful. I went back in and replaced the tensioner assy. I had one on me thinking I'd do it with the pump. Still chirps. I sprayed the pulleys and belt with water while the car was running and for a minute the noise stops. Makes no difference which pulleys I spray or if I just hit the belt with the water, the noise stops for a minute. I put the old idler pulley back on. It seemed to make a little difference at first, but it's still undriveable loud again after 15 minutes. Got some Prestone Belt Dressing. I've put half the can on the belt and pulleys and it works for a few minutes then it's back to chirping. I can't drive it like this. It's insanely annoying and I am insanely annoyed.

The reading I've done says maybe I have a misaligned pulley. I have no way to really check that. No room for a straight edge. I did not have this chirping before I changed the water pump.

I need some advice/ideas. Anyone out there successfully fixed this issue before? I've never put much thought into serpentine belt selection before. WOuld a cheap sh1tty belt cause this chirping? Are carquest belts junk?

Thanks in advance-
 
There are two idler pulleys; one on the tensioner and one just above and to the right of the tensioner. The second one is about $18 at AutoZone.

Order a Goodyear Gatorback belt from Summit Racing. AFAIK it isn't available at any other parts place. Once you see it you'll see why people swear by that belt.

You'll need to clean all the belt dressing off the pulleys with brake cleaner - that stuff causes more problems than it solves.
 
Thanks for the reply. I replaced the tensioner assembly as well as the idler pulley. I'd Read about the negatives of belt dressing but I wanted to try it anyway. Hell I'll put soap on there to get me a few days peace.

Just ordered a gatorback off Amazon. $21.00 with free 2 day shipping. I'll have it thursday. Be nice if that was the issue.

The only thing I replaced before the squealing began was the water pump (re-using the old WP pulley) The noise seems to come from that area. Hard to pinpoint for sure, but it seems to be coming from the WP area. I wonder if I didn't get the bolts all the same torque and the WP pulley is not properly aligned? I've done lots of WP's over the years. Never had an issue like that before.
 
I tried everything too - even toothpaste on the belt. Nothing worked. The best I ever got was noisy at startup that might quiet down once warmed up. Hitting it with brake cleaner made it really squeal.

I replaced the tensioner assembley, idler pulley, and the belt and it has been silent ever since. I wish I had done the water pump too while I was that far in. I've read that these cars are picky about belts. My previous was a Dayco and it was ok but once you get to hold the Gatorback in your hands you'll see how far ahead of the others it actually is.

It's been a month or more and I still smile every time I crank the car and hear the silence :D
 
lol yeah I want to smile too MooJohn. I saw pics of the gatorback and it is most definitely a different looking design. I'm going to try a little bar soap today just to satisfy my curiosity. Once I get the new belt I'll remove the current one and try to check the pulleys for proper alignment as best I can.
 
MooJohn said:
My previous was a Dayco and it was ok but once you get to hold the Gatorback in your hands you'll see how far ahead of the others it actually is.D
Click to expand...

Gatorback - hands down best belt for these cars. I have tried many other belts just to replace them within a month or 2 tops. Gatorback belts are superior to the cheaper belts.
 
Thanks for the reply BigPip. Did you have the same chirping issue as I do before changing to a gatorback?

I'll know by Friday if that gatorback belt does the trick. I tried the soap and it didn't make much of a difference.

My pulleys are now covered in belt dressing, soap and coolant now as I had to rebleed the coolant system again today. Spilling a little coolant made the biggest difference in reducing the chirp
so far.
 
Right before installing the Goodyear I'd hose down the current setup with brake cleaner. That way you get the pullies nice & clean without contaminating the new belt.
 
Definitely MooJohn. I plan to do a better cleaning job of the pulleys and the block. When I was trying to squeeze the belt behind the tensioner my fingers were covered in dirt and oil from the block. I'm sure the grime got on the belt too as it was sliding along the block while I tried to get it behind the tensioner pulley. I want it all nice and clean before the new belt goes on so I'm going to get more brake cleaner and go to town on the block behind the tensioner. I might even unbolt the tensioner as it made getting the belt around it's pulley an easier job.

The more I think about it the more I think I put on not a new belt but an old belt the PO had hung on to as a spare. It was a car quest belt in a Dayco box. I didn't notice until I had removed the old belt which was a Dayco. Putting on a used belt could have something to do with the chirp. The chirp has actually decreased to the point where it's much more bearable and quieter. Maybe the real secret to quieting a squeaky belt is to smother it in belt dressing, bar soap and coolant. ;)
 
You need to wash with the dishes - dish soap and water. As you have found out, nothing else works. Coolant is designed to be clingy to protect and lubricate.

If there lots of little rocks in the grooves on the belt, it will make noise, too. I used a small screwdriver and a second person to hold the belt to clean the grooves.
 
The belt I put on is questionable. It's a Carquest belt that was in a Dayco "box" in the trunk left by the PO. Probably a used spare though it looked new. The marking on the flat side of the belt are still clear and not worn off. That makes me think he put it on, it made noise so he yanked it and put on the Dayco and tossed the Carquest belt in the trunk. Who knows.

Good idea on cleaning the grooves bradyelich. Before I hosed it down with belt dressing, I used a wire brush to clean the belt as it was spinning. It helped a bit. The belt is far quieter today than it was tuesday when I installed it. I still get some chirps but it's nowhere near as loud or annoying as it was. Regardless I will be putting on the gatorback when it arrives.
 
Terrapin88 said:
What kind of belt are you using cadillacdude? You have the squeaks?
Click to expand...

Cheap belt from eBay. Probably made in China. But
My belt only chirp because I.sprayed.brake.clean in the area trying to wash away old.steering fluid which made the last belt.deteriorate.
Checked it out yesterday, my prob is the alternator. It makes a growling sound and the battery.light is on the dash. My dvom says it is charging the battery at 13.52v. These are supposed to charge at 14.5v. I got a spare from junkyard so I ll need to take it to Autozone to see if it works well. If not, another trip to the junkyard.
 
yep, I was listening today...I m not sure it is the alternator. Although the low charging may be an issue at 13.52v. I am sure the growling is coming from the idler pulley. I happened to order a new pulley and tensioner last week so I may put that in sometime soon. The idler pulley was $11 on Amazon and the tensioner was $33 on eBay.
Yea the belt was chirping today too until I sprayed some silicone on it. I think maybe tommorrow I will put in the idler pulley because I have to also remove the compressor so I can put some teflon tape around the power steering to rack hose. I keep chasing leaks with this car and I think this is the final one. I want to write a thread about replace the rack and pinion steering in this car as well with how I came across the thing but that requires patience to get all the details correct.
 
Success! The new Gatorback belt stopped the chirping. I did check the pulleys I could get to with a straight edge and they seemed fine. I have some questions about my AC clutch but I will start a new thread for that. I am so happy to have a quiet car. I changed the tensioner and pulley, water pump, idler pulley and belt. Hopefully I'm good for awhile in that area.

If you're reading this and you haven't done a tensioner before it's not as bad as people make you believe. I've had mine off 3 times in a week now trying to track down a chirp. Jack up the passenger side, yank the tire and pull out the fender skirt. (3 screws 5 plastic clips or pins) I did have to jack up my engine a bit to get the tensioner bolt off because it won't clear the frame otherwise. To do that I used the factory jack from the trunk with a small block of wood across the oil pan. Might be wise to inspect your pan to make sure it's not rusted and weak before using it to lift up the motor. I didn't have to loosen any motor mounts as mine are pretty worn and probably need to be replaced. The tensioner will drop right out the bottom of the motor. It was more of a PITA to replace the belt than it was the tensioner. I actually found it easier to loop the belt in where the tensioner pulley is going to be and then slip the tensioner pulley into the belt loop as you install the tensioner. I also loosened the tensioner almost all the way out and then pulled the tensioner towards the frame and away from the motor to give me room to slide in the belt behind it. Removing the tensioner to get the belt in place was easier. I used a can of brake cleaner to hose off the pulleys and the block. I cleaned the crap off Anything that the belt might touch when installing it.

It's best to fully remove the degas bottle to have the room to work. I empty the coolant from the degas bottle into a jug once I have it out of the car. Much easier to install it empty. Then I tie the coolant line that runs into the bottom of the bottle up out of the way so it doesn't pee all over the belt. Once you are done don't forget to burp your cooling system or you will overheat.
 
Even just holding that belt in your hand you can tell it's better than any of the others. It's a shame that you can't just walk into a parts store and buy it.
 
It felt less flexible than the other belts and I assume the crosshatching of the belt V's might be why it so good at ending the chirps. It would be nice to be able to get one locally but I don't mind paying $21 with free 2 day shipping ($4 for overnight if you are desperate) from Amazon. I buy many parts from Amazon. I also use Advanced Auto locally but I go online first and find a coupon code for 25-30% off, buy it online and go pick up the part in the store immediately. I've saved hundreds doing that over the last few years.
 
Yeah me too BigPip. I noticed my AC compressor pulley seems like it might be a little loose, but I need to make sure it's not supposed to be before I worry about that.
Anyway that's one more thing off the list. Next are 4 rotors, 3 calipers and new tires and new radiator fans. I replaced one caliper a few weeks ago because it had frozen but I am going to do the other 3 because of the general poor condition they are all in. I couldn't bleed them if I wanted to as the bleeders are all rotted and disintegrated.
 
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