Author Topic: THE BASICS: PULLEYS  (Read 10221 times)

Offline VileZambonie

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #15 on: June 27, 2007, 03:04:24 PM »
your belts either need to be replaced or need to be tighter still.
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Offline Captkaos

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #16 on: June 27, 2007, 05:25:07 PM »
What does the belt look like?  How old/new is it?

Offline Stewart G Griffin

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #17 on: June 27, 2007, 10:04:14 PM »
1) yes, it is/was connected to rpm---the higher the rev the more intense, louder and slightly higher pitch.

2) the belt is/was pretty tight.  I could not turn the alternator by hand with the belt in place.  And, the belt had, at most, 1/8 inch deflection.  If that much.  So, i don't know.  It's going to be pretty hard to make it even tighter.

3) The belt looks ok.  I do not know how old/new it is.  But i've had the truck about 1yr.

4) UPDATE 10PM:
I took the alt belt off and started it up and it ran just fine no noise whatsoever.
I am leaning towards the alternator making the noise and needing replacement.


Offline Lt.Del

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #18 on: June 29, 2007, 07:33:38 PM »
I have never heard of an alternator you could not turn manually with your hand--the alt should spin very freely. 

Alt bearings bad!

Replace the alt and replace the belt for the alt since it was probably spinning ON the pulley rather than spinning the pulley--wearing it out prematurley.

Offline Stewart G Griffin

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #19 on: January 26, 2008, 06:58:04 PM »
UPDATE:
i thought it was the alternator too, but it turns out it was not the problem.  What else, besides belts, could the bad sqawking be?

i'm thinking it could be the fan clutch?  Because, again, it goes for about 1 min or two then completely disapears.

This is bad to the point where i can't drive it to work because i leave at 5:30 am and i don't want to disturb the neighbors because i'm a considerate neighbor.  i have another car, so don't worry about that for now.
« Last Edit: January 26, 2008, 07:21:42 PM by Stewart G Griffin »

Offline Captkaos

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #20 on: January 26, 2008, 10:10:10 PM »
If you took the belt off and it stopped, that is the problem.  Replace the belt and check the Alternator pulley...

Offline Stewart G Griffin

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #21 on: January 27, 2008, 03:41:13 AM »
You're probably right;  i'll take the belt off and try again.

Offline Stewart G Griffin

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #22 on: January 27, 2008, 08:51:34 PM »
UPDATE:

OK, it is the belt;  Thanks everyone for helping.

Offline Stewart G Griffin

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #23 on: February 04, 2008, 10:44:25 PM »
UPDATE:
i decided that since the belt is otherwise ok----noisy but gets the job done, that i would put soap on it and replace it and the other belts and hoses in 10,000 miles.

The soap trick works great.

Thank you to the cheapskate that came up with that one.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2008, 11:01:17 PM by Stewart G Griffin »

Offline Stewart G Griffin

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #24 on: February 24, 2008, 10:38:58 PM »
PULLEYS REVISITED;  PT.2

Basically, the soap trick worked great for a few weeks, but not anymore.  The squealing can occur at anytime now and usually for long stretches at a time, although it usually doesn't do it at idle.

While at the chevy dealer on friday, picking up a part, i overheard a service mgr saying that if you work the pulley(s) with a wire brush, this could take care of the problem?

1) Have you heard of such a procedure?

2) Any other suggestions?  This is unacceptably loud.

Offline monte85

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #25 on: February 25, 2008, 01:52:07 AM »
i have tried cleaning both the pulleys and the belt on my mothers tracker. it is a very temporary fix. i ended up getting a new belt the next day.
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Offline VileZambonie

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #26 on: February 25, 2008, 04:42:27 AM »
Once a belt is contaminated or glazed it needs to be replaced. You can clean it, lube it, dress it all you want but it will still squeak especially serpentine belts.
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Offline HAULIN IT

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #27 on: February 25, 2008, 05:38:32 PM »
Stewart, I want to commend you on your honesty,many people are "to good" to admit when they do something not so bright. Good for you, being a man & telling it how it is. It can be dumbfounding at times when, after it's over you stop & think  "Where did I get off track? How could I have prevented this? How can I prevent this in the future? We ALL have done things were not so proud of. I hope others will read this & learn from it. I remember reading, I believe it was Vile mentioned this to someone not long ago. One thing to add to your belt problem. I have had pulleys sit while working on a project & get SLIGHTLY rusty (my motorhome has done it over a period of sitting also) nothing short of taking it off & sanding it with 150 grit or so will keep it from squealing. Sometimes only on initial start-up, maybe only when you hit the gas, ect. You will get it figured out. Lorne 

Offline Stewart G Griffin

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Re: THE BASICS: PULLEYS
« Reply #28 on: March 07, 2008, 05:59:48 PM »
Alright, it really was the belt;   The noise was truely unacceptable, so upon closer inspection, i noticed that some of the "cogs" were missing (this was a dayco belt).

i got a Gates 7435--this goes on the water pump pulley, crankshaft pulley and the alternator pulley with no A.I.R. pump, for $11.99 at a local parts store.

It was very tight, and i had to actually undo both alternator bolts so i could actually move the alternator downwards to get the belt on.

Absolutely no noise!

i noticed that the gates belt is a little wider than the dayco.  Maybe this had something to do with the noise.  And i'm amazed that a relatively small rubber belt could make such a loud racket.

My thoughts:
1) Gates rules.

2) Dayco, not so good.