Squealing pulley on cold start

[benniemc]

I've got a pulley in the front of the engine that squeals on a cold start (Average morning temp is around 1 - 2C).

Sounds like it's on the driver side, but I can't quite pin point it.

Is it something I should worry about because it goes away once the car is warm?

It's due for a service in a month, so I'll get them to check it.

Some advice would be great! :)

[mjf4one9]

i had same problem it was tensioner pully spray a little belt lube in it and it will dissapear but will come back later...holden want over 200 for a new tensioner but you can remove just the wheel and get that replaced at coventrys as i did and it was 20 bucks

[vx_clubby]

I had the same problem as well, sounded like the drivers side or a/c area. I changed 2 pulleys and no change.
Then I changed the belt and the tensioner as I heard if they let got a bit the belt can slip?
Then after that I never heard the squeal again, so it was either the belt or not enough tension. Took me ages to work it out though.
I thought the tensioner unit was only about $70-$110 though??
anyhow goodluck
cheers

[VNV8]

I had a similar problem a while back, try changing the belt for a genuine holden one before anything else IMO.

[gts071]

Have you fitted an under driven pulley?
Since mine has been fitted it squeals like a mofo, it is the a/c belt that's doing it on mine.

I have since done some reading and found out to either get the bosch brand of belt or get one that is slightly smaller. A good way to find out is to drop the a/c belt and see if it still sqeaks and squeals.

[vx_clubby]

Have you fitted an under driven pulley?
Since mine has been fitted it squeals like a mofo, it is the a/c belt that's doing it on mine.

I have since done some reading and found out to either get the bosch brand of belt or get one that is slightly smaller. A good way to find out is to drop the a/c belt and see if it still sqeaks and squeals.

Funnily enough the 2 new belts I put on are Bosch belts, and they are very quiet, never had a squeal again.
Maybe it was the belt that fixed it

[DaveHAT]

Funnily enough the 2 new belts I put on are Bosch belts, and they are very quiet, never had a squeal again.
Maybe it was the belt that fixed it

Squeal that's present when cold and goes away when warm ... in my limited experience is belt related.

I've had problems on 2 cars one fitted with 25% UDP and another with the standard balancer ... DAYCO belts squealed like a prick but when changed to bosch brand, never squealed again.

Could be coincidence but it worked for me on more than one occassion.

[MANARO]

have the same problem with mine changed the tensioner pulley replaced the belts and it was still there so i changed to a smaller belt and now it only sequels when cold and they were both dayco belts, so next i will try the bosch belt and see if that works.

[kpop]

ok heres a related question, if you get squeel, but only on (cold) startups, is it something to be concerned about, something that needs attention to be replaced ?

[gts071]

If it is belt squeal it normally means it is slipping or rubbing. So in the short term, it would not be of a major concern. However if left untreated it could result in increased belt wear and increase how long the squealing last for, eventually it could chew through the belt which could be an issue depending on the belt and where you are when it lets go.

So it is something I wouldn't stress about now, but if it gets worse or starts to give you the shits I would look at replacing the squealing belt and highly consider the bosch brand of belt as many people have reported them to fixing the problem.

[bigdogdazza]

There is nothing worse than a squealing belt, I hope you get it sorted as its a major pain in the ass eh!:bawl:

[chevsrus]

For a quick fix get a dry bar of soap and with the car running carefully rub it over the belt, it will shut it up for quite a while. It works on my supercharger belt when nothing else would.

[57kil]

I had this problem twice on two different cars, one was the supercharger pulley second was the belt! Definitely seems to be worse in the colder months!
Basically it could be any of the above so good luck http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/images.ls1/smilies/sm_smile.gif

[255-LS1]

mines doing the squeel when cold too. anyone know the part number for bosch belt, ill try lube it first.

Cheers

[Gen3Unistudent]

I replaced both belts with bosch ones the other week. Still squeaks when cold and for a brief moment after WOT. What would be my next best option? Really annoying problem.

[57kil]

Park it in a very warm environment :rofl:

[Gen3Unistudent]

I was hoping someone would give the part number of to replace the one part rather then the whole tensioner.......But your advice was appreciated

[DaveHAT]

I replaced both belts with bosch ones the other week. Still squeaks when cold and for a brief moment after WOT. What would be my next best option? Really annoying problem.

My uneducated opinion is that what you're experiencing is belt slip when you've had the hoofer into it ... caused by the tensioner being worn.

Replacing just the pulley ONLY is unlikely to fix it.

[WOKAZ]

I had the same problem a while back - turned out to be a small coolant dribble once the car was turned off. Holden replaced leaky water pump and fixed.

[SirNemesis]

Mine was squeaking on a cold morning too. Turned out to be a small drop of PS fluid leaking from the res onto the belt every night.

[dgwhite]

I recently had a similar issue, which turned out to be a bad Harmonic Balancer, which ended up being replaced under warranty - only after I paid another mechanic to identify the issue and write up a report. Holden said to me "What makes you think that the Harmonic Balancer is faulty". I showed them the report, then showed them the balancer wobbling around (about 5-6mm) before they would believe me.

Also, try this link - http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/idx/14/206/article/Eliminating_Serpentine_Belt_Noise.html
Quite good.

Cheers
dgwhite

[gladrock]

My VZ maloo did the same thing, I took it to Holden and they said it was the power steering pump out of line. It came back all fixed

[gavlotic]

just wondering if anyone knew where to get the bosch belts ? are these at bursons or are they the holden oem?

thanks.

gav

[power]

gday
Just successfully changed my power steering pump but now I get a small squeal...

I think that the pulley that came with the new pump had a light coat of something on it from when it was reconditioned (AC Delco remanufactured) which is causing it (I did wipe it down as much as I could). I think the serpentine also got a bit of fluid on it

Question is, what do I use to clean it now? I have already sprayed some belt spray on it but if anything that made it worse???

[SirNemesis]

With mine, it was a drop of power steering fluid getting on the belt every night. This is minor, but it effectively killed the belt by glazing the surface. No amount of cleaning/spraying helped and I needed to replace the belt.

[benniemc]

Where is a good place to source a power steering pump? Holmart had some a while ago for $100, kicking myself for not getting one.

Mine was the issue in the end, has been ok but is getting very ordinary now.

Almost sounds like the car has a blower sometimes... :(

[hypo30]

not being funny but check the spring in the tensioner if beeing revved hard can loose tension which will cause loose belt or could be the bearing is dying locking up in the cold but when its warm the steel expands and loosens up on the inner race hope this helps

[DAVZSS]

Where is a good place to source a power steering pump? Holmart had some a while ago for $100, kicking myself for not getting one.

Mine was the issue in the end, has been ok but is getting very ordinary now.

Almost sounds like the car has a blower sometimes... :(

+1 its louder than my exhaust, must fit new PS pump soon

[LS1Grange]

Squeal that's present when cold and goes away when warm ... in my limited experience is belt related.

I've had problems on 2 cars one fitted with 25% UDP and another with the standard balancer ... DAYCO belts squealed like a prick but when changed to bosch brand, never squealed again.

Could be coincidence but it worked for me on more than one occassion.

I'll 3rd that notion, mine used to squeel like a bitch until warmed up. Bosch belts fixed all that.

[benniemc]

I'll 3rd that notion, mine used to squeel like a bitch until warmed up. Bosch belts fixed all that.

I'm due for belt replacements at my next service too. :(

My baby is gonna cost me some coin in about 5000km!

[the metal]

I am currently dealing with the same problems, getting closer to 100% fixed.

But I just want it to be mentioned that lubing or soaping a belt to stop squeal is fine as a process of elimination, but a serpentine belt is designed to grip, not slip. Sort out belt tension, pulley misalignment etc. to fix the root cause.

btw Hi all, I'm new here.

[73LJWhiteSL]

Glad I found this thread. Have been putting up with the squealing last few months since I got the car. I will grab the Bosch Belts and replace them and see if that solves it before I look at tensioners.

thanks

Steve

[73LJWhiteSL]

So i've managed to grab the larger Bosch belt (6PK1995) But am having trouble getting the smaller Bosch belt. Neither Autobarn or Burson could help me. Ran out of time to call Repco today. Where did you guys get your Bosch belts from?

thanks

Steve

[73LJWhiteSL]

I ended up wth a Genuine small belt (for the AC) and a Bosch belt for the big one and so far the squeal has gone. Another vote for the Bosch belt as a first step. :goodjob:

Steve

[the metal]

Just an update, I have completely eliminated my belt squeal, even on the coldest mornings there is nothing. I have a manual billet tensioner, i know some of the boys running blowers have used them as a solution to thrown belts so I gave it a crack. I have bosch belts, but the serpentine would still squeal now and then.

It took about a week to get the tension spot on, just marked it with a texture, drove for a day, tightened it, drove for a day... until i found the sweet spot, scribed in a line and nows it's silent in all conditions, looks mint too.

Dan.

[MrHSV318]

Just an update, I have completely eliminated my belt squeal, even on the coldest mornings there is nothing. I have a manual billet tensioner, i know some of the boys running blowers have used them as a solution to thrown belts so I gave it a crack. I have bosch belts, but the serpentine would still squeal now and then.

It took about a week to get the tension spot on, just marked it with a texture, drove for a day, tightened it, drove for a day... until i found the sweet spot, scribed in a line and nows it's silent in all conditions, looks mint too.

Dan.

Sound smick. Any chance of a pic?

[Micks]

Without reading the whole thread can only be Belt or a pulley problem, tensioners are generally very reliable.

Cheers
VYT

[the metal]

Without reading the whole thread can only be Belt or a pulley problem, tensioners are generally very reliable.

Cheers
VYT

Not in my case, the auto-tensioner was rat shit. I'm not saying a new GM auto-tensioner wouldn't have fixed it, but it's a known fact that any spring-operated tensioner suffers harmonics to some degree, you should have seen mine at 1750rpm, looked like the belt was about to jump at any moment. It cost me less for the billet jobby than a genuine.

And to mrHSV315, can't post pics as i'm not validated, but just search on "comp cams billet tensioner" to get an idea. I bought a knock-off but same 6061 grade alloy.

[OBSSED]

I just bought a VT II SS and my tensioner pulley was squealing like crazy, I just gave it a hit with WD40 and it's been quiet for the last 1500 km

Also chasing a part number for the smaller AC belt if someone has it, just a cheap replacement would suffice

Thanks

[the metal]

Just another update,

I have now been using the billet manual tensioner for 6 months, haven't had to re-adjust, not a single squeak all winter. Its a billet manual tensioner like the COMP CAMS one.

Dan.

[Steele304VS]

I just bought a VT II SS and my tensioner pulley was squealing like crazy, I just gave it a hit with WD40 and it's been quiet for the last 1500 km

Also chasing a part number for the smaller AC belt if someone has it, just a cheap replacement would suffice

Thanks

hahah i did the exact same thing 2 days ago. keeps coming back though.

I'm hoping it'll be fixed under warranty.
seems pretty commons

[73LJWhiteSL]

I replaced both my belts back in April and the squeal went away. Then I broke my foot in June and couldn't drive the car for 4 weeks, and after that the squeal is back. It seems the bottom tensioner is stuffed because if I spray WD40 into it it shuts up for a little while.

Would that be the pulley bearing or the tensioner itself?

And it seems the billet manual tensioner is far cheaper than the OEM one, wheres the best place to get my hands on one of them?

The squeal is getting really bad now and doesn't seem to go away after 10 minutes on the first start of the day, I need to do something with it.

Thanks

Steve

[the metal]

I replaced both my belts back in April and the squeal went away. Then I broke my foot in June and couldn't drive the car for 4 weeks, and after that the squeal is back. It seems the bottom tensioner is stuffed because if I spray WD40 into it it shuts up for a little while.

Would that be the pulley bearing or the tensioner itself?

And it seems the billet manual tensioner is far cheaper than the OEM one, wheres the best place to get my hands on one of them?

The squeal is getting really bad now and doesn't seem to go away after 10 minutes on the first start of the day, I need to do something with it.

Thanks

Steve

The billet one I bought on ebay for around $150 delivered. WD40 is really not good for belts, or the bearings. WD40 eats belts, and it actually flushes the grease out of your bearings, but if you just use the tiniest amount to find out what bearing the noise is coming from it's okay. Just spray a spec on the tensioner bearing and if the noise goes away you can safely buy an OEM or billet tensioner. Otherwise spray the smallest bit on the bottom idler and if that makes it go away you can replace that instead. I still haven't had a single squeak since I installed my billet tensioner, and haven't had to re-adjust in atleast 6 months. Plus the red anodised matches my catch-can, otr silicon etc.

Hope you can get it sorted as it took me forever.
Dan.