Annoying squealing from belts

[RobfromYork]

I’ve got an annoying squealing from the engine bay under load. I’ve had it looked at and the thought that it was the power steering belt but that’s been tightened along with the alternator belt and it’s still squealing.

Before I lose my mind have any of you got an idea of what could be causing it.

Ta

Rob

 

[Towpack]

If the belts are worn they can still squeal even when tightened. For what they cost just change them.

 

[Chris]

Just because the belts are tight, doesn't mean they wont squeal I'm afraid. There isn't a power steering belt by the way. Do you mean Air Con? It is possible that it's the AC idler pulley bearing amongst other things

 

[frank rabbets]

You could diagnose exactly what is squealing by spraying wd40 with the can/pipe on the belts in turn. Also changes the sound of the squeal coming from a faulty bearing. Just a puff on the belts will do but more on the bearing.

 

[RobfromYork]

Just because the belts are tight, doesn't mean they wont squeal I'm afraid. There isn't a power steering belt by the way. Do you mean Air Con? It is possible that it's the AC idler pulley bearing amongst other things

Ah that would explain why it didn’t work .

As per usual this forum is a goldmine of useful information. Thank you

 

[Chris]

I had squealing belts on out Russia trip. I tightened them twice and it just kept coming back. In the end whilst on a maintenance stop, I swapped them out. Ahh silence. Then Andy's started squealing! If you have them too tight you'll overload the bearings in the alternator.

 

[StarCruiser]

On overtightening.

While looking for a gauge of how much deflection you should have for a certain distance of belt I found this https://www.ibtinc.com/how-to-tension-a-v-belt/
with some useful info. I’ve used the ‘pencil’ type tester before but it was a long time ago but it’s probably a tool I’ll consider getting as the ‘thumb’ method has to be unreliable and not something that can easily be explained from one person to another. It’s also worth remembering that New belts will ‘bed in’ and potentially require readjusting after a short time particularly if they start to protest.

 

[David]

I need to change my air con belt as at is a squealer ,belts tend to go hard over time and that does not help

 

[StarCruiser]

I need to change my air con belt as at is a squealer ,belts tend to go hard over time and that does not help

True, contamination doesn’t help. Once they start to slip they start to wear. I witnessed a big concrete saw with 7 V belts shred the entire lot one by one back in the summer. The pulley was so worn it shredded a new set in 5 minutes. Not good.

 

[Dave2000]

Something I found on my 80 was belts that would not tighten evenly, including matched pairs from Toyota.

It transpires the alternator body was turning inwards at the front. The reason is the rear mounting bolt had not been tightened properly, the result was not only the mounting hole on the alternator had become elongated, but also the alternator mounting bracket that is bolted to the engine had suffered in the same way, completely impossible to get the correct tension on both belts.

Fitting new belts with the above faults means only one belt is taking the bulk of the load, it is not long before excessive wear occurs and @Chris is right, no power steering belt, so slip off the AC one and test.

Regards

Dave

 

[Chris]

And I'm certainly not about to open the old debate about why it needs two alternator belts in the first place. Oh no Sir. Not me. Mmm Mmm. Lips sealed, not saying a word. Especially about the fact that nearly every other car in history only has one and seem fine in fact have less problems. Nope, I'm not getting into that argument nor the one about 24v start.

 

[Dave2000]

Was there a debate about twin belts Chris, I must have missed that one?

Regards

Dave

 

[Chris]

Ha ha, probably Dave.

 

[Dave2000]

Ha ha, probably Dave.

Regards

Dave