Serpentine Belt Question

[KosmoCramer]

I just had my AC, water pump and serpentine replaced (2017 SE With 130,000 miles). I noticed the belt squeaks intermittently for the first few minutes the car is on. All the other pulleys, tensioner etc were checked during the service and are fine. What then could cause the squeak? Is the belt a drop too loose? Is there a way to tell and can I easily tighten it a bit?

[mohammad]

There is no tensioner in the conventional sense. The vehicle has no spring loaded tensioner, the belt is tensioned by moving the alternator forward/back with a bolt. It could be the belt heating up and expanding when the car starts that causes the squeaking to go away.

If you pop the hood, you can see the top alternator mounting bolt can be turned to tension the belt.

[Eggman]

I just had my AC, water pump and serpentine replaced (2017 SE With 130,000 miles). I noticed the belt squeaks intermittently for the first few minutes the car is on. All the other pulleys, tensioner etc were checked during the service and are fine. What then could cause the squeak? Is the belt a drop too loose? Is there a way to tell and can I easily tighten it a bit?

Belt squeaks are usually caused by a slipping belt. If it's happening during the first few minutes of startup, it sounds like the alternator is slipping under the load of recharging the battery. This could be made worse by running the headlights at the same time. (just a guess.) The A/C compressor could also cause this but might do it more than the first few minutes. In any case tightening the belt usually fixes the problem.

[KosmoCramer]

Belt squeaks are usually caused by a slipping belt. If it's happening during the first few minutes of startup, it sounds like the alternator is slipping under the load of recharging the battery. This could be made worse by running the headlights at the same time. (just a guess.) The A/C compressor could also cause this but might do it more than the first few minutes. In any case tightening the belt usually fixes the problem.

Is there any specific way to tell how tight? Or just do it a drop first and see if it stops?

[mohammad]

KosmosCramer, Belt tensioning instructions, including how to tell how tight can be found here: https://www.paulstravelpictures.com/...acement-Guide/

[Eggman]

Is there any specific way to tell how tight? Or just do it a drop first and see if it stops?

Not sure what you mean by drop but surely you'll be able to get it. Just tighten a little bit at a time until it stops squeaking. The factory service manual recommends plucking the belt and measuring the frequency of the tone. Or you could just tighten it up.

[Dirk Diggler]

I just had my AC, water pump and serpentine replaced (2017 SE With 130,000 miles). I noticed the belt squeaks intermittently for the first few minutes the car is on. All the other pulleys, tensioner etc were checked during the service and are fine. What then could cause the squeak? Is the belt a drop too loose? Is there a way to tell and can I easily tighten it a bit?

How much did that run you? Replacing all that? This is the 1st I've read on here about all that failing at once.

[KosmoCramer]

How much did that run you? Replacing all that? This is the 1st I've read on here about all that failing at once.

I started hearing a constant rattling (like a marble rolling around a metal coffe can) as well as a bad bearing noise. The Bearings in the AC clutch were pretty warn and you could feel metal on metal grinding when spinning it by hand. Picked up an AC compressor with the clutch on eBay for $320 (the only other option was Mitsubishi and they wanted $1300) and luckily I had a friend who installed it for me for much less than it would have cost elsewhere. Unfortunately that fixed one bearing noise but not the rattling and another noticeable bearing noise.. which wound up being the water pump.. picked one up on Amazon for $40 and luckily the same friend installed it as well. The belt wasn’t in need of being changed at the moment but I figured why not change it anyway since everything was off and it only cost $18 at autozone.

So I think the Water pump was really my main problem .. but the AC would have needed to be changed in the coming months regardless.. but besides the slight squeak right now from the belt (which I think will be fixed once I tighten the belt a bit) the car sounds and drives like it did the day I bought it.

So the parts total was around $400 and labor was about $200

I drive a lot and this is the first major repair that I needed to do on the car.. my normal commute is about 130 miles a day total. I have 130,000 miles on the car.

[foama]

The forum's search function is very beneficial, but some seem to forget...

If a belt is overtightened, the bearings in water pump, alternator and AC compressor are bound to disintegrate. Doing it properly is no more effort than f**king it up. You do not want to pay dearly $$$ for entirely preventable consequences!


We have a belt tension How To:

https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...-Tension-Howto

[Dirk Diggler]

I started hearing a constant rattling (like a marble rolling around a metal coffe can) as well as a bad bearing noise. The Bearings in the AC clutch were pretty warn and you could feel metal on metal grinding when spinning it by hand. Picked up an AC compressor with the clutch on eBay for $320 (the only other option was Mitsubishi and they wanted $1300) and luckily I had a friend who installed it for me for much less than it would have cost elsewhere. Unfortunately that fixed one bearing noise but not the rattling and another noticeable bearing noise.. which wound up being the water pump.. picked one up on Amazon for $40 and luckily the same friend installed it as well. The belt wasn’t in need of being changed at the moment but I figured why not change it anyway since everything was off and it only cost $18 at autozone.

So I think the Water pump was really my main problem .. but the AC would have needed to be changed in the coming months regardless.. but besides the slight squeak right now from the belt (which I think will be fixed once I tighten the belt a bit) the car sounds and drives like it did the day I bought it.

So the parts total was around $400 and labor was about $200

I drive a lot and this is the first major repair that I needed to do on the car.. my normal commute is about 130 miles a day total. I have 130,000 miles on the car.

Can you post a link to your purchases? Water pump and AC compressor?