Noisy belt

[newprot5fan]

Hey all,

Just wondering about belt replacement. One of the belts is squealing pretty bad at low rpm - goes away after everything gets warm though.

SHould I try and find a quick fix for it or should I get the belt replaced. The noise happens whether the A/C is on or not....

Thanks!

 

[ja4aoue]

Try to tighten it!

 

[newprot5fan]

I have no idea how to tighten a belt. I am brand new at this stuff......

 

[ho bag]

I have no idea how to tighten a belt. I am brand new at this stuff......

LOL ill bring my socket set on the weekend

 

[maxchao]

Hmm...I want to know how to tighten the belt too. My g/f's protege 1.6L has the same thing.

Josh

 

[faral]

tightening the belts is relatively simple...sort of.

go to the shop manual website that is linked on this forum.

my belts were loose a couple weeks ago, and even though i think it was just the AC belt, I needed to tighten both the AC and alternator belt.

all you need to do is loosen a couple fastener bolts and tighten the belts. just be careful not to over tighten. if your belts are old, you may want to just replace them. and if you replace them, keep in mind that new belts are stiff, so get them on, tighten them to remove the slack (the manual will give you actual numbers rather than my "remove the slack" precision), drive your car around to wear the belts in. if they don't squeal after a few hundred miles, then you're probably good. if you hear squeal, go back in and tighten.

 

[ramsayd1]

you see this a lot this time of year, check your alt belt for signs of wear, if it looks cracked or worn go ahead and replace it and if this is the case go ahead and replace the ac belt too since you have to remove it to replace the alt belt. As far as tightening and making any adjustments, if you don't feel confident to do so then don't, save your self the trouble and pay someone else to do it. To replace both belts would probably run you around $200-$250. most of that money going toward labor of course. (don't pay more than $100 in labor those belts are n't that expensive.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Just drive it on down to Houston. Bring the belts, I'll put them on for free. Hell, I'll do everybody's. Paying more than 10.00 to put both on would be insane. New belts shouldn't be more than 50-60.00 for both if you go with Gates or Goodyear Gatorbacks. Takes like 10 minutes - 2 sinch bolts to release, 2 adj bolts to loosen, pull belts off, new belts on, 2 adj bolts to tighten, 2 bolts to sinch in place & done.

 

[ramsayd1]

Just drive it on down to Houston. Bring the belts, I'll put them on for free. Hell, I'll do everybody's. Paying more than 10.00 to put both on would be insane. New belts shouldn't be more than 50-60.00 for both if you go with Gates or Goodyear Gatorbacks. Takes like 10 minutes - 2 sinch bolts to release, 2 adj bolts to loosen, pull belts off, new belts on, 2 adj bolts to tighten, 2 bolts to sinch in place & done.

this is very true, but most shops will probably charge you about 1 hour to replace both. Honestly it really isn't very hard, the advice above is great.