My car is squeaking, it's really annoying....

[basichero]

So I bought my 2003 Protege ES the last day of August of this year. About three days later it started to squeak. About two days later it got worse. Then it just got embarrassingly loud.... I figured it was the serpentine belt. So around September 6-12, I can't remember when exactly, I went to jiffylube to get an oil change and had them check the belts. Jiffylube confirmed by concern about the belts, so they changed three of them. All was good after that, the squeaking went away. But here I am, a month later, and they are acting up again! And it's really, really pissing me off, it's so loud... I still figure it's still related to the belts, because the noise went away when they got changed, albeit a month. This time I think its the pulley/tensioner. Do you guys have any other ideas as to why it squeaks? And is it an easy fix so I can do it on my own? I'm all about cutting down on costs. Thanks for the help!

P.S. I don't know if this is just a coincidence or what, but all was good during the warm weather here in Southern California, but with fall came colder weather, and ironically squeaky belts.

 

[MSP2024]

I don't know if this is just a coincidence or what, but all was good during the warm weather here in Southern California, but with fall came colder weather, and ironically squeaky belts.

mine started doing it again, like you said it seems like colder weather it does it

 

[neox.286]

have you tried tightening down the belts more?

check the tension in them, it can slip if they aren't tight enough

also get some belt dressing to put on them, it helped when my buddy had this issue on his msp

 

[mach1219]

tighten them up, they can loosen some after the initial break-in. There is no "pulley/tensioner", just loosen the mount bolts and tighten the adjusting/tension bolt

 

[00MazPro]

Don't mean to hijack the thread here, but I have a 2000 Protege LX with the 1.6L motor. I'm getting an annoying belt squeak that I am sure will lead me to just replace all the belts. With my car, the belt squeaks when I engage the A/C and only does so for a minute or so. The car could just be idling when I engage the A/C and it will squeak. There are even times when it doesn't do it when idling, but does it with the A/C engaged and you put the car into gear. Again, it only does it for a minute or so. The weird thing is that to me the squeaking I here almost sound like it has some grinding sound to it. I've looked down at the A/C compressor when this is happening, and it almost seems as though the clutch on the compressor is bad, or going bad. Then again, A/C blow cold all the time and this squeaking/grinding sound I hear only happens in the times mentioned above, and doesn't occur any other time when I am driving. I tried tightening the belts a bit, but it still does it. At this point, I would hate to go buy a new set of belts and that not even be the problem. What do you all think?

 

[FightClubTheory]

I had the same problem.
Belt dressing does wonders, but will only last so long if you need them tightened.
I found that my alternator belt needed tightening, and that solved my problem - so far, I haven't needed to use my belt dressing.
Every now and then, however, I'll get them to squeal if I have left it parked at my buddy's house for a while (gets really cold/moist/foggy at night) or parked by the beach for a while, though both scenarios rarely make them squeal upon starting up.

 

[mach1219]

Don't mean to hijack the thread here, but I have a 2000 Protege LX with the 1.6L motor. I'm getting an annoying belt squeak that I am sure will lead me to just replace all the belts. With my car, the belt squeaks when I engage the A/C and only does so for a minute or so. The car could just be idling when I engage the A/C and it will squeak. There are even times when it doesn't do it when idling, but does it with the A/C engaged and you put the car into gear. Again, it only does it for a minute or so. The weird thing is that to me the squeaking I here almost sound like it has some grinding sound to it. I've looked down at the A/C compressor when this is happening, and it almost seems as though the clutch on the compressor is bad, or going bad. Then again, A/C blow cold all the time and this squeaking/grinding sound I hear only happens in the times mentioned above, and doesn't occur any other time when I am driving. I tried tightening the belts a bit, but it still does it. At this point, I would hate to go buy a new set of belts and that not even be the problem. What do you all think?

Inspect the belts. They either need replaced or they dont. They either need tightened or they dont.

I belive i may have the same sound you are describing. it sounds like a grinding bearing, it comes and goes, and it comes from the a/c compressor. In my case, this sound isnt the belt at all, its the pulley/bearing, magnetic clutch or somethign on the front end of the compressor that isnt spinning smoothly. i tried to take the pully and clutch off the front of the compressor, with the compressor still mounted in the car,to inspect it, but wasnt susseccful.

you can islote the noise to the a/c compressor pully by removing the belt and running the car without it and see if the noise goes away.

belt dressing is a waste. its a band aid at best

 

[00MazPro]

Inspect the belts. They either need replaced or they dont. They either need tightened or they dont.

I belive i may have the same sound you are describing. it sounds like a grinding bearing, it comes and goes, and it comes from the a/c compressor. In my case, this sound isnt the belt at all, its the pulley/bearing, magnetic clutch or somethign on the front end of the compressor that isnt spinning smoothly. i tried to take the pully and clutch off the front of the compressor, with the compressor still mounted in the car,to inspect it, but wasnt susseccful.

you can islote the noise to the a/c compressor pully by removing the belt and running the car without it and see if the noise goes away.

belt dressing is a waste. its a band aid at best

Yeah, belt dressing didn't work for me. I have a feeling in my gut I'll need to have the compressor replaced. I'll likely replace the belts too since I'm sure my mother-in-law has never had them replaced, or if she has, it's been a long time.

You know, on my old '96 Accord, I used to switch to a small belt in an attempt to eliminate running the A/C pulley during the winter. I figured since it was cold, I never used the A/C. It's not the best thing since operating the A/C during the winter months for a short period of time helps to circulate the oil in the unit. Don't remember how the Protege is configured, but would it be safe to run the car with a smaller belt, avoiding the A/C compressor altogether?

 

[mach1219]

Yeah, belt dressing didn't work for me. I have a feeling in my gut I'll need to have the compressor replaced. I'll likely replace the belts too since I'm sure my mother-in-law has never had them replaced, or if she has, it's been a long time.

You know, on my old '96 Accord, I used to switch to a small belt in an attempt to eliminate running the A/C pulley during the winter. I figured since it was cold, I never used the A/C. It's not the best thing since operating the A/C during the winter months for a short period of time helps to circulate the oil in the unit. Don't remember how the Protege is configured, but would it be safe to run the car with a smaller belt, avoiding the A/C compressor altogether?

It may be possible if the belt fits properly when routed that way, or you can just leave it off and drive without power sterring if you want to . however, i dont recommend it. When you use your defrost, the a/c compressor comes on to get the humiduty out of the air and keep your windows fog free. it sure is nice to see where your going....and as you said, its good to run it occasionaly even in the winter to keep the seals from drying out