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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / August 2007Reconditioning belts
Sorry if I'm a pest, but this is related to an earlier post about squeaking alternator belt. Normally I would not ask such a dumb question since belts are so cheap. But I cannot work on this vehicle where it is located any more, otherwise I would just replace the belt. The alternator belt making the racket (I am making an educated guess here) is the type that is serrated on the pulley side. It shows no obvious signs of wear-cracking, missing teeth or rubber, etc. I have tightened it such that the play is about 1/3 of an inch which from reading is within specs. So far there have been a number of suggestions for trying to get more traction out of this belt and stop it from squealing, but I want your opinion as to which, if any, offer any promise they might work, or if you have other suggestions. Obviously the belt is not far off from working since the squeal goes away once it has heated up and rubber contracts when heated. Among the ideas proposed good or bad are: wd-40 on the belt-this makes no sense to me at all since wd40 is a lubricant sandpapering the belt sandpapering the pulleys cleaning the pulleys with alcohol cleaning the belt with alcohol cleaning the pulleys with brake clean The other possibility I guess is that the pulleys themselves might be worn, since this is a high mileage vehicle (70's van/318). It seems to me that lightly sanding the belts and then cleaning them with alcohol might offer the best possiblity of diminishing the squeal? What do you think? > Sorry if I'm a pest, but this is related to an earlier post about > squeaking alternator belt. [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > with alcohol might offer the best possiblity of diminishing the squeal? > What do you think? Tighten it. >Normally I would not ask such a dumb question since belts are so cheap. >But I cannot work on this vehicle where it is located any more, >otherwise I would just replace the belt. Do you use used condoms? When you look in the fridge and see a sandwich that is all rancid and slimy, do you throw it out? Or do you try and figure out some kind of condiment that you can put on it to make it palatable? >The alternator belt making the racket (I am making an educated guess >here) is the type that is serrated on the pulley side. It shows no >obvious signs of wear-cracking, missing teeth or rubber, etc. I have >tightened it such that the play is about 1/3 of an inch which from >reading is within specs. So, it's shot. It needs to be replaced. Belts are like that. Belts are wear items. You replace them regularly. >So far there have been a number of suggestions for trying to get more >traction out of this belt and stop it from squealing, but I want your >opinion as to which, if any, offer any promise they might work, or if >you have other suggestions. Obviously the belt is not far off from >working since the squeal goes away once it has heated up and rubber >contracts when heated. These suggestions are mostly foolish. If your belt is bad, it is bad. If your belt is good, someday it will _be_ bad and you will need to replace it again. Therefore if you have a vehicle on which belts cannot be replaced, you must fix it so the belts _can_ be replaced. >Among the ideas proposed good or bad are: > >wd-40 on the belt-this makes no sense to me at all since wd40 is a >lubricant No, it's not a lubricant at all. It's a water displacement agent. You can use it as a solvent. Earlier in this thread, someone suggested that spraying WD-40 on the belt would briefly quiet it down for diagnostic purposes. Nobody was so boneheaded as to suggest it as a long-term solution. >sandpapering the belt You could do this, and you might eke a few more days or even weeks out of a failing belt. >sandpapering the pulleys If the problem is the pulleys, this would fix it. But the problem is not the pulleys. The problem is the belt. >cleaning the pulleys with alcohol > >cleaning the belt with alcohol > >cleaning the pulleys with brake clean These will fix problems caused by grease or other contamination on the belt. But that is not your problem. Your problem is that the belt is bad. >The other possibility I guess is that the pulleys themselves might be >worn, since this is a high mileage vehicle (70's van/318). That's possible, but you will never know without replacing the belt. If that _is_ the case, the sandpaper described above will fix the problem. >It seems to me that lightly sanding the belts and then cleaning them >with alcohol might offer the best possiblity of diminishing the squeal? >What do you think? I think you need to replace the belt and you need to stop making excuses for why you can't replace the belt. If you cannot get the bolt loose, take it to someone with a welder and have him get it loose. Then you can actually fix the problem instead of wasting your time on half-measures that do nothing. --scott  Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." > Sorry if I'm a pest, but this is related to an earlier post about > squeaking alternator belt. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > tightened it such that the play is about 1/3 of an inch which from > reading is within specs. How hard are you pushing? Do you know what 20 lbs of force feels like? Is 20 lbs the spec for your engine? Have you considered that the pulleys may not be quite in the same plane, in which case LOOSENING the belt is the answer? Have you sighted along the pulleys (in the manner of checking a 2x4 for twisting or warpage) to see if they are in plane? SignatureTegger >> Sorry if I'm a pest, but this is related to an earlier post about >> squeaking alternator belt. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > sighted along the pulleys (in the manner of checking a 2x4 for > twisting or warpage) to see if they are in plane? I took a straight edge ruler on end and the grooves of the pulleys were aligned. Already tried loose, needs to go tighter I suspect, but too tight will trash both the belt and maybe even the bearings on the waterpump and alternator, methinks. > Sorry if I'm a pest, but this is related to an earlier post about > squeaking alternator belt. > What do you think? I think you're a troll... There is NOTHING you can do to the belt/pulleys that would require less work than REPLACING the belt. >>Sorry if I'm a pest, but this is related to an earlier post about >>squeaking alternator belt. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I think you're a troll... There is NOTHING you can do to the belt/pulleys > that would require less work than REPLACING the belt. Eh, possibly not true. I sold a car and bought a different one once because the alternator was bad and I couldn't get one of the mounting bolts loose - it was an '84 Rabbit GTI and the bolt that was giving me problems was the socket-head cap screw behind the timing cover. Even with the upper timing cover removed and vice-grips on the bolt head, I couldn't get it out. Would have had to remove timing belt, and I didn't have a place to work on it (was living in one of those horrid gated communities at the time, and had already been bitched out for working on the girlie's car in front of the place) Sold it and bought an '84 Scirocco which I drove for years. The stupid thing is in retrospect I bet the brushes were just worn, and had I replaced the regulator and brushes (which you can do without removing the alternator) I could have gotten a few more years out of it. nate Signaturereplace "roosters" with "cox" to reply. http://members.cox.net/njnagel Bud, no matter how many times you ask the same damn question, you are not going to get the answer you want. You need a new belt in order to sell it and get close tot he money you want. You cannot easily defraud the potential buyer by 'dressing' the belt up pretty, sorry to tell you but.... Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's - Gone to the rust pile... Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2115147590 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page) > Sorry if I'm a pest, but this is related to an earlier post about > squeaking alternator belt. [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > with alcohol might offer the best possiblity of diminishing the squeal? > What do you think? Most older American brand name vehicles have an alternator brackets have a nine sixteenths bolt.Get a new belt and put it on.Tighten the belt up enough than you can press about no more than half an inch downard on the belt with hard thumb pressure. cuhulin > Sorry if I'm a pest, but this is related to an earlier post about > squeaking alternator belt. > > Normally I would not ask such a dumb question since belts are so cheap. > But I cannot work on this vehicle where it is located any more, > otherwise I would just replace the belt. I'm confused. Why can't you work on the car where it is if you can get to the car and apply all of those mickey-mouse fixes you listed. Just replace the darned belt before it breaks and causes problems. Or pay someone to do the work. > The alternator belt making the racket (I am making an educated guess > here) is the type that is serrated on the pulley side. It shows no [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Among the ideas proposed good or bad are: If you insist on using a temporary fix that will ultimately damage the belt further, then go to Pep Boys for some belt dressing. Or rub a bar of soap on the belt. |
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