Belt Sqeeking Really Bad!! Why??

[mitsurugi_78]

Ok I just used the march ac eliminator kit and removed the power steering as well and threw on a flamming river manuel rack. Everything seemed to go good. I used a 66" belt. I used my old belt and pulled it tight and then marked, and measured it and subtracted an inch and a half from the length. The belt seems like its a good fit. I have about a 1/4 inch of play from the alt pulley to the tensioner which I moved to the new bracket. But when I start her up she squeels so loud you can hear it blocks away. What could be wrong? Is the belt too tight, too loose or just not a good belt? I think its a kelly spring or something. It was the only one I could find in such short notice.

Thanks..

 

[HISSIN50]

are you positive the pulleys are all in alignment? stand on drivers side and sight down the pulleys. if one hangs out more than the others, it will squeak. good luck

 

[The Shape]

Normaly happens when the belt is to loose and it is slipping on the pullies. I had to replace my alternator last week and when I put my belt back on afterwards it was fine untill I turned the A/C on and then it screamed. Replaced the belt and it worked fine. Maybe you need a 1/2'' shorter belt.

 

[mitsurugi_78]

I will check the pulleys again but I thought it was in alignment. What do you do if the pully sits further out than the rest, or vice versa?

I can tighten the belt and when I do it seems like it doesn't sqeek as much but I was afraid if there was too much tension I would have problems with pully failure..

Thanks..

 

[The Shape]

If you have a kit where you can tighten your belt and doesn't rely on the automatic tensioner and tightening it doesn't help. Then I would agree with HISSIN 50 make sure all of the pullies are in alignment.

 

[mitsurugi_78]

Well thats what I'm unsure about...I moved the auto tensioner to the bracket ( ac elim bracket) so its still using the auto tensioner. So i thought that tightness shouldn't be the prob. I will check the pulleys first thing in the morning. But I still dont know if its the belt???

 

[The Shape]

If you have the auto tensioner still on the car it is possible the belt is just to loose and is slipping on the pullies. You can spray some WD-40 on the belt and see if it quits making noise of so then you probably need a shorter belt.

 

[HISSIN50]

i forgot to read all the responses. if the belt has decent tension, id rule that out. the fact that adding tension manually, IMO, suggests a bearing as jerry mentioned. the lateral tension you place on it loads the bearing up enough to eleviate/change the pitch.
what i would do is:
1) try the stethescope/screwdriver idea again. you care more about your car and you are paying for parts, so you will care a lot more than some shop who has no vested interest.
2)pull the belt (if you havent done it, it literally takes 5 seconds). I JUST THOUGHT OF THE BELT TENSIONER PULLEY. there have been probs with them in the past. it is next to the alternator so if that was the area of sound.... they are 15 bucks at part store. if that is it, IIRC, it is reverse thread (clockwise to loosen). i would highly recommend checking it. spin it w/ belt removed and feel for resistence, lateral play in the bearings, etc. they are cake to replace.
3)if thats not it, test all pulleys as jerry described.
4)lastly, i would go ahead and try a new belt. i dont know about you, but i carry an extra belt in my trunk cuz its just a little important. so try a new belt and stick your old one in the trunk as a back up. no money lost.
let us know what you find. good luck

 

[mitsurugi_78]

whats a good brand belt to get any suggestions? Serpentine..

 

[90StangLX]

whats a good brand belt to get any suggestions? Serpentine..

Motorcraft.

 

[HISSIN50]

whats a good brand belt to get any suggestions? Serpentine..

i agree that if motorcraft is reasonably priced, its probably as good as anything. im poor, so i use whatever. i have found that the rubber belts that have the crosshatched pattern (like tire tread) slip less than the velvet feeling ones. i have had bad luck with the latter ones with plastic pulleys. that is generally on cars with a single accessory off the crank being driven by a plastic pulley. i dont think that applies too much on the stang cuz the pulleys all get spun pretty well and there is a lot of tension.
i dud get a back up velvet one from autozone for 16-18 bucks cuz it was 50% cheaper than the former kind (that i prefer). its personal choice. i dont worry about the quality too much cause they are all decent, considering the source. and since i keep a back up....put your old one in the trunk...

 

[kwilliams]

I installed the same kit from March this past weekend. I have that same terrible squeal. In addtion, I fried my alternator. Don't know how it happened but its dead. How much tension is too much tension? I am thinking that I might have the wrong belt. I put on a DYCO 65" belt. The instructions for the dam thing does not tell you what size belt to use if you are taken out the ac/ps but keeping the smog pump, which is what I am doing.

I installed the kit along with a flaming river quick ratio rack. I weighed everything I took off, lost 35 pounds with the ac, powersteering, and all the plumbing gone.