Belt Squeal, 97 Safari 4.3L

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura) 07/26/2018 at 14:24 • Filed to: None

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I posted about this back in March. I’ve since replaced the belt, tensioner, idler and water pump, all with AC Delco parts. After that, silence, for a while. We drove 2000 miles in six days over the weekend and now the squeal has returned. I’ve had it suggested that perhaps the pulley on the power steering pump is pressed on too far or not far enough, causing a misalignment. Does anyone have any experience with this?

crowmolly > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/26/2018 at 14:45

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I wonder if the alternator or power steering pump is causing drag on the system.

Urambo Tauro > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/26/2018 at 14:47

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If there was a misalignment, I would have expected it to cause problems sooner than that. Any chance that something just got the belt wet? Like maybe a coolant hose wasn’t as tight as you thought?

94RRC > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/26/2018 at 15:18

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Is there  any damage to the belt? Take the belt off and spin each pulley by hand and see if there are any odd noises/drag.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > crowmolly 07/26/2018 at 15:25

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That’s been suggested. I am going to install a Gatorback belt and while it’s off, I’ll spin the accessories and see if I can notice any drag on one of them.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Urambo Tauro 07/26/2018 at 15:27

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That is a good suggestion. I will take a look. I am also going to install one of the (Goodyear) Continental Elite Gatorback © belts that claim specifically to quiet misalignment problems. Worth a try, says I. While the belt is off, I’ll give the accessories a spin and see if I can find some extra drag in any of them.

crowmolly > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/26/2018 at 15:28

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If the alternator isn’t new-ish it might be worth just pulling it to have it tested. Just a few bolts, right?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > 94RRC 07/26/2018 at 15:30

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I’m going to install a Gatorback belt this afternoon and while the old belt is off, I’ll do what you suggest.

I see that your comment was pending. You might send an email to oppomoderator@gmail.com and ask whether you might get commenting rights. Give this a read first; takes about 90 seconds. Tell them you’ve read it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > crowmolly 07/26/2018 at 15:31

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I am on the cusp of replacing it with a high-output part, anyhow. But it’s not very old.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/26/2018 at 16:52

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What sort of squeal?

With the engine running, sp ray a bunch of brake cleaner onto the belt so it hits every pully. If it gets worse, it’s probably because there’s some resistance in one of the pulleys. If it goes away while wet then comes back when it’s dry, then it could be an alignment issue. If it goes away completely you likely had some fluid leaking onto the belt.

I once had a chirp from a belt because the harmonic balance was coming apart. It by much, but it was enough that the belt got slapped against the young cover once per revolution. The chirp was the belt sawing into the aluminum.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee 07/26/2018 at 17:00

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Chirpy. And you can tell that it wants to be once per revolution of the belt.

I’m going to experiment with a Gatorback belt and see how that does.

I am leaning toward installing a high-output alternator, which will require a slightly smaller belt...

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/26/2018 at 17:02

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I have absolutely no idea, so here is a banana.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 07/26/2018 at 18:53

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That one’s just about right.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/26/2018 at 19:11

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Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 07/26/2018 at 20:16

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The creators of the Minions understand Boyos.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 07/26/2018 at 22:58

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In that case I’d definitely be looking for a pulley with a wobble, or something rubbing the belt. Check the belt over too once you have it off. There could be a bad spot on it that catches the wrong place once per revolution.

One other way you can try to narrow down a squeak is, after it’s been running for a while, see if one of the pulleys is warmer than the others. If one’s out of alignment, or the belt’s slipping on it, the extra friction will add heat.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee 07/27/2018 at 01:55

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Good advice. This is getting tedious.