idler squeak

[geetarspaz]

so i've replaced my tensioner, idler, and belts, but there is still a squeaking when cold at start up for a litte bit coming from around my idler pulley. should i spray anything to lube it up?

[3.2TI]

If you have chalk you can use it on your belt's inside while it spins. This should stop the squeaking if it is indeed the belt. If you spray it you might not be able to pin point where it is coming from until it is dry. Just something techs used while I worked at Cadillac.

[geetarspaz]

thing is i replaced everything though, it's all new so it should all be fine? hah

[cooljess76]

I posted this before, but I don't think many people believed me. I think the idler pulley has a built-in squeaker. I know this sounds crazy, but mine squeaked too back in the day. I removed it, cleaned it and lubed the hell out of it. The bearing itself was nice and quiet. I pin pointed the squeak down to the spring loaded mechanism on the idler pulley. I was absolutely 100% certain that it was the idler pulley making the noise and not the water pump pulley. When I removed the idler pulley, I noticed that the water pump pulley had a little bit of play in it and possibly had a worn bearing. Replaced my water pump and the noise stopped. I think the idler pulley makes an audible chirp to let you know the water pump, alternator or power steering bearing is going bad. Seriously. Pop the belt off and wiggle the water pump, alternator and power steering pulleys. I bet your water pump bearing is shot.

[geetarspaz]

Wow, jeeze..thanks Jess. I suppose I'll get on replacing that now :/

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by geetarspaz

Wow, jeeze..thanks Jess. I suppose I'll get on replacing that now :/

Well check it first. Just pop the belt off and check all of the pulleys, it could be your alternator bearing, your power steering pump bearing or your water pump bearing. With the belt off, wiggle the pulleys and see if you feel any excessive play.

[geetarspaz]

May be the alternator one. Sounds like its from that area. I'll check it out tomorrow when it's daylight and cold engine. Thanks a lot!

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by geetarspaz

May be the alternator one. Sounds like its from that area. I'll check it out tomorrow when it's daylight and cold engine. Thanks a lot!

You're not getting what I'm trying to explain. I could be totally wrong on this, but I believe that the spring loaded mechanism that the idler pulley is mounted to, has some sort of chirping device built into it. If there's any sort of resistance in the belt drive, it causes the spring loaded mechanism to compress slightly and it makes a chirp. Even if all of the pulleys in the belt drive are completely silent, if there's any resistance or slop, it will cause the idler pulley to move slightly. The noise doesn't necessarily have to be coming from the suspect bearing. If my suspicion is correct, it's the idler pulley chirping because it's supposed to to let you know that something is faulty in the belt drive.

I have no proof or way of knowing if what I'm saying is correct. I've never read it anywhere in any manual or discussion. I'm just going by what I experienced when I had an M44 in my car. I could be way off in my theories, but it's worth checking out even if I'm wrong.

[geetarspaz]

sort of like when your brakes are bad they squeak..

i get what you're saying. im just stressed about it all having to order and replace or replace order replace you know, just want to find the culprit. i mean i know thats the life of having a car but just wish i could take off the belts do it all then be done the first time :P

[cooljess76]

You don't have to replace anything. I'm just suggesting that you pop the belt off and wiggle the pulleys. It's not that difficult, just crank the tensioner over with a wrench, slide the belt off of one of the pulleys, wiggle 3 pulleys and if you notice one of them has resistance or play, then you've found your culprit. You could continue to drive for 100k miles if you could live with the squeak and the part doesn't completely fail.

Shouldn't take more than 30 seconds to check it.

[geetarspaz]

ok thanks a lot jess for the help. i'll post back with the status tomorrow

[cooljess76]

[geetarspaz]

sound like its from the alternator pulley with a cold start today. ill post a video

[geetarspaz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lf4j-Er8iA

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by geetarspaz

sound like its from the alternator pulley with a cold start today. ill post a video

[sighs...wonders why he wastes his time...]

The sound is going to seem like it's coming from whatever you're looking at, and the alternator pulley is right next to the idler pulley. In the video, you could clearly see the idler pulley moving up and down. It's vibrating ever so slightly, but that means the tensioner mechanism is compressing and retracting. The tensioner mechanism is making the noise because one of the pulleys in the belt drive probably has a bearing that is going bad. It makes sense that the water pump may be culprit if it occurs when the engine is cold and then goes away after it warms up. I've suggested 4 times to check your pulleys, but for whatever reason, perhaps you're scared of ratchets, you've completely ignored my advice. It only takes 30 seconds to pop your belt off, I'm sure it took longer to record and upload a video. My work is done here.


FWIW, in the slim chance that you do check your pulleys or after your water pump bearing completely fails and sends shrapnel into your engine or seizes up and shreds the belt, DON'T try to pry the water pump out with a claw hammer or screwdriver. You'll risk damaging the timing cover or marring the hole that it recesses into. The extraction bolts rarely work and almost always cause the water pump housing to crack into pieces. Instead, use a big pair of channel lock pliers to grip the water pump by the housing and rotate it side to side while slowly pulling it forward and out of the engine. Good luck and best wishes.