Hey guys,

I recently replaced my drive belts because they were really starting to get noisy. They never emitted the sharp high pitched squeak that is normal for a slipping belt, but they sounded like they were wearing out.

Took it to a local indie shop that has replaced the belts on my car before, and $112 later everything was quiet. Fast forward to a few weeks later when there is a lot of snow fall, and the belts now make a LOUD screeching noise that comes and goes when the car is first started.

Here is what I've noticed:

1) The new belts are silent when it's dry.

2) They make the high pitched screeching noise when the car is in rain or snow.

3) The noise is present when the A/C is turned on.

4) The noise was ONCE present when I was making a turn into traffic at full lock, but I think that was also in wet conditions.

5) The screeching comes and goes for a little when accelerating off idle, and it has happened maybe once or twice when accelerating at very low speeds, again, in wet conditions.

Now for the important question:

6) Do worn or slightly loose drive belts lead to decreased engine performance?


I took it back to the shop that did the work, and of course the car was dead silent, but that was after a 560mi trip. The mechanic quickly looked at it and said that everything looked fine. He said the belts didn't look loose, but then again he didn't have it for too long.

I know that new belts can expand after the get broken-in, so is it unreasonable to think that they need to be slightly readjusted?

On another note, the belts first started squeaking back in November after a trip to the drag strip, and I think the cause is water from an ice pack getting on the belts then getting absorbed when the heater was turned on. All I know is that they were silent before the drag strip, and then they were noisy a couple of days after. Should I avoid leaky ice packs in the future? I am not exactly sure how a little bit of water on the drive belts would lead to their ultimate demise, but it did seem odd... either way, now the car has new belts, and I don't want to do anything that will lead to premature wear.

Thanks for any help!

 

i just replaced my belts and they squeak when rain/snow... BUT i have a carbon fiber hood with hood scoops right over the belts so i know its bc of the weather... but even then it ONLY happens at start up and that last for 4-5 seconds and then no more noise.

i would guess they used a cheap belt... i have ac delco as i heard it was the best.
find out what belts they used and possibly have them check ur pulleys... they might be loose

 

Use OEM belts and make sure they are tight. Almost always fixes squeaks.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I'll have then take a look... again, what a pain. Just an FYI though, the last belts were not OEM, and they never squeaked. I think they just need to be tightened.

 

I have the same problem, Its on and off. I have OEM belts which are properly tight. Just got them changed 2k miles ago.

 

To the OP

i did my belts in August of 2009 using OEM belts it took me 45mins and i haven't heard any squeaks or noise. I think the key is using OEM belts they are really good. I bought mines from riverside-infinti $40 for both of them.

 

You should retorque the belt tension after they have 'broken' in (ie. a couple of weeks of driving). If you notice there are 2 sets of tension settings in the service manual, one for new belts and one for used belts tension.

 

Listen to Barry, he's right. ^^

 

I will be sure to do that!

Thanks for all of the advice guys, I hope to have this squared away next week. It's snowing here right now, and the belts keep making noises on and off, and it's annoying as hell and embarrassing! It sounds like I'm driving a Mercury topaz with 250k when I leave some of the stop lights...

 

This was a great post. I ran into the same EXACT problem as the OP. I have not replaced my belt yet. But all of the things he noticed has happened to me. I just moved from Miami (HOT Weather) to Cape Cod ( COLD weather Snow and rain), It is so embarassing when my belt makes that squeaking noise.

My car looks so pretty but then screams for even more attention. It is very embarrassing. I should be ordering my belts soon.

I will be changing the belts my self. Any heads up on what i should look for? I saw a video on how to change the belt not sure if i can post the link here. But if i can let me know.

Or if anyone has a good video on how to change the belt pm me

 

do you guys need a tension tool to change our the belts

 

What are the torque specs for the worn-in belts?

As for changing them yourself, there is a DIY somewhere on here. Btw, nice move to cape cod, you'll love it once it warms up a little!