Squealing sound on cold start
 

I got this crazy squealing sound when I start up my car in the morning, that seems to start once I put the car in gear (no sound while in neutral). It stops before I have enough time to get out and pop the hood. If I shut the car down, and try to start it up again I can't reproduce the sound. It's been raining the last two days in LA and it seems even worse. I'm thinking that it's my belts, since I got a new crank pulley about a month ago. I'm about to take it into the shop where I got the pulley installed after work. Just wanted to confirm that it's the belts so that I'm taking it to the right shop, and I don't need to take it into the Infiniti dealer.

Thanks.

I just spent 4 months trying to get this fixed (at 2 of the best dealers around, including Grubbs, even they had trouble isolating it). They replaced the belts twice. Both pulleys and the AC compressor. It was still there! I was worried I had a problem on the crank or something. I had to leave my car there for overnight starts about 4-5 times. I had to go back in the morning to make sure they actually started it up and put it in gear to hear it... that it would take 2 people to diag this. That was the first hurddle :/ From there, we threw a bunch of parts at it.

Does it get worse when you turn the AC on? Its still there when the AC is off, but with it in gear, cycle the AC a few times. If the sound modulates, its probably a bearing in the AC compressor. They said something else was damaged too, I didnt ask what that meant, I was just glad it was over. I have my work order at home.. I'd be happy to scan that. If yours sounds like mine, I'm sure I could get my dealer to talk to your dealer. Dunno what would be said on the UR pulley :/ You might have to go back to stock... that compressor is $$$.

Now that you mention it, since it is raining, I had the defoggers going. Sounded much worse with the AC turned on. This is not encouraging information. If you can send me that work order, it would be greatly appreciated. I'll PM you my email.

Thanks!

I will scan it and post it here tonight.

well, I was going to scan it (and mask all my info) but realized its not all that helpful. I just says that my AC compressor failed and caused my AC belt to fail, which caused my ACC belt to fail. The belts were new, as were the pulleys and compressor from previous visits (and the sound never went away the first time they did all this), so I dont think this is telling the whole story. I will try to remember to call and ask them what the deal was.

This morning before I started my car, I checked my belts. I did notice that they might have been a little looser then they were during the day. There was a slight squeek and it started up fine. Today I'm going to have the belts tightened to see if that helps any. When I called my dealer, they mentioned that it might need to be greased. Do these belts need to be greased? Sounds like a little BS to me. I don't like my local dealer that much, and I know they're not going to like my pulley. If tightening the belts doesn't solve it, I'm going to have to find a better dealer.

greased = spraying the belts with silicone. Makes an unholy mess and lasts about 2 days. But as far as the dealer is concerned, you left with the noise stopped.

Its possible you glazed your belts from being too loose. I wish mine had been that easy

Well my belts were tightened last night and the sound seems to have gone away. I poped my hood this morning and tried to listen for the noise. I think I heard a faint squeek but I'm not even sure. Hopefully it doesn't come back.

TimW thanks for the help!

Whos your local dealer?

Santa Monica. I bought my car from Riverside, but that's a little far to go for service.

Why not switch the UR Crank pulley to Stock pulley? I assumed the UR pulley is the major problem and if I were u, i would put the stock pulley back!

I'm hoping that the pulley isn't the problem. Again, barely a sound this morning. I'm guessing tighening the belts solved the problem. Doesn't seem to be an issue anymore.

im having the same issues... it seems to happen more in colder weather and after some rain.... btw... the noise is horrible!!!! but luckily it onyl last a few seconds... im running a stock crank pulley./

There is an interest thread where G35 owner experienced similar sqeeling issues during cold startup and disappearing a few seconds later. The answer, for me at least as well as him, is not because of cold weather. It is because of additional loads placed on the belts during startup after a while from being started. Namely the electrical discharge when the engine is off and not charging the battery. The alternator is creating that load and slipping. That is what a squeel is, it is the belt slipping either because the belt is not tight enough or there are contaminants on the pulleys, for me at least. Coolant was spilled over the pulleys a couple weeks ago and the belts replaced because of squeeling. The belts were in relatively good condition and I felt at least 10k more miles left on the belt. that was a misdiagnosis. The belts had to be removed and both the belts and pulleys needed to be CLEANED if you know that they are contaminated from oil, coolant, or grease. The belt with dishwashing soap like Dawn or in my case Method. and the pulleys needed to be cleaned with Brakleen and a toothbrush. After I did that the sqeeling all went away. Instead of replacing everything, nobody wants to clean because it is to beneath the mechanics to do so and not replace everything that already appears to be in good condition. If this squeel did not go away after replacing a pulley or belts and tightened enough, its because the other pulleys are contaminated too and need to be cleaned.Try it if you done everything else already and it still squeels when you start the engine cold.