Thread: Obnoxious Squeal HELP!!! [Video Uploaded] ***SOLVED***

Of course this squeal is "A LOT" louder then what my camera picked up but i need a solution because all im doing is covering the problem up by spraying a little bit of wd40 or silicone spray. It comes back within minutes. Im tired of covering this problem up, its solving nothing at all. The belt is in good condition also. Links to buy each pulley would be awesome guys 3.8L 3800 series II engine. Belt diagram below video just because. HELPPP!!!!!:th_sick1 :

1st video
Obnoxious Squeal - YouTube

My apologies about the video being upside down. I have no idea how it was filmed that way....

Have you tried a new belt? Pull the belt off and spin each pulley by hand and see if any make noises

When i replaced my tension pulley, i did just that and got no squeal. Now how would a belt make that kind of noise so damn loud?

make sure all of your pulleys are on all the way, and make sure your belt is on all the way at the crank pulley

Yeah all pullies are fine.

Yeah it sounds like your belt is slipping. Pull it off and wash it with dish soap to get all the crap out of the grooves let it dry then put it back on.

just for sh1ts and giggles did you start the car with the belts off? to see if the noise is gone or not?

Originally Posted by dsmuts

Yeah it sounds like your belt is slipping. Pull it off and wash it with dish soap to get all the crap out of the grooves let it dry then put it back on.

I did just that but i got no where as usual...Tones of gunk got cleaned out though

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

just for sh1ts and giggles did you start the car with the belts off? to see if the noise is gone or not?

Yes i did that, nothing. I also spun the pullies with the belt off and nothing made any noise. I did spun the alternator pulley and it had a tiny little squeak to it but i know for a fact its not that....

Threw a 2nd video up...asking about tensioner assembly

i would when the cars off spray the idler, ( take the bolt off) and tensioner, if you have both, with some kind of oil, keep it off the belt, hold a paper towel around the belt, do one at a time.

that is really sounding like a dry bearing or worn and running on a edge. if a shot of lube quiets it down you found it.

the alt could also be the problem, not sure if you can see inside the case at all on yours but some times you can see the bearings in the case, give that a shot too.


but only do one pulley at a time, the spray lube is a temp fix. and you want to know witch one you fixed/found bad.

Did you ever put a new belt on it?

its the tension pulley

My last attempt was taking off the tensioner pulley and i used some lithium white grease to grease the little knob the tensioner pulley sits and spins on, that did nothing at all.

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

i would when the cars off spray the idler, ( take the bolt off) and tensioner, if you have both, with some kind of oil, keep it off the belt, hold a paper towel around the belt, do one at a time.


that is really sounding like a dry bearing or worn and running on a edge. if a shot of lube quiets it down you found it.


the alt could also be the problem, not sure if you can see inside the case at all on yours but some times you can see the bearings in the case, give that a shot too.




but only do one pulley at a time, the spray lube is a temp fix. and you want to know witch one you fixed/found bad.

I was thinking of checking into the alt just to be sure but as me being a new person to cars, id kinda maybe need a step by step to how remove everything, have a link maybe?

Originally Posted by dsmuts

Did you ever put a new belt on it?

No i didnt, didnt see why i would need to since mine is fine, i was told it didnt sound like a belt squeak. I do wanna note that even just a tiny bit of silicone spray on the belt, the squeal is gone but only gone for like a few minutes but then comes back.

Originally Posted by asite57

its the tension pulley

The tensioner pulley on there is new so it cant be the pulley.

the only thing left is the alt. harbor freight sell them mechanics stethoscopes for less than 10 bucks. to really trace it down before you dump 100 into a new alt.

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

the only thing left is the alt. harbor freight sell them mechanics stethoscopes for less than 10 bucks. to really trace it down before you dump 100 into a new alt.

Any guide about taken the alt off and apart? I like a project, as ive been at this for almost a year back when it was just a tiny squeak when idling but then went away as everything warmed up. When trying to resolve this, its making matters worse...

alt is east to remove, take the pos cable off the battery,take the belt off, remove the thick cable bolted to the alt, and the plug. then take the 2 bolts off that hold it on the bracket. lift it off.

when you put the new one on, the cable you bolt back on, do not make it super tight, snug, plus a 1/4 turn tops. the threads are a stud that are only soldered on, if over tightened it brakes free, and your out of luck.

if you have a local re builder by you, they are usually cheaper than any parts store. most of these shops rebuild starters and alternators. sometimes they have them on a shelf waiting to be sold, (they want your old one, or charge a core charge) and sometimes you need to wait a few hours to have yours re built.

if you do go to a parts store they will want your old one too, or they charge a core charge for it. so what i do is take it off at home, bring it to the store, make sure it matches up perfectly to the old one, then buy it. and no core charge because your leaving the old one there.

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

alt is east to remove, take the pos cable off the battery,take the belt off, remove the thick cable bolted to the alt, and the plug. then take the 2 bolts off that hold it on the bracket. lift it off.

when you put the new one on, the cable you bolt back on, do not make it super tight, snug, plus a 1/4 turn tops. the threads are a stud that are only soldered on, if over tightened it brakes free, and your out of luck.

if you have a local re builder by you, they are usually cheaper than any parts store. most of these shops rebuild starters and alternators. sometimes they have them on a shelf waiting to be sold, (they want your old one, or charge a core charge) and sometimes you need to wait a few hours to have yours re built.

if you do go to a parts store they will want your old one too, or they charge a core charge for it. so what i do is take it off at home, bring it to the store, make sure it matches up perfectly to the old one, then buy it. and no core charge because your leaving the old one there.

Ok so should i try to take my alt apart myself and check the bearings to see if its possible that could be my whole entire problem?

no just get a replacement. if you have over 100,000 miles on the car and its original it was on borrowed time anyway.

I'm telling you it's the belt it can "look" fine but still be bad. That definitely sounds like belt slipping. I replaced one on a car a while back that "looked" fine but had a belt squealing issue and a new belt fixed it right up. But you can waste money on an alternator if you want.

Originally Posted by dsmuts

I'm telling you it's the belt it can "look" fine but still be bad. That definitely sounds like belt slipping. I replaced one on a car a while back that "looked" fine but had a belt squealing issue and a new belt fixed it right up. But you can waste money on an alternator if you want.

he is right about the belt. they do have little gauges to see if the grooves have worn past where they are effective.

when you cleaned it, did you see any missing grooves or large cracks?

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

he is right about the belt. they do have little gauges to see if the grooves have worn past where they are effective.

when you cleaned it, did you see any missing grooves or large cracks?

No i didnt see any cracks whatsoever, no missing grooves either, though the sides on certain parts of the belt was kinda worn a bit. I guess ill try getting a new belt, worse case scenario is that it wont work and ill have to take the damn thing off, take it back to get my money back and play hell getting the old one back on and try something else. By the way, i do have about 155k miles on the car and i got the car at 133k miles.....Will let you guys know sometime tomorrow