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SQUEAKY BELT/PULLEY?

E

edgeoftime

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Location
Waltham Abbey Essex
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11 idtec tourer ex.
OK,give me the worst! for a while now I have been getting this sqeak/rattle from the tiiming end of the engine, this only occurs when at working temperature, after a short stop say for 2/5 minutes it goes on for 5/6 seconds then all is quiet again, sometimes it just gives one instantaneous squeak and it's gone. Having read the thread re the serpentine belt I got a Gates 7PK 1785 the short option,took off the mile long belt removed the idler pulley and whilst it was off I spun the pulleys by hand I felt a slight gruffness in the tensioner pulley but nothing else the idler pulley was smooth as silk, I fitted the new belt, and was amazed how quiet we had become, went for a test drive to get things warm, nothing untoward and then stopped for fuel, when I got onto the car and started up I thought I heard the "squeak" again but could not be sure, any how upon getting home and stopping the engine I left for about 5 minutes and then restarted the squeal was back only for a mo then it went away. Tried a spot of oil on all the pulleys made no difference on stopping and restarting the noise came and went at varying intervals. Threw my tools back into boot and put the kettle on. Went back 20 minutes later started the engine NO NOISE, I did not measure the diameter of the tensioner pulley but does anyone know if it is the same as the idler pulley? that will be my next move. 194,000 happy miles up to now and on 0-30w fully synth. HELP.
 
Ok I will answer my own question, it;s the alternator, that is making the racket, why? because when left ticking over after a drive and up to temperature the cooling fan starts up followed by the alternator kicking in to meet the demand made by the regulator, and when it does that's when the orrible noise starts, when the cooling fan stops the noise from the Alternator stops shortly after. Here's one somone must have an answer to, on Ebay there are alternators to suit the car, starting at £151.50 rising to £350, what is the difference??
 
Couldn't you put an equally heavy load on the alternator by turning on all the headlamps, HRW and blower simulateously... at least then you'd decouple any noise the cooling fan might also be making? Are you sure it isn't the alternator pulley? It's got an overrun clutch mechanism that can get noisy. Can't explain the eBay price differences!
 
I am going to investigate further Jon, a complete alternator £150'ish or a pulley £70/80, considering the bearings may be shot or on the way out The whole thing seems to be the way to go.
 
If it does turn out to be the pulley, then I know of a reconditioned one for sale on the Civinfo forum for £30.
 
Or find a local auto electrician that can rebuild your existing one
 
Just done a dress rehearsal to remove the alternator, removed all the bits cleaned up the terminals before putting them back, ran up to temperature switched on all consumers i.e HRS, AC, HEAD AND FOGS BLOWER the noise has not yet shown itself so the jury is still out on replacement.
 
Hi, a bit late to this post - but here goes, I have a horrible rattle noise coming from one of the pulleys driven by the serpentine belt, I had the alternator removed and checked and it`s OK - so I am at a loss as to what next, my local garage could not find the problem - anyone any ideas as to how to check ? Listening does not work - the mechanic said leave it to develop BUT I would rather find it and fix it rather than break down. My air conditioning has not worked for a number of years BUT I don`t see the point of having it fixed as we do not get enough decent weather to use it - if it gets hot I open the windows or the sun roof, ANY advice would be very welcome !
 
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