squeaking tensioner or belt

[freddofrog]

My K24 engine squeaks quite often. When it squeaks, the noise is there at idle and when driving (I can only hear the noise with the window open).

I've opened the bonnet and it seems to be coming from the drive belt or tensioner. Both the tensioner and belt are original (it's a 54 plate and I've had the car for nearly 5 years). The belt is not cracked, the noise is not a slipping noise, but it seems to be worse in cold and/or damp weather.

I briefly spoke to the mechanic at the dealer, it was not making the noise at the time, he was very busy but he came out and felt the belt and said it was a dry belt.

Obviouslly I haven't squirted the belt with WD40 !!!!! nor have I put talcum powder on it (an old temp cure for a slipping belt).

Is there anthing one can spray on a "dry belt" ? If not, should I just get another belt and swap it to see if that stops it ? Is the tensioner an auto-adjust, should I try to slacken it and tighten it ?

 

[beefy_634]

there is a spray called belt-slip which is avaliable at most car parts factors. however a new belt is somthing in the region of £20 - £40 and may well be worth replacing as your belt is perhapse 7 years old. not a difficult job either so long as you have a long enough 14mm spanner and note how it is routed before removal. ive not heard of tentioners being replaced but unfortunately its not uncommon for alternator bearings to go south. try a belt first and see how you go but while the belt is off give all the pullys a turn to feel for any roughness etc.

 

[crespo]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news. but I would check the aircon compressor. my car was squealing and I put it down to the belt and then a few months later my compressor seized.
if I had replaced the compressor before it seized I would have saved about 500 quid on flushing the system.
it may well be just the belt but get it checked properly just in case. if you stick your hand right down you should be able to turn the compressor quite easily, if its stiff you know where your squeak is coming from.

 

[freddofrog]

Many thanks Adam and Neil, I'll be onto it as soon as I get a chance in daylight !!!!!!

 

[freddofrog]

I managed to briefy slacken the tensioner and then let it go back again, by using a long 14mm ring spanner on the tensioner pulley bolt (at the bottom in the pic) and rotating the whole thing clockwise around the tensione adjuster bolt (top in pic). That did not make any difference to noise when ebgine running, but it's getting dark, will remove the belt tomorrow and check the rotation of eacvh pulley. Belt may be reaching end of wear mark anyway.

 

[freddofrog]

I rotated the tensioner as in previous post and pulled the belt off the tensioner pulley and released the tensioner. Pulled the belt off all the pulleys .....belt is long enogh to leave it going round the crank pulley, the compressor pulley. and up over and clear of the top of the steering pump pulley. Checked the tensioner pulley, the steering pump pulley, and the alternator pulley. all spin free. Couln't get down to the water pump pulley or the compressor pulley, but the noise had been there whether compressor clutch either in or out, so probably not the compressor, and the noise didn't seem to be coming from down in that area anyway.

I managed to route the belt round the pulleys as in the picture below (bypassing the atlernator pulley). You can feed the belt round and round by hand. The squeaking noise is the belt, like rubber shoes on a tiled floor. The dealer mechanic was correct. Squaky shoes is what a "dry belt" sounds like when fed over the pulleys by hand.

Also checked by feeding in the reverse direction as in picture below (pulling belt upwards). Noise not as pronounced because not feeding over the steering pump pulley.

Fitted the belt back and picture below taken with the engine running, you can see that the belt wear indicator is OK.

The noise has stopped !!! No doubt it will come back, but will go and check out sprays for "dry belt", or maybe just buy a new one.

But the question is, what has "dried out" in a "dry belt" ?

 

[spud350]

The tensioner pulley bearing gives of a squeeky noise especially when cold/damp. Mine did it. I also thought it was the belt but after spraying it the noise just came back. Eventually I took the pulley off and replaced the bearing (about £5 from a bearing place). This cured it and saved over £100 from Honda as they only sell the complete unit.

 

[freddofrog]

The tensioner pulley bearing gives of a squeeky noise especially when cold/damp. Mine did it. I also thought it was the belt but after spraying it the noise just came back. Eventually I took the pulley off and replaced the bearing (about £5 from a bearing place). This cured it and saved over £100 from Honda as they only sell the complete unit.

I better wait until the noise comes back then.
When I was putting the belt back completely, I also noticed that the belt can be fed round with one hand while the tensioner is rotated clockwise to slacken the belt tension. I'll try that when the noise comes back to check.
I might also go back and ask the dealer mechanic what he means by a "dry belt".

EDIT: from just looking on the internet, "dry belt" is used to mean a rotted belt, or old belt. Even if it looks OK, it should be changed. Belt on my car has not been changed as far as I know, so as mentioned by Adam, it's worth replacing the belt anyway if it's 7 years old.

 

[freddofrog]

Squeaking noise came back even worse. Got a new belt for £25 yesterday and just fitted it. Noise has gone (so far).

Picture here shows poistion of arrow on tensioner. I think the old belt was stretched (if you compare with the arrow in the last picture you will see the difference)

 

[jayok]

Squeaking noise came back even worse. Got a new belt for £25 yesterday and just fitted it. Noise has gone (so far).

Picture here shows poistion of arrow on tensioner. I think the old belt was stretched (if you compare with the arrow in the last picture you will see the difference)

Is the belt genuine? I thought the indicator had the arrow sitting right on the edge? I too have this cold morning squeak, the belt seems ok, at the same indicator as shown in your first image. So I'd be interested to see how the squeak goes.

 

[freddofrog]

Is the belt genuine? I thought the indicator had the arrow sitting right on the edge? I too have this cold morning squeak, the belt seems ok, at the same indicator as shown in your first image. So I'd be interested to see how the squeak goes.

The squeak has not come back at all. The new belt is not from Honda, it's made by Gates Power Transmission.

I have owned the car for nearly 6 years and car is 7 years old. I haven't looked through all the services that I had done at the dealer, but I am fairly sure that the belt that I have just replaced was on the car all the time. I do all the work myself now instead of paying dealer, it's cheaper and then I know what's really been done and how it's been done :mellow: