Squeeky in Serpentine belt area

[JimmieJacobs]

My 92 really starts squeeking in the belt drive area after it warms up. Actually its pretty loud and is embarrashing when stopped at a light. I figured it maybe comming from the tensioner but if I spray a little WD-40 in the general direction of the belt it gets dead quite for about a minute then the noise comes back. I only have 79,000 miles on it. I had the belt changed about 500 miles ago but don't drive it much as diesel fuel here is about $2. 00 bucks a gallon, gas is cheaper! Anybody had problems with belt squeeks or is it more likely a pully or idler? The only I had the nerve to stick a stethiscope to was the altenator and that wasn't the noisy one.



JJ

 

[paccool]

What brand is the belt you put on? Sure sounds like it is glazed over.

 

["Mad Max"]

ditto what Stan said. I had same squeaking issue and thought it was the A/C compressor. Before squeaking started I had recently changed the belt with parts store brand-x belt. Dealer looked at it, said nothing wrong with my compressor, changed belt with new Mopar belt - problem solved to this day.

- S

 

[JimmieJacobs]

Yea ,I think its a brand X also, think I'll throw a new belt at it. Thanks guys.



JJ

 

[3dracer]

Been there,,,,Done this!

Go to a Goodyear belt dealer and get a Goodyear Gatorback belt for the truck. Your problem will be solved. It won't even "chirp" when you shut it off. They are great belts, and are even more limber than any other belt.

 

[nvmy74]

Try some belt dressing and see if that takes care of it. WD-40 doesn't work for very long. Also, make sure there is no play in your water pump shaft.

 

[JimmieJacobs]

Well I took you guys advice, replaced the "old" belt. It was a Gates belt from CarQuest auto part, it only had 13K miles on it. Got a new one from Dodge. Man its quieter than a church mouse. Thanks guys! Right on.

I won't tell you had bad the dealer broke it off in me for that belt. But I'm just happy I don't have to change out and idler pully or worse!



JJ Oo.

 

[tugboatphil]

My last replacement was a Kelly Springfield that I got from a NAPA store. It has done much better than previous Gates models. Never had a MoPar belt.

 

[bgilbert]

I've not had any problems with Napa belts, don't know who makes them. Run around $27-32. That comparable to Mopar? Does it say Mopar on it? I'd save that 'old' one for a spare on the road or whenever.

 

[19Kgvw]

Try some belt dressing and see if that takes care of it. WD-40 doesn't work for very long. Also, make sure there is no play in your water pump shaft.

Becareful of using belt dressing- the manual says that it's a no-no



Rich

 

[JimmieJacobs]

No ! the Mopar was about $70 w/o vaseolene.

 

[bflood]

Don't rule out the belt tensioner yet. :-{} I had the same problem. I changed the belt and it was quiet for awhile but the squeak came back. Turned out the tensioner was worn on its pivot shaft. The idler was tipped just enough to make the belt run to one side and rub on the pivot arm.



Not to worry, the replacement tensioner wasn't too expensive and was easy to change.



If the squeak returns, look carefully to see if the belt is rubbing on the edge. I'm not recommending this tricky/dangerous test but: While it was running I used a prybar against the pivot arm to correct the mis-alignment and the noise would stop.

 

[TKiser]

Shredded Belt

I'm new on here. I just bought a 93 W350 with 138K on it. I was heading down the interstate last night when half my belt shredded. I asked the guy I bought it from about this and he told me they all shred belts. He said he has to put a belt on it about once a year or so which is about 10,000 miles. Has anyone else really had this problem with the older trucks? Is there anything in particular I should look for or any other known issues with these trucks? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[bflood]

Welcome to the wonderful world of the TDR. Oo.



I've never heard of a cronic problem of having to regularly replace the serpentine belt. Maybe the tensionor is worn/misaligned and the edge of the belt is rubbing? See my post #12 on this thread.



Good luck.

Bruce

 

[paccool]

NO, they don't all shred belts! I have never had a belt come apart in the truck. Something is not lined up correctly or the Idler is going out. I change my belts every couple of years or whenever they start showing some cracks.



You need to check all the pullys for alignment, check the idler pully, and find out what kind of belts the other guy was using and don't use those type!

 

[RWWinslow]

3 belts and one tensioner during my truck's entire life - they only shred if something is wrong - the truck is trying to tell you something.

 

[bgilbert]

You're belt tensioner is probly shot. Allowing the belt to run offset or not in the correct plane. $30 a year for a belt is not good, fix the tensioner. I've always run Napa belts. Its a good idea to keep a spare in the truck. Recently I had a g/f that worked at Autozone so I thought I'd get an extra, keep the Napa belt for a spare. Had her order me a Gatorback belt. From the looks of it, much better quality than the Napa belt. Seems to be holding up, got the Napa belt as a spare now.

Edit: Belt Tensioner

Cummins Part# 3935819

 

[TKiser]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll definitely have to take a good close look at everything this weekend.

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

Yep... my vote goes very strongly to the Gatorback ... . a really good choice and they are pretty tough to boot.....



"..... If the squeak returns, look carefully to see if the belt is rubbing on the edge. I'm not recommending this tricky/dangerous test but: While it was running I used a prybar against the pivot arm to correct the mis-alignment and the noise would stop..... "



EGADSS... ... do this ONLY at your own risk dude... nasty.....

'Course I should talk, I'm the guy who used a piece of garden hose to go hunting for a noise... kinda using the hose like a stethescope... . thing was it kinda got too close to the fan... and, well... nearly beat me silly with the darn thing... . my suggestion... don't do it... .



p b...

 

[TKingsbury]

... . thing was it kinda got too close to the fan... and, well... nearly beat me silly with the darn thing... . my suggestion... don't do it... .



p b...

This is too funny, I bet anyone standing nearby hurt themselves laughing. :-laf :-laf :-laf

Travis. .