squealing after changing serpentine belt

hilldomain · Post by **hilldomain** » 26 Nov 2011, 15:40

I have a 2000 Volvo V70 XC with 165,000 miles. I just had the left axle changed, the oil changed,, the radiator flushed(? not sure if he actually flushed may have just filled it) and the serpentine belt changed last week. All these repairs were done at the same time. Now when I start up the car I get squealing. It's not constant and has gone away after driving during the day. Could it be the tensioner needs adjusting or is gone (he probably wouldn't change it if it didn't have obvious problems)? The water pump pulley? idler pulley? antifreeze that got on the belt? just that it is a new belt? or some thing unrelated. It never whined or squealed before the belt was replaced.

Thanks for any and all help. I am just sick of going to the garage and I don't have time.

Post by **rspi** » 26 Nov 2011, 18:29

When was the last time the timing belt was changed? There is a good chance that you have an idler or tensioner roller going bad. The squealing is the warning. When these things go it causes the timing belt to break and do major damage to the motor. If I were you, I would take the serpentine belt loose and see if you still hear the squealing.

I had my timing belt replaced 23 months ago (about 27,000 miles). The reason I decided to do it again is that my idler was squealing. A couple of months ago it was only squealing when I started the car, lately it has been making noise even after the car was warm. I found out that the tensioner or idler can break or come apart, causing the same damage as if the belt breaks. I guess the mechanic I paid to do the belt last time did not replace the tensioner or idler. Not sure if I asked them not to or if they took it upon themselves not to. The tensioner spun very freely and felt like it had no grease in it. The idler was just about frozen, it was very hard for me to turn it with one hand. Both of these rollers should turn very smoothly and not spin by hand. I believe these bad rollers caused my water pump to leak.
http://www.atthetipwebs.com/technologyi ... g_belt.htm

hilldomain · Post by **hilldomain** » 26 Nov 2011, 20:10

I just got the car in June so I don't know when the timing belt was changed last.

hilldomain · Post by **hilldomain** » 26 Nov 2011, 21:02

The pulley could have been gone on the water pump as well. Withe added tension of the new s-belt it could have added pressure. I just don't want to be paranoid and piss my mechanic off. trying to avoid a "no soup for you" moment because his fees are very reasonable and he has tons of years of experience with foreign vehicles of all kinds. for example he did all the above repairs for less than $300 including parts.

anyway I was just wondering if anyone had the experience of putting on a new serpentine belt and there being a squealing noise for awhile and then it going away- just dreaming i guess.

Post by **rspi** » 27 Nov 2011, 06:00

Well, if the noise did not start that day it's likely not related. Does seem like good prices for the service you received.

If you are new to FWD Volvo's you need to know a few things.

1. Make sure you have a good timing belt.
2. Make sure the PCV system is serviced or replaced.
3. Get your hands on a spare fuel pump relay.
4. If your car is NOT turbo, do your best to use 91+ octane.
5. Get yourself a code reader.
6. Service the transmission.

Here is a link to help you get your car to a safe good tune, stage 0:
http://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-850- ... ions-9266/

Post by **98T5** » 27 Nov 2011, 10:45

the belt is not lined up correctly. take it back to the shop and have them adjust it.

Post by **Pauloil** » 27 Nov 2011, 11:00

hilldomain wrote:The pulley could have been gone on the water pump as well. Withe added tension of the new s-belt it could have added pressure. I just don't want to be paranoid and piss my mechanic off. trying to avoid a "no soup for you" moment because his fees are very reasonable and he has tons of years of experience with foreign vehicles of all kinds. for example he did all the above repairs for less than $300 including parts.

anyway I was just wondering if anyone had the experience of putting on a new serpentine belt and there being a squealing noise for awhile and then it going away- just dreaming i guess.

The s-belt does not go to water pump. The noise could also be coming from anything the belt does drive. noises in power steering pump can go away with freshening up the fluid

Post by **rspi** » 27 Nov 2011, 12:22

@ Hill: Here is the deal, the car has 2 belts. The serpentine belt and the timing belt. The best thing to do is remove the serpentine belt, takes about 3 minutes, start the car, if you still hear the noise, it is nothing in the path of the serpentine belt. It's likely something in the path of the timing belt, i.e. roller or some other problem.

Bottom line is that you need to make sure it's not anything that can cause you to destroy the motor, like the timing belt falling apart. I believe the service interval of the belt on your car is 105,000 miles. However, if they did the belt at 105,000 and did not replace the idler or tensioner, those parts can be going bad and about to blow. There should be a sticker in the motor somewhere or maybe even in the glove box stating the last best change.

The items I mentioned above are very important to keep maintained. Some people have over 500,000 miles on their Volvo like yours, wouldn't you like for your car to last that long?

hilldomain · Post by **hilldomain** » 27 Nov 2011, 15:18

deleted post

hilldomain · Post by **hilldomain** » 27 Nov 2011, 15:25

98T5 wrote:the belt is not lined up correctly. take it back to the shop and have them adjust it.

This is where I will start because its the easiest and cheapest. I am just wondering why the sound goes away as I am driving. If it is a pulley going bad or tensioner wouldn't it get worse when driving and added pressure. I also noted today at stop lights that it idles rough.