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squealing after changing serpentine belt

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rspi
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Year and Model: 850 T-5R Wagon
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Re: squealing after changing serpentine belt

Post by rspi »

Well, as explained in my post about my idler roller getting worse and worse. When cold it squealed, when it got hot it quieted down. This did go on for weeks but I was blessed by the fact that it didn't break on my as so many others didn't heed the warning and kept driving until they had belt path failure. I don't have all the answers, however, I would not be driving that car much without history knowledge on that belt with a known squealing problem. It takes 2 minutes to take that serpentine belt loose to see if the noise continues.

Again, if the noise wasn't there the day the belt was changed, it's likely NOT related. Could be nothing other than a power steering pump noise, but if it's a tensioner roller, and it comes apart on you, you'll be the one paying for it.

Have you even pulled the bolt out of the belt cover and looked in there to see if the rollers look bad?
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hilldomain
Posts: 10
Joined: 26 November 2011
Year and Model: V70 XC, 2000
Location: Agawam Massachusetts

Post by hilldomain »

rspi wrote:Well, as explained in my post about my idler roller getting worse and worse. When cold it squealed, when it got hot it quieted down. This did go on for weeks but I was blessed by the fact that it didn't break on my as so many others didn't heed the warning and kept driving until they had belt path failure. I don't have all the answers, however, I would not be driving that car much without history knowledge on that belt with a known squealing problem. It takes 2 minutes to take that serpentine belt loose to see if the noise continues.

Again, if the noise wasn't there the day the belt was changed, it's likely NOT related. Could be nothing other than a power steering pump noise, but if it's a tensioner roller, and it comes apart on you, you'll be the one paying for it.

Have you even pulled the bolt out of the belt cover and looked in there to see if the rollers look bad?
If the tensioner was that bad it would affect the performance of the car significantly I believe. Its not just going to fall off all of a sudden.I'm not sure any respectable mechanic would just not change out the tensioner when the serpentine belt was changed last week if they noticed it was busted. There is no belt cover for the serpentine belt. I looked at the timing belt if that's what you mean but there is no bolt for that cover simple un-clips. Timing belt looks new to me. Like I said it squeals when started then doesn't squeal the rest of the day. Has anyone else had the same problem? I am trying to get a consensus from as many people as possible. I cant bring the car into the shop until next week so I will just see if it gets worse. The car is idling a little rougher I believe but I may just be paranoid. If the tensioner was that bad it would affect the performance of the car significantly I believe.

hilldomain
Posts: 10
Joined: 26 November 2011
Year and Model: V70 XC, 2000
Location: Agawam Massachusetts

Post by hilldomain »

98T5 wrote:the belt is not lined up correctly. take it back to the shop and have them adjust it.
Wikipedia says this about the timing belt. "Correct belt tension is critical - too loose and the belt will whip, too tight and it will whine and put excess strain on the bearings of the cogs." couldn't this also apply to the serpentine belt.

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