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High pitched squeaking sound from engine area...

38K views 27 replies 9 participants last post by  andyg 
#1 ·
I have a 96 Grand Voyager with a 3.3L V-6 engine. I just got my transmission rebuilt a week ago, as well as, replacing my serpentine belt. Now when I start my van it makes this high pitched squeaking sound as it idles. The squeaking gets faster when I accelerate. I sprayed some WD-40 on a couple of the pulleys (around the center where the bolt is) and it seems to have made the squeak worse. Can you help me figure out what's wrong? :cry:
 
#2 ·
Hard to say... are you sure that sound come from the belt and pulleys area? Try to run the engine without belt, and check the power steering pump pulley on the way. If it has even a small chirp it could cause a noise.
 
#3 ·
Someone once told me that it looked like I had a real slow power steering leak. If I added power steering fluid, do you think that could be it? But the thing is that it doesn't vibrate the steering wheel, nor does it change the pitch of the squeal when I turn.
 
#4 ·
I don't think so that a lack of fluid could cause vibration, noise and "hard" steering yes.
Firts thing try to drop down the belt, and check each pulley, especially the steering pump.
 
#6 ·
I agree with removing the belt and running it for a few seconds to see if that is the problem or not. If the squealing continues with the belt off, then it may be a transmission problem.
 
#7 ·
Belt noise

I just replaced the alternator on a 97 Mitsu Galant. Made noise like a dog in heat. My first thought was that the belt was too tight. I loosened the belt and the noise was worse. So I *tightened* the belt by adjusting the alternator... cha-ching! no more noise.
Try loosening or tightening the belt.
 
#10 ·
I just replaced the alternator on a 97 Mitsu Galant. Made noise like a dog in heat. My first thought was that the belt was too tight. I loosened the belt and the noise was worse. So I *tightened* the belt by adjusting the alternator... cha-ching! no more noise.
Try loosening or tightening the belt.
Unless there is something I don't know about, I don't think you can manually loosen or tighten the serpentine belt on the 3.3/3.8 engines due to the presence of a self-adjusting spring-loaded belt tensioner.
 
#8 ·
We had all sorts of belt noise problems. A quick & dirty way to silence a belt is Softscrub. Put it on the belt with the engine off, and start it with the hood closed because it will spatter all over the place. This will silence any belt noise quickly. The downside to this method is it makes a huge mess that is hard to clean up afterward. The upside is you'll know immediately if it's the belt making the noise or something else that could be more serious.

Being that only two things have changed since the noise started, it's either the belt or your transmission. Like others have suggested, taking the belt off is more preferred to the method I described, but I put it out there as a really quick way to eliminate belt noise from the equation if you'd rather try it that way. Just be warned: it surely does make a mess!

As a side note, Softscrub silenced a chirpy belt for months for us when everything else failed. It's a quick & messy (but effective) temporary fix.
 
#9 ·
If you want to see if it is the belt or the bearing or tensioner, use a squirt bottle to squirt water on the pulley surface you suspect. If it quiets it momentarily, it is the belt. If it makes no difference, it is the pulley or more likely the tensioner. Watch the tensioner, that @4" diameter pulley that is up top that goes to nothing but an arm, and gun the engine with your hand on the accelerator cable. You should see the arm flex that the pulley is on if it is working, if not it will squeal like a banshee. You can replace it from the bottom with a 15mm wrench. I wrote a post on this, for detailed instructions. I would bet you anything that is the problem.
 
#12 ·
I took it to a garage yesterday and we looked under the hood. Using a "******* stethescope" he believes it's the tensioner pulley. I just replaced it about two or three years ago when my friend and I rebuilt the engine. However the mechanic believes that when I blew my transmission and could only go 35 mph on the highway (The tach was between 3500/4000 rpm), therefore shredding my last serpentine belt, that I may have over-heated the tensioner pulley and caused it to go bad prematurely. I don't know, but it's only $35 at Autozone and there's only one bolt holding it in. So it's worth a try, right?
 
#15 ·
Normally a belt wouldn't shred from extended high rpm usage. That pulley may have been going bad for awhile and caused that belt issues. If the stethoscope pointed out that the noise was loudest there, it would be worth a try. You can remove the belt and spin the pulley by hand and maybe feel some roughness too.
 
#16 ·
Weird thing. I started the van this morning before work, to let it warm up, as I usually do. The squeak was still there, however, after about 6 minutes I came out of the house and nothing. The engine was so quiet that I had to put the van in gear just make sure that it was still running. I would turn the radio off and on randomly on my way to work to see if the squeaking had started again, and nothing. When I got to work, I put the van in park, got out of the van and listened to the engine, I couldn't even hear it running. (Do you think this had anything to do with the fact that last night I positioned candles around the van, tossed a few chicken bones and sacrificed a transmission while chanting to the engine Gods and rubbing 10W/30 all over my body? :eekkkk: ) Just kidding....it was actually 10W/40.... :jpshakehe
 
#19 ·
Okay here's an update...It was the tensioner pulley, but here's the kicker. A week before the squeal started, my transmission blew about 300 miles from home. :angrya: At the same time the serpentine belt shredded. :angry1: I had it towed to Aamco and had the transmission and the belt replaced.

Fast forward to this weekend....I took the van to the garage and had them replace the tensioner pulley. They wanted to replace the belt as well. I know that I had just had the belt replaced but I figured what the hay...go ahead. They told me that it would take an hour and that they would call me when it was ready. THREE HOURS later I called them. They told me they were having trouble getting the belt on and if I needed the van back that night. :blink:

So I let them keep it overnight and the next morning they explained to me that they matched up the new belt with the one they took off, but that the belt was too small to fit around the pulleys. They tried five other belts with the same problem. They checked the part number and realized that they were using a belt that is for a van with A/C, yet I didn't have A/C. I removed it about two years ago and added a bypass pulley. So they ordered a belt for a van without A/C and it fit. So long-story-short the transmission place forced the wrong size belt on to my van and it destroyed the pulley. :Wow1:

$200 later all is back to normal.

Thanks for all your help.
 
#20 ·
You're lucky that too tight belt only destroyed the tension pulley. Other things like the water pump, power steering pump, alternator, they hate tight belts just as much as the pullies.
 
#23 ·
Anymore I don't trust shops with anything I can't do myself. I'm perfectly capable of messing my own vehicle up for much less money, thank you very much! LOL
 
#26 ·
Subkid, you make me LOL. You're sense of humor is twisted, and I love it. 10W/40... Chicken bones... I'm dyin over here!
 
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