First, were the belts bad when you replaced them or did you just do it to eliminate the noise?

If they went bad very quickly, then you have an underlying problem that needs to be fixed. It could be a bad accessory on the engine (pulley/bearing) or the belt tensioner is bad.

If you just replaced them to chase down the noise, then you should make sure the tension is correct and that the tensioner is holding the tension when the engine is started.

Keep in mind, sometimes belts make these noises in very cold or wet conditions for the first few minutes and there isn't much you can do about it. Buy high-quality belts; they make noise less often.

Answered by Ernest Clark (expert)
1,780 answers provided

Hi thanks for getting back to me the first belt only lasted 12 hours looks like the mechanic put it on 2 tight the next belt lasted a week same mechanic who put it on then the mechanic i know replaced it lasted for 3 -4 weeks make allot of sqeeking then a burning smell before it broke 3 miles from where i started my mechanic that i go to checked both pulley wheels the one attached to the altinator and the other to the water pump they the pulleys where moving freely and he advised only that one of those 2 parts may be causing the problems so i had the water pump replaced just eliminating what could be causing the belt to keep going so any help would be appreciated

Response from rene110980
1 question asked

I can't really see what your engine looks like without looking at one directly. But if you have a serpentine belt, then any accessory on the engine can cause it to fail if one/more of the pulleys are freezing up.

If you have powersteering/air conditioning, or the tension pulley can cause a belt to go bad.

If you don't have a serpentine belt (V-Belt), then either it's too tight, too loose, one/more of the accessories hooked to it are bad or there's water/oil getting on the belt.

Answered by Ernest Clark (expert)
1,780 answers provided

Check the crank pulley. It is equipped with harmonic damper and when the dampoer is bad, it would result in noises, burning rubber smell, insufficient charging and premature failing of drive belts.

Note if the crank-pulley is moving in a wavy pattern, especially the inner ring where it drives the alternator belt.

Answered by KHLow2008 (expert)
40,325 answers provided