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Repair Topics / Belt

Car Belt Questions and Answers

This category contains featured questions as examples. They relate to most vehicles.


Question: 2001 Chrysler Town & Country mileage: 85,000. I have a great auto mechanic that I've used for 20 years and I trust him completely. However, I seem to have a problem that he cannot fix. My serpentine belt has been replaced about four times over the past six months (the tensioner has been replaced at least twice) and keeps breaking. It's not a matter of money... my mechanic is standing by his repair work and does not charge me... but the belt issue is very annoying. It seems any new belt we put on starts squealing after about three weeks on the car, and then about two weeks later it comes off and leaves me stranded. Any help you can provide here will be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Yes, we have seen this problem before in the shop, check your engine mounts. You will find that they have broken. This allows the engine to torque to the side and brake the tensioner.


Question: 1998 Breeze Acclaim V6 mileage: 100,000. Hi guys, I have a quick question regarding the alt. belt in my 1993 Plymouth Acclaim. Last year during the winter the alt. serpentine belt fell off while backing out of some deep snow. I put the belt back on. This summer the belt started squealing so I replaced it. Now the belt has fallen off three times already when driving through rain puddles. What can I do to prevent the belt from falling off when driving through puddles (the puddles are not that big...everyone else can go through them)?

Answer: Check the belt tensioner, try to wobble it side to side if you get excessive movement the part is bad and needs replacing.


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Question: 1999 Ford Ranger Supercab mileage: 83,000.  About 2 weeks ago I noticed a rather annoying belt squeak. The sound came only after initially cranking over the engine, turning on the A/C, and turning the corner or steering one way or the other.  The noise is quite an attention getter and usually provokes a chuckle of superiority from pedestrians and motorists.  To take it a step further my beloved truck stalled at a stoplight today.  It was very hot today 95+ degrees and again, the shrieking wild animal noises come when the A/C is on.  HELP.

Answer: A fan belt starts to squeak because it is slipping on the pulleys. This in turn causes the belt to glaze over.  We would advise replacing the belt and the belt tensioner in this situation.


Question: 1999 Isuzu Rodeo V6 mileage: 60,000.  My fan belt broke.  I purchased a new one.  It’s the exact same size as the old one.  My problem is I can't get it on.  I've tried to loosen the alternator the compressor and the power steering pump and still no luck.  There is, what it looks like is an adjustable wheel just left of the compressor, but I’m not sure.  Can you please help me solve my problem?

Answer: It sounds as if the adjustable wheel you mentioned is the spring loaded tensioner for the belt.  With a pry bar, pry the tensioner to facilitate installing the new belt.



Question: 2004 Toyota Camry 4 cyl mileage: 42,700.  I don't want my belts and hoses to break while driving.  I'd like to have them replaced early to help avoid this happening.  At what mileage do you suggest an early replacement?

Answer: Under normal circumstances you should replace your drive belts every two years or 25,000 miles which ever occurs first.



Question: 1999 Mazda mx3 mileage: 104,000.  My car makes this loud squealing noise when I start it and then it stops. I was told it was my air conditioner belt, but I had it looked at and it wasn't worn so they put some belt dressing on it and it stopped, for awhile.  Now it's squealing even worst even when I'm just stopping at a red light.  What should I do?

Answer: You will probably have to replace the air-conditioner belt.  Once a belt starts to squeal the sides of the belt glaze over and no adjusting or treatment will permanently stop the squealing.



Question: 1999 Buick/regal 3.1 mileage: 65,000.  I am getting ready to replace the serpentine belt and need to know if replacing the automatic tensioner is advised. The belt is not that bad, but i thought it was about time.  Thank you!

Answer: Yes, it is a good idea to replace the belt tensioner when you replace the belt.  Over time, the spring inside gets weak and looses tension.



Question: 1998 Mitsubishi Galant  mileage: 109,500. It has recently started making a squealing noise when I start it up.  It has gotten even worse through this cold spell that we had recently; but after the car warms up the noise stops.  I've been told that it is just the fan belts, which sounds right, but I still don't know what to do.  My question is: Is there anything that I can do or do I need to invest in new belts?

Answer: You can find out if it is the belts by doing an easy test.  With the engine cold, remove the belts and start the engine.  If you don’t here the squealing that you described, then you will know that it is your fan belts making the noise.  Do not run the engine any longer than 1 minute without the fan belts.



Question: 1999 FORD XLT Truck mileage: 117,000. When I start my engine, cold only, I hear a squealing noise, like the serpentine belt.  The noise goes away after the engine warms up a little.  About a year ago, I replaced the belt with a FORD factory belt.  Help?

Answer: Replace the spring loaded belt tensioner.



Question: 1999 Toyota Tercel mileage: 102,000.  I just rebuilt this motor due to bad rings from the Toyota Company, now it runs fine but keeps breaking a water pump and alternator belt.  I replaced the water pump and had the alternator checked and rebuilt due to it had no output voltage.  I replaced and fixed all of this but I still have the same problem.  When I start the car up it sounds and runs smooth but after a few minutes, it starts to squeal.  Before when I would check the belts I noticed a plastic dust in the area of the water pump and Alternator.   Could you give me any solutions to fix this problem?  Thank you

Answer: Check the alignment of the pulleys the belts ride on.  If the pulleys are misaligned, belt failure will occur.



Question: 1999 Chevy k 2500 truck mileage: 39,927.  MY question is this, my belt won’t stop squealing I’ve tried the sprays and the jellies, even tried rubbing a bar of soap on the belt while the engine was running. None of this worked for very long, actually all of this broke down the belt to where, I had too replace the belt.  All the pulley's and tensioners are straight and inline.

Answer:  Try cleaning the pulleys.  With a new good quality belt, clean pulleys and proper belt tensioner, it should be quiet.



Question: 1995 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 v-6.  Can you tell me the proper alignment for the V-drive belt on this car and motor?  I cannot find the proper information.  The belt broke and am ready to put back together and I have check different books and can not come up with the proper info on this if have a picture to send would help.  Thanks

Answer:  We wish we could help you here.  However, it is almost impossible to describe how the belts should be installed.  We suggest you find another Plymouth and check it for belt placement.  If you see one for sale, maybe the owner would let you look at his/hers.



Question: 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan LE 3.3L mileage: 89,000.  I have recently replaced the V belt on my Caravan.  There is a belt tensioner that seemed to be very stiff to unmovable but I managed to replace the belt.  Now on turns, the car squeals.  I assume it is time to replace the tensioner but I can only find the pulley not the tensioner itself.  Is this a dealer part?  Is this a do it yourself repair?  How do I fix it?  Helpful suggestions appreciated.

Answer:  Yes, the tensioner is a dealer only item and is not too difficult to replace.



Question: Hi, I have a question on timing belts. Apparently, my car has two of them. I wonder if one is a "backup" in case the other one breaks or they both fail if one of them breaks. Thanks! Don

Answer: Each timing belt your car has is for a separate purpose. One belt is not a "back up" belt. If one belt fails, the second is probably close to failing also.


Question: 1999 Hyundai Elantra 5 speed mileage: 110000. Hi guys, my question is, about a year ago, I had my timing belt replaced; it was a preventative maintenance repair, not because it broke. Then after about 3 months, my car lost power on the highway one day, I took it to a repair shop, and it was determined that the timing belt was not installed properly (it was off by a couple of teeth). Ever since then, the car has had a rough idle. Now because of the rough idle, it causes the muffler to shake, and make a weird noise. I'm trying to sell the car now, but I would like to fix the rough idle first, if it isn't to expensive. Is raising the idle speed a little a good thing to do, or is this an even bigger problem?

Answer: You can try raising the idle speed but we do not think it will smooth out the idle. You may have a bigger problem. Have a compression check done on the engine; it may check low. When the timing belt was off "by a couple of teeth," that changed the timing between the valves and the pistons. That change may have resulted in a valve hitting a piston bending a valve or two.

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