Squeaky belts

cantdecide

I have two cars at the moment- a '02 323F 2.0 Sport and a '95 316i saloon. In both cars, I had belt trouble and I replaced both. Now both of them squeak when cold.

In the Mazda, I had my mechanic change it when the car was in for a service and the new belt squeaked too. I had to go back with other problems and I asked him to tighten up the belt. He did and it improved but still every morning there's a racket. Especially when it has been raining.

Ditto the 316. I Changed that belt myself and tbh, I didn't really know what I was at. The original belt squeaked so I got a new one. The new one squeaks in exactly the same way and I see no way of tensioning it- the tensioner thing had no adjustment at all as far as I could see, like a very complicated looking fixed wheel. Is this right?

In both cases, mechanics told me that it's the ink on the belt that's causing the squeak. I thought that if that were the case, all cars would have squeaky belts for half of their lives. All I know is that it's driving me mad now frankly.

Slidey

It may be a component starting to near the end of its life. An idler pulley, water pump, alternator etc

You should maybe get a 2nd opinion from a competent person

the merchant

You could try spraying on a little belt dressing.

cantdecide

the merchant wrote: »

You could try spraying on a little belt dressing.

Is that a bodge? Would I be doing that twice a week forever?

Slidey wrote: »

It may be a component starting to near the end of its life. An idler pulley, water pump, alternator etc

You should maybe get a 2nd opinion from a competent person

That's the next step.

voxpop

Your belt tensioner has probably lost its tensioning ability:). The belt tensioner is either hydraulic or spring loaded - over time they get weaker and so the belt isnt under as much tension and slips a bit.

If you just replaced the belts - you can wait a few weeks and they sometimes bed in - otherwise do the tensioners and check the other pulleys while you are at it for noisy bearings

cantdecide

If there are bearing issues in the alternator or whatever, will it be obvious with the belt removed? I don't want to have to start changing stuff not knowing where it ends

voxpop

cantdecide wrote: »

If there are bearing issues in the alternator or whatever, will it be obvious with the belt removed? I don't want to have to start changing stuff not knowing where it ends

for the pulleys - just spin them - if you hear a rumble, the bearing is on the way out. They should spin silently. Even with a rumble they may last another while but while you are doing the tensioner you might as well do the rest.
If something like the idler pully seizes, it will throw the belt off , which is a pain for the beemer (overheat) but a killer for anything with a timing belt

cantdecide

Can you buy a kit or do you buy the everything individually? Do they have to be genuine and are these parts expensive, usually? Can all this be done with hand tools and basic mechanical knowledge?

voxpop

cantdecide wrote: »

Can you buy a kit or do you buy the everything individually? Do they have to be genuine and are these parts expensive, usually? Can all this be done with hand tools and basic mechanical knowledge?

I did a few pulleys on the E39 - they were all from GSF or otto. They are cheap and relatively easy to do. Dont know about your other car - but cant imagine its difficult at all.

DublinDilbert

Defo sounds like then tensioner is gone on the e36. Should be quite easy and cheap to replace that...

dharn

perhaps the pulleys have a coat of rubber from the old belts and if you clean the pulleys ,brake fluid i heard recommended once, that might solve it and if it dosent it has cost you next to nothing, perhaps the belts are overtightened and squeaking on the pulleys

Slidey

Jaysus, don't put brake fluid anywhere near rubber, they don't get on.

If you want to rule out the belt you could try runnin the engine and rub a candle on the inside of the belt

dharn

Slidey wrote: »

Jaysus, don't put brake fluid anywhere near rubber, they don't get on.

If you want to rule out the belt you could try runnin the engine and rub a candle on the inside of the belt

the brake fluid goes on the pulleys to clean them make sure to dry them off fully of course

voxpop

dharn wrote: »

the brake fluid goes on the pulleys to clean them make sure to dry them off fully of course

brake cleaner maybe ?

dharn

never heard of brake cleaner

Plug

dharn wrote: »

never heard of brake cleaner

I go through gallons of the stuff, great fun!

dharn

what does it taste like sounds like you drink it:)

dharn

dharn wrote: »

never heard of brake cleaner

It's widely available in motor factors and car accessory shops. It comes in an aerosol, folks generally use it on new brake discs

dharn

thanks for that, but to get back to original problem, does anyone agree with me that is could be just a coat of rubber worn off the original belts that is now squeaking on the new belts i have often sprayed wd 40 on noisy alternator belt and it will silence it instantly but if you dont clean the pulleys the squeak will come back again

DublinDilbert

Nah wouldn't say a coating of warn rubber would cause a squeak. By all means wipe the pullies and belts down, but it sounds like the tension is not correct.

There is stuff called belt dressing, but will just do as the wd40 was doing, stop it squeaking for a little while.

Do make sure the groves in the pullies are clear as the ribs in the belts need to seat into these correctly.