Changed belts, and new problem, did I overtighten??

[skrillah]

Hi guys,

I just bought a 99 Civic LX as a daily driver with 182k miles. Nice ride, one owner, and in really good shape. The drive belts were old, worn, and had squeaks. So, this weekend I changed out the PS, Alternator, and AC belts. Went fine, this morning I jump in and all is well, I get on the road and about 40 mins into the drive (I have an hour commute), I notice this high pitch squeak that comes up, and then goes away (lasting 3-4 seconds)...I drive a little farther, and it does it again...and continues for the next 5-6 miles until I got to work. It wasn't a continuous squeak, it got louder the longer it lasted and then went away. Seemed to go away when I let off the gas and then didn't return for a 1/2 mile or so.

After getting to work, all the belts seem tight with little deflection to them. One thing I noticed per my Scangauge, the voltage seemed to coincide with the squeak during the drive. That is, It would go from roughly 14.2 to 14.6 which is roughly when I noticed the squeak. Once I got into town and was doing city traffic, I didn't notice it... and the voltage ranged from 14.2 to 14.4. So I'm wondering if I overtightened the alternator belt or something. Though the voltage reading may just be coincidence as I haven't had the car long enough to know what is truly accurate.

I'm no mechanic but I do alright around the garage, generally routine maintenance type stuff but have changed timing belts, suspension components, etc. on my Tacoma.

I have to drive it home this afternoon...roughly 40 miles...but am wondering if I need to make some adjustments before I leave? I don't want to damage the alternator...

Thanks!!

 

[mymmeryloss]

It may be the alternator itself. What was squeeking on it before you changed the belts?

Does the car have power steering?

 

[skrillah]

See, I don't know because all the belts were squeaking...so its hard to say. Since I just bought the car, I don't know whether this is new or not. I know it wasn't doing it the first 40 mins of the drive though...

It does have power steering, and I may have turned the wheel slightly when this happened, but since it didn't do it in city traffic when I was making harder 90 degree turns...I kind of ruled that out...

 

[00siboy]

So it just randomly squeals while you are cruising down the road? Does it ever do it at idle, like if you let it sit and run for a while? If you do happen to catch it at idle try spraying some lube (WD40, PB blaster) on the belt and see if the squeal stops. If it does, the problem is the belt, if not then you could have a problem with a pulley. Usually a bad pulley will make noise all the time, not intermittent, unless its your a/c clutch squealing when it engages.

EDIT: Try driving with your a/c off if you haven't already, see if it makes a difference.

 

[skrillah]

So it just randomly squeals while you are cruising down the road? Does it ever do it at idle, like if you let it sit and run for a while? If you do happen to catch it at idle try spraying some lube (WD40, PB blaster) on the belt and see if the squeal stops. If it does, the problem is the belt, if not then you could have a problem with a pulley. Usually a bad pulley will make noise all the time, not intermittent, unless its your a/c clutch squealing when it engages.

EDIT: Try driving with your a/c off if you haven't already, see if it makes a difference.

Yeah, that's what I don't understand, just randomly did it. Doesn't do it at idle or when revved. The AC was not on, it was only 18 degrees this morning.

 

[skrillah]

I double checked the tension on the belts, and the AC belt seems to have a little play in it, between the crankshaft and the middle pulley. I may try and tighten it up.

Can anyone confirm voltage readings in the middle 14's? That just seems high, but maybe not. My truck runs in at around 14.1 almost constantly and doesn't fluctuate.

 

[00siboy]

Thats normal voltage readings. The .4v drop is ok.

 

[M.YASEEN.A]

This could be the a/c motor i had the prob on my car the a/c pulley clutch was messed up

 

[JohnS.]

If it squeaked before, yeah, it's gonna be hard to tell if it's the belt or pulleys themselves. How about this... How tight did you tighten the belts? Too tight is no good and will cause squealing.

 

[CO671]

Completely take off the belts to find out which belt is causing the squeal.
My instructor mentioned that his friend ended up rebuilding an engine from oilpan up to valves when the squeal was just from an accessory pulley. Dont be that guy. Start with removing the powersteering and drive a while without it, if it still squeals, take off the A/C belt or at least tie it up with wire to the engine mount (getting ac belt off can be a PITA)
If the problem persists, its most likely the alternator.
You want fair torque on the idler pulleys, and fair deflection of at least 1/2 - 3/4 inch on the accessory belts.
If its not the belts or idler pulleys, itd be the pulleys for the accesories themselves or something else in the bay.

 

[mymmeryloss]

 

[skrillah]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Well, so after a day went by, got a little more info...

Rechecked all belts, re-tightened the AC and Alternator with no noticeable change...
Sounds like someone is running their finger nails down a chalkboard for a few seconds.
No real rhyme or reason, fluctuates w/ the RPMs, but generally noticeable from 2-3k. Still doesn't do it at idle...
When it happens, I can generally get it to stop just by hitting the accelerator slightly.

Still kind of stumped, wouldn't a bad pulley do it all the time? The AC clutch motor is a bit noisy when it engages but its hard to tell if that's it. Usually the AC/defrost isn't running when I notice it. I mean you can hit the AC button and nothing changes...

As stated earlier, the alternator seems to be putting out the correct voltage, and the noise doesn't change when the system is under "load"...

As mentioned, can I simply remove the AC accessory belt and drive it and see if that fixes it? At least I would be able to pin it to the compressor or idler pulley....

 

[Trekk]

As said above just remove the ac and ps belt drive it like that for a while and see what happens, then add the ps belt and try again. If a belt is too tight it will scream the second you start the car. This also puts a side load on the bearings and can cause them to fail. If its too loose you'll see the belt flopping up and down.

The alt belt is the only one you need to run/drive the car. You can start it w/o but you'll drain the battery pretty fast and electronics don't like voltages that drop below 12v aka you could fry something.

 

[mymmeryloss]

If its doing it from 2-3k rpms then the engine is under torque and will be rotating against the pulleys so that could be early sign of wearing pulleys...

 

[skrillah]

Well, I pulled the AC belt and the whine is gone. Its either a bad idler pulley or the bearings in the compressor are shot. Since we've still got another month or two of winter, not sure I'm going to worry about it for right now. I have a garage to park it in so the defrost won't be much of an issue.

I'll probably go the cheap route first and replace the idler pulley and see if that fixes it. I'm sure I could replace just the pulley system on the compressor but not sure how worth it that would be or cost effective. For now, I'm just glad the squeal is gone.

 

[00siboy]

 

[CO671]

Well, I pulled the AC belt and the whine is gone. Its either a bad idler pulley or the bearings in the compressor are shot. Since we've still got another month or two of winter, not sure I'm going to worry about it for right now. I have a garage to park it in so the defrost won't be much of an issue.

I'll probably go the cheap route first and replace the idler pulley and see if that fixes it. I'm sure I could replace just the pulley system on the compressor but not sure how worth it that would be or cost effective. For now, I'm just glad the squeal is gone.

You can repack the pulley with a new bearing or just buy a new pulley+bearing for $15-$40
I got one on rock auto for $20 but the inner shape of the pulley was deceiving and didnt line up right with the stock washer and bolts.
I had that squeal before when i first got the car and was only present in 1-4th gears. Once I took it off, the engine sounded much more harmonious than a rat living inside the bay. Good luck!