Squeeky Pulley

[grandprix104]

I'm not sure if ya'll will be able to help me with this much over the interwebs, but I've got a squeeky pulley that is driving me nuts. I can't seem to determine which one it is. It squeeks constantly at idle and sounds like someone dragging shoes on the gym floor. I sprayed each pulley individually with wd40 and still wasn't able to quiet it. However, it stops if I turn on the AC. Could it be the AC clutch making all the noise? If the AC is on and the engine is revved it will chirp a couple times but otherwise you no longer hear it. I don't believe it is belt slip either. I also used a stethescope and still couldn't determine the source. Any other ideas for determining the culprit?

Thanks

[swampthing]

ummm i would lean towards one of the idler pulleys myself since they have a habit of going bad and are inexpensive to replace. as far as the A/c thing goes could it be that the A/c puts the belt under a little more tension and raises the RPM's just a little thereby making the offending pulley spin a little faster and not make noise as bad? also Wd-40 will eat off whatever grease that the pullleys had, i highly recommend not using it for anything like that if you need a spray lube of some kind i use this stuff


http://blasterchemical.com/display.cfm?p=50003&pid=5
and have found it to be better then Wd-40 without the degreaser problem it works really well for lots of used besides garage doors

[grandprix104]

Yeah the idler is cheap but I am really strapped for cash right now and dont want to buy stuff I don't need. I know wd40 is crap, but it was all I had and I forgot about the degreasin part. As for the ac and tension, thats what I was hoping was it was just messing with the tension. BTW I removed the belt and there was no resistance, grinding, or play in any of the pulleys.

[swampthing]

not exactly sure what else to do to diagnose, other then wait for it to break, i had that happen with all the plastic pulleys on my s/c belt, but i can drive the car without that belt you can't drive it if one pulley slings like mine did


EDIT: you could also pick up some belt conditioner and see if it is possibly the belt, with the A/c reducing the noise it's still possible

[01bonneSC]

If you dont already have em I would invest in a set of Gatorback Belts, I just replaced mine, well well worth the money, totally stopped my squeeky issues. I replaced all my idler and tensioner pulleys last year with ones from RockAuto and you cant beat the discount from Pontiac Bonneville Club.

[myfirstbonnie]

Does the tensioner bounce a little? You might try putting a little lube inside the tensioner. If there is any rust on the spring inside it may be rubbing against the spring. Otherwise, I would say to check the pulleys real good and take a good listen to the A/C clutch when engaged and disengaged.

[grandprix104]

The tensioner barely moves. The AC clutch does have an effect on the noise. I don't know if it just my hearing or what, but I can't tell what pulley is making the noise. With the stethescope I can hear a whirring sound through the water pump housing. The AC clutch makes the most noise but I dont pick up the high pitched squeeel through any of the pulleys. Its starting to get on my nerves. I guess I've tried all the tricks to figuring out what makes the noise, just time to start replacing things. Bummer.

[sco99888]

i had a pully making noise i ignored it,one day it was loud then no noise,i opened the hood and the tensioner pully blew the bearings and the serp belt snapped off,lucky for me i was in the drive way and not going down the highway,if it squeeks fix it,i payed 15 bucks for the pully wheel it is a 10 min job.

[HurstGN]

I'm not sure if ya'll will be able to help me with this much over the interwebs, but I've got a squeeky pulley that is driving me nuts. I can't seem to determine which one it is. It squeeks constantly at idle and sounds like someone dragging shoes on the gym floor. I sprayed each pulley individually with wd40 and still wasn't able to quiet it. However, it stops if I turn on the AC. Could it be the AC clutch making all the noise? If the AC is on and the engine is revved it will chirp a couple times but otherwise you no longer hear it. I don't believe it is belt slip either. I also used a stethescope and still couldn't determine the source. Any other ideas for determining the culprit?

Thanks

You've already diagnosed the problem, and I believe it's the AC itself. Remember that when AC is off, the outer part of the pulley spins while the inner part does not. There is the source of your squeek, moving metal to metal contact. Once power is applied to the AC, the inner and outer parts lock together to activate the compressor. Now as both are locked together, you no longer have the moving metal to metal contact and the squeek stops. You can verify this by setting the AC to be close to the outside temp so the compressor cycles more often....and you should hear the squeek come back each time the compressor stops. I don't think it's your other pulleys, and I don't think it's a belt tension problem either.

Dan

[myfirstbonnie]

That's what I was pointing to also.

[grandprix104]

I was just really hoping it wouldnt be the AC. How hard is it to replace the clutch anyway? Do you need any special tools? I dont have $300+ to spend on the whole thing.

[00ssei]

Actually I was having the same problem but its getting better as the weather gets warmer. Like 2 months ago when the weather was very low, I use to get that squeak noise from the pulley area too. I sounded like grinding metal. But im after like 10 min of driving the noise goes away. I havent really looked into it because it stopped dramatically these days since the weather is getting better. But Im like 80% sure its one of my idler pulleys, because I remember when I first bought the car, i only replaced on of them and the supercharger belt. I will just replace the other one later spring.

[grandprix104]

see mines the opposite. It gets louder as the car warms up.

[00ssei]

Wow, I was thinking it was my bearing (engine) but I hope its not. Im stupid for not taking this matter serious. Im just ignoring it, plus my valve covers are leakin (not big deal).

OFF TOPIC:Instead im worrying about the appearance. I have done some sweet appearance mods.

I will defintely check into it very soon. I'll post results and what i did. You do the same if u fix it. I would record a vid to show how it sounds, but like i said it doesnt anymore cuz its warm these days. you should do that.

[01bonneSC]

If you guys go by a mechanics stethescope, http://www.toolrage.com/prodList.asp?idcategory=346 not the audio one you can just pop off the probe attachment, you can put it on each pulley and hear if the bearings are bad. Its a tool that is well worth the investment. Or you could ise a coat hanger, or a screwdriver, or peice of metal rod. But id say just drop the 15-20 bones and get urself a real tool.

And appearance mods dont really matter when your car is broken and cant drive it. Fix the mechanics first.

[00ssei]

It can drive very well thank god. But It can be tuned up and fix some minor stuff. But I'll take care of that laters. Its not a big deal.

[grandprix104]

Update on this.

The car is silent until it gets to temp. Then you start to hear a quiet chirp. Once the car has been driven a while, it will squeek constantly. With the AC on or off. If you raise the rpms slightly it will stop. It has gotten very loud and embarrassing. Here's what I have replaced so far: Belt, Idler/Tensioner pulley, main alternator bearing, and today the AC compressor clutch bearing. The car is still squeeking. It does not sound like it is coming from the water pump or PS pump. What else can I do? Could the squeek be coming from the internals of the compressor? Would the HB make any squeeking noise?

Thanks for any tips.

[Archon]

Is the belt in good condition? Have you checked the tensioner pulley?

[grandprix104]

Sorry, the belt has been replaced too. I replaced the tesioner pulley.

[00ssei]

Hey I realized what my problem was with this problem (similiar)....My S/C belt was rubbing on one of the main pulleys. It sounds like metal grinding, but one mechanic told me its the belt rubbing against the pulley. I dont know the exact name of the pulley but its like the very bottom one. Not the tensioners