# Need help asap!!



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Well I bought a new serpentine belt. Took off the drive belt to get it on. Now I can't seem to get the drive belt back on. It is all routed correctly, but I can't get it to go over the tensioner. I even took the tension pulley off, and still can't figure out a way to get it back on. Please help!!!


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Went and bought a new Drive Belt, seems they both are too big. It also seemed the old drive belt that I couldn't get back on was way too tight. Might be the reason for the squeaking. Put the new drive belt on and neither the new serpentine or the new drive belt spin. Replaced the new serpentine belt with the old one and it spins. I put them all side by side and the new ones of both are way too big. Dayco says they fit our cars. They definitely don't seem to fit


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

You could have an underdrive pulley on which would necessitate a shorter belt.


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Here's the thing though. The serpentine belt that was on there already fits perfectly. The new one I got that says it fits the car is too big. It doesn't allow the pulleys to spin. I put the old one back on and it works perfectly. 

The drive belt was so tight, I couldn't pull the tension pulley anymore since it was all the way to the right side. I had to remove the pulley to get the belt off. It seems the belt that was on there was too small. The new belt I got, again one that fits my car, does not fit. It is at least an inch too big. The problem I have is that the writing on both old belts is worn off. If I were to have an under drive pulley, what size would the belts be. The owner before me may have put one on

This is the belt I bought that was too big

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/we...P_1063_R|GRPBELTAMS_1746737267____#fragment-1


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

An underdrive set of belts are:

Serpentine belt: 5060760
Short belt: 5040400


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

I just called the dealership and their gonna call me back to see if the guy who owned it previously had the pulley put in. Is there any way I could tell by looking at it?


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

That's what it was!!! Thanks so much svede!!! Bought the new belt and it fit perfectly. Only problem is the squeak is still there. I took a video of it. What do you think it could be? Here's the video.


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

I just drove it around for a little and now the squeaking noise is constant. Whether the car is warm or cold, the noise is now always there. This is so frustrating lol I have a feeling its the tension pulley that needs to be replaced


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

It could be any of the things there but the idler pulley is the most common. Usually if it's the water pump it will start leaking. Go around with a rolled up tube to your ear and see if you can isolate where it's coming from.


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## dustyminpin (Jun 19, 2006)

My car used to squeak too. It would eat up the smaller belt about once every year-year and a half. Guy at my speed shop had a C5 with the same problem. Said lots of vettes had that problem at the the GM harmonic balancer was known to be garbage and cause wobbling which would make the belt squeek and wear. I bought Summit Racing's house brand SFI-approved harmonic balancer for like 180-200 bucks. Had the speed shop put it on when they did my heads/cam/intake installation. Hasn't squeaked or worn the belt since. I'm not saying that's your problem, just something to think about.


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

yea tonight I was driving it and its horrible. The sound is loud and ridiculous. It also goes with the rpm's. If I rev the RPMs higher, the noise gets faster. Not sure what it could be, but should I replace the idler pulley first? I don't want to end up paying a ton replacing and guessing which pulley it is, I'd rather figure out which one it is and replace that one specific one.


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## motoristx (Apr 27, 2010)

I have had some issues with my belts. 


YouTube - DAYCO - SOLUTIONS TO BELT CHIRP

try what this guy says at the begining. 

also, if you have a bearing going out in a idler pully, it will cuase it to roll kinda sideways. making a permanant sort of drag over the pulley, it mainly applies to the 2 A/C idlers, and the flat one by the power steering and alt pulleys. so, all 3 of your flat pulleys could be a culpret. 

another thing to look for, if, you have an after market pulley, is misalinement. chances are you'll have to take it to a shop and have somone tighten it down on the crank. (thats what i went through when somone didn't install mine right)

also worst case, you might need a new crank pulley, i've heard of some cheaper ones separating and walking out a little bit under stress. this mainly applies to the ones with a rubber piece sandwiched in between the outer and inner pulley parts (for a harmonic damping).


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Very cool link. I will definitely try that water test tomorrow


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## motoristx (Apr 27, 2010)

you can also try a belt conditioner. its only a temp fix, but it will help for a little while. STP makes it


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

well what doesn't make sense to me is the old belt I had would squeak slightly only when the car was cold. Once it warmed up, it would stop. Now I installed this new belt, thinking this would fix the problem, and now it squeaks ten times louder and all the time


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## motoristx (Apr 27, 2010)

your old belt was glazed over. thats my thinking


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Ok so I narrowed it down with the water test. It turns out it isn't the main drive belt I had replaced, it is the smaller serpentine belt. I still have the old one in since the store didn't have the size I needed, but the belt looks to be in good shape. When I sprayed the water on that belt, it stopped making the noise and was silent for about 5 seconds. I then took the belt off and checked the pulleys. The one that caught my attention was the one above the tension pulley. All of the other pulleys spin freely, except that one. In the picture, it is the pulley on the top. I also took a video of the tension pulley spinning when you turn it, and then showing how the one above doesn't move. This could possibly be the cause. Tell me what you think. (In the video, the one in the left of the screen is the tension pulley. The one on the right is the one not spinning. You can see slightly that when I spin the tension one it spins but when i try and spin the other one, it doesn't spin)


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

After doing some research, I think this pulley not spinning is the AC Idler Pulley. I believe this is the cause for the noise. I read online that this pulley is supposed to spin freely, not have any resistance. I can not really tell how to remove it, can someone tell me how it is I am able to replace it? 

More Information for GATES 36220

This is the one I found. I believe this is the part in the picture.


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## motoristx (Apr 27, 2010)

you need to see if it wiggles side ways, or in a way that is is not supposed to. i replaced both of mine with steel pulleys on the A/C. You can buy just the pulley, and not the whole bracket. it makes it easy, and cheaper.

i bought 2 of these  google search DAYCO Part # 89135 

oh one more thing! the free spinning one might be the bad one, they should have a sealed bearing with grease in it, it should spin easy, but not as freely as your showed.


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## bridogr1 (Mar 29, 2011)

I have this exact same thing with my 06. I will be interested in hearing what it finally ends up being.


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Well if the case is that they are not supposed to spin freely, then I probably need to replace both of those, and look into replacing the drive belt tensioner as well. The drive belt tensioner spins very easily. It may not be making much noise if any right now, but I'm sure it will start sooner or later. 

I will definitely purchase those pulleys instead of the stock ones again. Those look a lot more durable then the piece of crap plastic ones.

Oh one more question. The two shown in the picture, are they both the same part? Do I just need to order 2 of the pulleys you posted the link on?


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## motoristx (Apr 27, 2010)

Falco21 said:


> Well if the case is that they are not supposed to spin freely, then I probably need to replace both of those, and look into replacing the drive belt tensioner as well. The drive belt tensioner spins very easily. It may not be making much noise if any right now, but I'm sure it will start sooner or later.
> 
> I will definitely purchase those pulleys instead of the stock ones again. Those look a lot more durable then the piece of crap plastic ones.
> 
> Oh one more question. The two shown in the picture, are they both the same part? Do I just need to order 2 of the pulleys you posted the link on?




ok, Yes it needs to turn smoothly, but not free spinning, i hope i didn't confuse you. if it spins freely the seals might be torn and its probably dry (no more grease or oil). this would make it wobble, thus, creating the chirping.

2nd, yes they are the same thing, both the tensioner pulley and idler pulley, in the A/C system belt. the Tenstioner, is a 15mm (I think) bolt, where as the idler should be a torqx, I'm not sure of the size of the torqx.


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Well I am going to buy the pulleys and see if that fixes the noise. Hopefully that's the reason. So in essence, the top pulley is too tight and doesn't spin smoothly, and the lower one spins freely. I need to replace both. Hopefully this fixes things. We will find out


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## wraith221304 (Jan 3, 2011)

You need to change both maybe both i had to change both idler pulley's change both. i have a 04 and i changed the under drive and that's when the squeaking started. the pullys goes bad after a while so change the up and the lower. Best to change both so you dont have to wonder about them anymore. To check if that's what it is, just start your car then watch the top tension pulley then push on it and it should stop until you let go. rev the motor while your pushing on it and you'll see what i am talking about. i hope this helps.


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## bridogr1 (Mar 29, 2011)

Did you get the squeak to stop?


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

I ordered the parts a couple days ago, and am still waiting for them to come in the mail. I am also waiting for my new tires, so the car has not been used in a couple days. We will see what happens when I change out those pulleys with the after market stainless steel ones


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Just installed the new pulley. Definitely spins better and smoother. I did notice that when I took the old one off, I was shaking it and you can hear the bearing loose inside. Hopefully this is the cause of the squealing. The starter has to be rebuilt though, so I can not start the car yet to see if the squealing has stopped. We will find out


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

After finally getting the starter rebuilt, started her up and ZERO SQUEAL!! The pulley was the culprit!! =) 

Although, when I rev the engine, there is a tiny squeal still -_- Only when reving it though


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