squeaky belt question

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78 K-10

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78 scottsdale k10

so I replaced both belts like 2 weeks ago. I drive once a day for about 20 miles. when I first put on the belts it was fine. for the past 3 days. 3 cold start ups it squeals for around 3 seconds then quickly tapers off. That is the Only time it does that. Never on warm or semi warm start ups.

Ive got like 3/8 to 5/8 inch flex on belts (depends what you consider pushing)

How many pounds of pressure is proper when youre pushing on the belts to determine how much play they have?

What is the trick to these bad boys?
 

78 K-10

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and if its a , Son you just gotta tighten 'em like a man.. then I will find a way but if someone knows ...
 

89Suburban

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I thought towman posted about using certain brand of belts that aren;t noisy... :think:
 

78 K-10

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not seeing them on google.

Squeak comes from slipping, I dont want to have to use belt dressing. Ever felt that stuff??

maybe its me and I'm all wrong. i'd glady be since I have a bottle of belt crap.

but heres how I feel..

"here squirt my magical solution on your belts and it Will CURE the squeaks!!!"

oh and by the way its just friggin glue with a little thinner in an aerosol can
 

crazy4offroad

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Need to make sure which one is doing it, maybe it will help you figure out what to do. If it's the power steering belt, I'm not surprised, it's a bitch to get right. Also being that the power steering fluid is a hydraulic fluid, when cold it may take more effort for the engine to spin it and if you dont have the belt tight enough it would make a little noise. Alternator belt needs to have a certain amount of deflection. As you pry it over, go a little, lock it down and wiggle the belt till you get only about 1/2" of deflection. Otherwise you may want to look for a fluid leak that might be causing it. Antifreeze at the water pump, power steering fluid, or motor oil could be causing it to slip.
 

89Suburban

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not seeing them on google.

Squeak comes from slipping, I dont want to have to use belt dressing. Ever felt that stuff??

maybe its me and I'm all wrong. i'd glady be since I have a bottle of belt crap.

but heres how I feel..

"here squirt my magical solution on your belts and it Will CURE the squeaks!!!"

oh and by the way its just friggin glue with a little thinner in an aerosol can

Don;t use that ****, I tried it. All it does is make a mess.
 

bucket

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I once had a customer come in complaining of a squeaky belt, even after using belt dressing. What a mess that was... he had unloaded an entire can of belt dressing on it. EVERYTHING on that end of the motor was gooey.
 

towman

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yeah and don't use belt dressing at all on the new serpentine belts, they have so many pulleys that are smooth it will make the belt fly off, have towed many in and put new belts on for that reason
 

bucket

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yeah and don't use belt dressing at all on the new serpentine belts, they have so many pulleys that are smooth it will make the belt fly off, have towed many in and put new belts on for that reason

Then there's the Chrysler vans that toss the belt for no apparent reason. The dealer sells a "snow shield" that bolts onto the tensioner pulley that takes care of it though.
 

89Suburban

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Then there's the Chrysler vans that toss the belt for no apparent reason. The dealer sells a "snow shield" that bolts onto the tensioner pulley that takes care of it though.

:lol: :shitsweak:
 

towman

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don't drive that chrsler van thru more than three inches of water or you'll puke the belt, and you need three arms to put them back on, what a stupid design
 

bobehud

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OKAY first a little belt 101. I assume its a v belt and not a serp belt..?

When you first fire the truck up the starter removes what is know as the surface charge,causing to Alt to full field for a bit and then the noise go's away.

Use a better belt..DO NOT GET THE BELT TO TIGHT about a 1/4 in deflection is max tension

Who ever told you to stay away from belt dressing...listen to them..you just have to do something rough up the flat surface of the belt with 400
grit sandpaper and clean it (thats if it is a v belt if its a serp belt) forget what i wrote


best of luck let me know what you find
 

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I've got a similar issue with one of the ones I put on a couple of months back. It'll squeal for maybe a sec or 2 at startup, then goes quite. I've double checked and it's good and tight. Mine is the A/C compressor belt. What I did notice is that when I went to take the old belt off, the belt was sticking inside the vee of the pulley. I literally had to yank on it a few times to get it out. When it broke free, it made noise as I was pulling it off--like a shearing sound. The vee of the pully was rough and pitted. It appears that the pulley is sticking to the belt, and the noise is the belt separating from the pulley. However, it only does it at startup, and when I hit the gas to rev it in P or N. While I'm driving, I hear nothing. Probably because it doesn't rev as quickly. I'm planning to get the A/C fixed in the spring, and the orig compressor will probably be replaced which would fix the pulley issue so I'm leaving it along for now.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I used Gates belts and the new belt binds to the pully a little also.
 

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Dish soap works for a little while redneck belt dressing
 

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