Anyone know what is causing this?

[Arrison24]

I know how when the belt squeaks you need to replace it... so i replaced it. I had an extra serp belt in my house so i used that. Soon after, that belt also squeaked so i thought maybe it had something to do with it sitting around for a year. I went and bought another brand new belt and replaced that [we're on belt 3 now]. Everything seemed fine and dandy until THIS one starting squealing too.

It's pretty frustrating and any help with what might be causing this would be much appreciated.

[Spaz]

i had to replace one of the pulley brakets a while ago in my car... there are a bunch that were off by a little that will make the belts squeak after a bit... i think there is a service bulitin about it some where...

[JayTA98]

is the belt tight? Check the A/C compressor one also. If not maybe you need a new tensioner. Are the pulleys clean? no oil or fluid residue? If they are pull the belt out and spray some degreaser on the pulleys. Scrub them with a brush and wash off with water. Let it dry and then put a clean belt back(if it is an old one that was squeaking make sure you clean it with degraeser too). Check under the PS pump and make sure you dont have a leak.

[Arrison24]

i'll check/clean tomorrow morning when i get a chance.
thanks for the tips

[cammed goat]

Also check your idler pulley as they tend to squeak as well.

[Cutlass]

I had a power steering pulley that wasn't pressed all the way on the pump shaft. So it was slightly misaligned causing the belt to squeal against the edge of the pulley.

[Arrison24]

i dont know if this will help point to the solution BUT

[recap]
as i said belt 1 squeaked so i replaced it...
belt 2 was fine for a bit, then squeaked, so i replaced it...
belt 3 was fine for a bit longer, then started squeaking...

now i went out and cleaned everything the serp belt touches and i cleaned belt 3 itself
-it kept squeaking

i decided that since this belt was less than a week old i would put back on belt 2 until i tried a whole new tensioner

belt 2 didnt squeak until i drove for about 30 minutes... does that mean anything?

[35th-ANV-SS]

Just throwing this out there since no one else has, but certain belt brands do squeak.

A lot of people use Gator belts. Guaranteed almost to not squeak. Not saying this is your problem, but just another option.

[0rion]

I would look hard at those pulleys.....pretty odd that 3 different belts would squeak. Like was said before, start with the idler pulley and go from there. Use a long screwdriver, broken broom handle, or long stick as a redneck stethoscope. Touch one end of it near the pulleys as the car is running and the other end to your ear. You'll know it when you find the guilty pulley. Don't get your face caught in the belt....it'll leave a helluva mark.

[sjsingle1]

Pulleys!!!!

[Cutlass]

Here another technique that has worked for me.BUT BECAREFUL
You can use a screwdriver or something similar to push and pull the belt with the engine running. Push/pull against the edge of the belt near a pulley. If a pulley is misaligned, then pushing/pulling the belt will make the noise louder or quieter as the belt travels over the pulley.
Hope that makes sense, its hard to explain...

[Smittro]

1) Dry tentioner bearing.... Front of the engine gets dirrectly exposed to the wheather.. Mud, dust, rocks, rain, snow..

2) Pulley bent or damaged by above..

imho..

[camaross1]

im with cammed goat, the old belt tension pulley, they will make alot of noise

[Blksnshn]

Pulley or a weak tensioner. As the belt gets warm it will stretch a little bit, If your tensioner is weak it won't make up for the stretch and it will sqeak. Or the A/C belt.

[!!!FAST!!!]

Maybe try a slightly smaller belt. If the one your using is a little too big than when it heats up it will stretch slightly and slip a little. Thats what it sounds like when it does it after 30 min of operation. Just a thought.

[Arrison24]

Thanks to all for the suggestions- its great getting so many ideas so fast...

And it was the friggin alternator.