89 GM 5.0 engine squak

[lithdoc]

Hello y'all,


Any suggestions to reduce the engine/belt squaks? It's rather loud and embarrassing now that the weather has cooled and engine is cold... Seems like most of it coming from the water pump area. Some WD40 or engine oil spay does the job, but I'm not sure how and what exactly to grease up. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[79lincolnlover]

If the belts are original or of questionable age, you should replace them.

[gadget73]

Pull the belts and spin the parts individually. You'll find whatever is noisy. Lubing it won't be a fix, you'll need to replace whatever part is noisy. If the belts are shot or loose, it also will make lots of noise. The alternator side belt on these tends to require lots of tension to not make horrible noises.

[lithdoc]

The belts don't look like they're original, but I'll have another look. This would have made a good project in the summer!

It looks like the squaks are coming from the water pump area. Some spray of WD40 in the area reduces the squak a little bit, although its tough to tell because the radiator fan splatters it all over the place! But I must say I had a good result with belt conditioning spray as well, although all these solutions produced very short lived results.

So does squak = replacement?

[johnunit]

if there are cracks on the belt (on the inside,the part that has the ribbing) I'd replace it. When I tension the alternator belt I use a medium sides pry bar, breaker bar, etc. Carefully find a place down near the bottom/inner mount for the alternator bracket to find, put the other end of the bar up against the alternator housing, and pry with all your might (at least if you're a normal strength guy like me). Make sure the bolt on the top of the alternator holding it to the bracket is tight too. I find it easier to tension properly if I have it still dragging noticeably when I pull it to tension. I then either have a buddy or my left hand tighten it while holding the bar in tension with my right. It's not a finesse job, and I've undertightened and had to re-do it. The sound is a weird intermittent belt chirp that has gotten me worried about accessories, and I'd say that's the case for you. Just buy a brand-name belt, tighten it like hell, and even if that's not the problem at least you've done relatively cheap preventative maintanence.

[lithdoc]

My engie squeak noise is rather continuous, instead of intermittent belt chirp/slip noise. It is quite loud when engine is cold, and goes down after about 30 minutes of driving.