FAQ: Chirp Chirp Chirp - Belt Squeal, Pulley & Tensioner Squeak

how bad is it to drive with a bad tensioner or pulley for a little bit? will it cause a lot of damage?

Depends on the problem. If it's the tensioner itself, it could be fine for thousands of miles. If it's actually a pulley making the noise, you have about 100 miles before it frags. I've had it happen to me before. If you catch it soon enough, could save you the price of a serpentine belt.

Sounding more like an idler or tensioner pulley. I like BMD's idea - take the belt off and spin the pulleys one at a time.

like I've said before....
I can't do car work at where im at..
and I have no freakin clue how to take it off and put it back on lol

Ask a mechanic to look at it for you then. He'll probably have a stethescope to use. Still cheaper than getting stranded when the tensioner blows up.

so im pretty sure its a tensioner or pulley thats makin the noise...
how much do these cost?
where can u get them?
can u help me diagnose it?
help me put them on..they look difficult.?
how long does it take?

thanks boysss

Look in the "Write-Ups" section for changing belts and pulleys.

xxsupergman25xx wrote:

so im pretty sure its a tensioner or pulley thats makin the noise...
how much do these cost?
where can u get them?
can u help me diagnose it?
help me put them on..they look difficult.?
how long does it take?

thanks boysss

I CANT DO IT MYSELF..a write up will do me no good. lol

xxsupergman25xx wrote:

xxsupergman25xx wrote:

so im pretty sure its a tensioner or pulley thats makin the noise...
how much do these cost?
where can u get them?
can u help me diagnose it?
help me put them on..they look difficult.?
how long does it take?

thanks boysss

I CANT DO IT MYSELF..a write up will do me no good. lol

Then bring it to shop and get a diagnosis and an estimate!!!!!

-tensioner cost between $50-60.
-idlers will run 15-20.
-get them from rockatuo if you know what the problem is, otherwise you can get them at a higher price at the local auto stores.
-diagnosing belt chirp over the internet is like trying to determine if soup is hot enough from across the street.
-idlers are easy to put on, tensioners can be more difficult, especially the rear one.
-doesnt take long if you know what you are doing. shop will likely charge 1hr labor to diagnose and fix. ($80)

...or wait till the local meet and i'll fix it for a nominal fee + parts

xxsupergman25xx wrote:

xxsupergman25xx wrote:

so im pretty sure its a tensioner or pulley thats makin the noise...
how much do these cost?
where can u get them?
can u help me diagnose it?
help me put them on..they look difficult.?
how long does it take?

thanks boysss

I CANT DO IT MYSELF..a write up will do me no good. lol

maybe a writeup can help you to do it yourself, that's what they are for...

I also have the same chirping sound under my hood. I also need to find out how much these things are going to cost. The two main things I need to replace are the gaskets and a new belt, maybe the tensioner or pulley. If this works for you, let me know.
Here are a couple of good links:
Link
Link
Link

thank you..thats the exact type of link i was lookin for...see..my prob is im unemployed...and i just dropped 600 on fixin my tranny. that really hurt...theres some guys from FLA im meetin up with ont he 6th...hopefully they can help me do it.. place wants at least 30 mins to diagnose, plus parts, plus the actual fixing it..if i could at least get it diagnoased by one of those guys id be happy..if we could actually fix id be ecstatic.
3.8--im very ummm...i guess the word is dumb when it comes to this stuff and i have little confidence when it comes to fixin cars.

regardless if the pulley makes noise or not, replacing an original
pulley is a very wise idea with the mileage of most of our riv's.
countless members on here will tell you it's not a good day when the
idler shrapnel's, tearing up the belts. and the other pulleys usually
follow suit shortly after, so replacing all of them at once is good
insurance.

normally a chirping sound that goes away/get louder with change in rpm and temp is symptomatic of a worn out tensioner. a worn idler bearing makes a more metallic sound.

best thing to do is remove the s/c belt and see if the chirping/noise goes away. then you know which of the sets of idler/tensioners it is. next step is to remove the belt and feel each of the pulleys for rough rotation and/or noise. same as you would check the bearing on a roller blade or skateboard wheel.

HTH's, but i'd be more than happy to take a look at it if you can hold off till the 6th. if you can diagnose it yourself and get the parts ready i'll show you how to replace them on the 6th instead.

thanks matt..whats HTH? i really dont drive much..so i can hold off...i barely put on 30-50 miles a week.
id rather have that replaced then do the FWI. i could prolly manage that without much help. but i will do my best to try and diagnose it myself...

do u need tools to take the belt on and off a pulley/tensioner?or can u just slide it on and off?

HTH = hope that helps.

you will need a 15mm socket and ratchet to take off the belts if they are like the 96+ motors.

95 s/c. everythin runs on one belt.

I removed the belts when i changed my coupler and figured out my alternator is whats squeaking...So I would advise playing around with the pulleys and spinning them to see which is bad.

An alternator that is failing mechanically can be diagnosed by touch. If it is hotter than the parts around it, it needs replaced. When my alternator failed, it made a low-pitched whine very much like the supercharger.

Well I'm not sure if mine really needs to be replaced, but I'm pretty sure the noise is coming from a worn bearing so it is probably wise to do so anyway. It still functions but the noise is quite embarrassing.

L67 wrote:

Well I'm not sure if mine really needs to be replaced, but I'm pretty sure the noise is coming from a worn bearing so it is probably wise to do so anyway. It still functions but the noise is quite embarrassing.

i think we might be havin the same problem...yes..that noise is definetly embarrasing! that noise can brings a persons morale down quite a bit. like u cant take care of a car.

You can also diagnose tensioner pulley's by feel to see if they are very hot...

Bert

Quote :

i think we might be havin the same problem...yes..that noise is definetly embarrasing! that noise can brings a persons morale down quite a bit. like u cant take care of a car.

Whatever you do, don't replace anything until you know for sure what's the problem. Diagnose first. Nothing's worse for morale than replacing perfectly good parts!

the noise from the SC might be the Coupler. from my understanding...they tend to break down. my coupler is bad..makes a bird chirping noise.

Mine makes the bird chirp, too. It comes and goes - have narrowed it down to the tensioner, not the coupler, which sounds more like marbles in a coffee can.

AA wrote:

Mine makes the bird chirp, too. It comes and goes

why does the noise come and go? ive noticed that too..sometimes ill start the car hear nothing...other times ill start it and its faint...some its super loud. sometimes the noise will change while driving.