Hey all, probably not going to blow anyone's mind here, but I am as confused as hell to my issue with the serpentine belt on my car. The belt started squealing the other day, it had only been on the car for a couple of years. I changed it when I replaced the alternator and tensioner pulley. I suspected that the belt was defective, but really didn't show any signs except being loose. I went to NAPA to get another, replaced and new belt still squealed. After checking pulleys for slack and ease, I replaced the belt and noticed the tensioner was bottomed out, meaning with the belt on I could rotate the tensioner pulley with my hand. After checking all that I could and knew the tensioner still was stiff to swing up, i went back and got a belt that was 1" shorter. I was able to get this belt on, just barely but easy enough. The tensioner is almost at full up, but the belt is on and does not squeal. I have no clue where the slack is coming from but surely is going to pose a problem in the future, so would like to get it straight. Any help would be appreciated.

 

I wonder if the replacement alternator had a smaller pulley?

 

That is a very good question. Never crossed my mind to check and pretty sure I canned it. Any idea to the diameter of factory replacement alt? I had difficulty with finding my replacement alt, was shipped wrong one and had to get another from elsewhere and was so in a hurry to fix it I didn't even check. This could very well be the answer and will try to look into it further. Thanks Panda!

 

Sorry I meant PAhonda, spellcheck....ha!

 

Even if the pulley was smaller, I still wonder how it ran fine for those years and all of the sudden a new belt would not fix.
Things are getting weirder, I found the connecting rod for driver electric seat forward/backward to be just laying on carpet. Have no clue how this came out without undoing some parts, it will not just pop back in because of length.
I let a friend borrow it for a day and and now all this, wondering if it's connected in some way.

 

The belt may be slipping due to excess load from AC compressor, alternator, or PS pump. Suggest removing belt and testing each component by hand for excessive rotation effort.

good luck

 

I agree with Texas Honda,,,,,do a check to see if any thing is getting tight and causing the belt to slip. There is no way that the belt could run two years without giving problems already.


Tommy

 

Thanks guys, when new belt of correct length was taken back off due to squeal, I checked ac, altenator and tensioner pulley for wobble, non found. Also all pulleys were very easy to turn, grooves were good and cleaned before reinstalling belt. PS is a separate belt all to itself.

2000 Honda Accord EX 98,000 miles

 

How about AC compressor? When the car is turned off, the compressor clutch is disengaged and its pulley spins free.

Check to see whether the squealing happens only when the compressor clutch engages (you can see the "hub" of the compressor pulley spinning). Also... does the AC drag down the power or rpm excessively? I wonder if the problem is really in the AC.

 

Thank you JimBlake, it was squealing when the ac was on, but I feel it was due to the tension on the belt being loose. With the belt I am using now, I am having no problems with squeal or rpm loss when compressor is engaged. Still baffled how I could even put a 1" shorter belt on, but it's working.