Squeaky Belts, Alternator, A/C Compressor, etc...

Okay... Some of you might remember my thread back in December - the belts on my car were squeaking. So I brought the car to Pep Boys where they told me the belts needed to be replaced. So they replaced them.

A week later, the belts start squeaking again and now I'm right back where I started. I went to Pep Boys again today and they took a look at the car. Apparently, when the car is cold, that's when the belts squeak (which makes sense, except when I go to work in the morning - they squeak the least - literally for a fraction of a second). They said, when the gave me new belts, the car was warm and so when it tested out, they didn't squeak - but there was still a week after that where they didn't give me any trouble!

As you can see, this is frustrating.

So today, they tell me that it could be the alternator - and it could also be the a/c compressor. They tell me the alternator is the cheaper of the two fixes. They tell me there's no way to tell which one it is. So the guy prices out the new alternator and tells me I'm looking at $350. I told him to give me my car back.

I drove across the street to Advanced Auto Parts - where they ran a free diagnostic on both my battery and my alternator - and everything checked out fine. So I'm only left with the a/c compressor - and if I wouldn't pay $350 for the alternator, you can rightly assume I won't pay whatever a new a/c compressor costs.

Is there any other way out, or am I just going to have to continue to piss people off who are within earshot of my car when I start it up. Can I just disconnect the a/c compressor and be without hot or cold air...? That's probably not a wise decision since I need a defroster. Any suggestions...? I'm at my wit's end with this squeaky nonsense.

 

I'll fix your car for free. I just need you to supply me with some tools. A sledgehammer, baseball bat, ball peen hammer, 10 M-80s, and a pick ax.

 

I think Gus has all of that stuff in the trunk of a Cadillac he keeps parked behind some bushes a few blocks from his "office"...

 

Are the alternator and A/C compressor on different belts? If they are take off one belt at a time and see when the noise goes away. If not, get a hose like a couple of feet of heater hose and get a friend to do whatever it is that makes the belts make noise. Put the hose to your ear and listen to the suspected components. The hose will cut most of the surrounding noises and concentrate on what it is pointed at. You should be able to narrow it down that way.

 

umm you left the subject out of that sentence.....

 

Brian...

The mechanic at Pep Boys took off one belt at a time, trying to see which one was the problem and he couldn't figure it out... It's possible they were just looking to screw me - that's certainly how I feel... Anyway, he said the actual bearings that make the belts move were really smooth, too and didn't make any noise... However, as far as I know, the car only has two belts - one of which is the power steering belt... So I guess the other belt controls both the a/c compressor and the alternator...

 

This is what I'd do. Break off a piece from a bar of soap. Stick in onto a screw driver. In the morning, pop your hood and start your car. If it is squeaking, rub the soap on your alternator belt. The underside. If the noise goes away, it is the belt. On the SR20DE engine in your sentra, the alternator is located on the left hand side of the engine, near the bottom, closest to the front.

 

Michael, please don't take this as sarcasm - but what kind of soap...? Is Ivory okay...? Seriously...

Second, the squeaking almost always eventually stops within 10 seconds, so do I just rub soap on the underside of the belt when I know it will squeak (not in the morning when I go to work, but in the afternoon, when I leave for lunch)... And sometimes it squeaks for a second and sometimes it squeaks for 30 - there doesn't seem to be any method to the madness... If I constantly applied soap to the underside of the belt, would that just keep it from squeaking...? The belts were replaced on 12/27/2005, so it doesn't seem possible that it could be the belt...

 

Yep, as long as it is a hard piece of soap it will work. You could rub it on anytime , as long as the engine is running and if it goes away, it goes away. Also, on the sr20de engines, the belts are prone to wear quickly.

 

It usually goes before I would have time to get out of the car and walk around to the side of the engine bay where the belts are... Will the soap be a permanent fix for the squeak...? Doubtful, probably... Will putting it on even after the belts stop squeaking help to keep them from squeaking in the future...?

Pardon my ignorance, but what's SR20DE...? Is that the type of engine in my Sentra...? It's an '01 SE, 2.0 liter - does that make any difference...?

 

Yep, SR20DE is the engine code nissan used for the 2.0L engine that came in U.S sentras. The soap would not be a perm fix, as soon as it wears off the squeaking will come back. Yes, if applied to the belt, and if the belt is the cause of the squeak, it will stop it from squeaking in the future.

 

So if it turns out to be the belts, what should I do...? I'm thinking drive my car right through the window of Pep Boys' service department - what do you think...?

 

shell out the cash and get a high quality one from your nissan/infiniti dealer, or keep rubbing soap on it

 

I'll take that as a "no" for driving the car into the store...

Shelling out the cash is what I want to avoid... I could easily go to an independent and probably get the work done cheaper... The problem is, after having the guy at Advanced Auto Parts run a diagnostic and both the battery and alternator check out, I'm worried that if I spend the money to replace the alternator, the belts will still squeak... And if an alternator job is $350 - I can only imagine what an a/c compressor job is going to cost...!

 

Yeah, I see what you mean. Just try the soap thing and if it works, we know its the belt, and just keep rubbing soap on it. Don't put too much on @ a time.

 

I'll get some soap tomorrow and start "soaping" the belt... We'll see wht happens... Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it...

 

NEVER go to Pep Boys again.

Take it to a local and have the belts tightened.

 

Already did the "push the belt down with my finger test" and they seem pretty tight... They're definitely taut - but I don't know how tight they should be... I won't ever go to Pep Boys again, you can count on that...

 

There is some stuff specifically made for silencing belt squeaks and it is called "Belt Dressing". There are several makers and it normally comes in a spray can. Buy some of that for $5.00 and give it a try before having the belts replaced with better quality ones. It's likely that this will solve the problem in a similar manner as the soap, but will last longer.

My guess is that the rubber used in the PepBoys-sourced belts is of the cheap variety and prone to squeaking. Another thing to try would be taking the belts off and using steel wool and brake cleaner to clean the belt tracks on the pulleys.

>8^)
ER

 

I assume ur power stearing fluid if full, no???

Every time i start to hear the belts i know it time to refill mine.

 

Trevor, I'll check the power steering fluid, but I doubt that's the problem...


Erik, I bought belt dressing before I had the belts replaced back in December... The belt dressing worked as well as putting out a fire with gasoline... The guy at Advanced Auto Parts said he had the same problem...

 

Take it to a local and have the belts loosened.

 

LOL...!


Oddly enough, since I had them inspected at Pep Boys, there hasn't been much squeaking going on... We'll see how long that lasts...

 

If you are convinced that it is the belts making the noise, and the new belts are properly tensioned and fitted, then my only guess would be that you have a warped pulley or a bent (or loose) accessory bracket causing the belt to be out of line.

 

Well, inexplicably, they've seemed to quiet down since I was last at Pep Boys... We'll see long this lasts...