Belt Squeal

[yngw13]

it only happens on start up...its worse in wet weather conditions
stops happening after the morning throughout the day...

is it easy to change the belts?
can someone link me a guide? and tools needed

[Towncivilian]

Page MA-14 of the factory service manual has a belt routing diagram and loosening and tightening bolt locations. I've never changed my belts personally yet, so I don't have anything else to add. The bolts are probably 12 or 14mm.

[Chuck Tribolet]

I did my belts recently (at about 215,000 miles). They didn't squeal before but did after. I just kept cranking them tighter,
and finally it stopped. The colder the air temp, more likely it was to squeal on startup,

Chuck

[sroberts]

My belt squealed for months on startup, the dealer tightened it twice but it still squealed, I tried belt dressing, no luck there either. Finally I took it to a non-dealer shop, apparently with stronger mechanics, who tightened it well and the squealing stopped. Next time I'll follow Chuck's lead and do it myself.

[Towncivilian]

Never use belt dressings. All they do is cause the belt to slip.

I had a local shop put Goodyear Gatorback belts on since mine were apparently cracked and looked crappy. This was before I DIY'd, about two years ago and ~30k miles ago. They are still fine and quiet. I'll DIY next time, most likely with OEM belts. No idea when that'll be. About how many miles do you get per belt set, Chuck?

[yngw13]

tnx for the feedback guys!
tried putting bar soap...but it was temp fix

.....when replacing the belt does it go over and around the fan?

[Chuck Tribolet]

About how many miles do you get per belt set, Chuck?

About 215,000 miles.

Chuck

[yngw13]

lol....guess I'll w8

[Pathfound49]

Yup. The belt needs to be ridiculously tight to keep it from squealing. Most applications ask for a 1/2 inch of flex in the belt. The pathy is an exception.

[iPath]

I had this problem last winter. Sometimes the belts would squeel for nearly 5 minutes on start up when the temps got real low. I paid a shop over 100 bucks to change all the belts and it fixed the problem through the rest of that winter but now they've been starting to do it again, only for a brief second but I know once the temps get lower it will probably be a different story. So it's most likely a tension issue?

[Buzzman]

Had the same issue after a belt change a few years ago. Belts were changed in the summer, and all was well.
As soon as it got cold, they'd squeal on start-up or acceleration.
I tightened the s*** out of it, and it's been fine ever since.
Like Pathfound49 says, the Pathy seems to be an exception when it comes to tension..

[NocturnalPath]

Page MA-14 of the factory service manual has a belt routing diagram and loosening and tightening bolt locations. I've never changed my belts personally yet, so I don't have anything else to add. The bolts are probably 12 or 14mm.

Hey I tried the link but its dead, can you put it back up again please?

[Towncivilian]

MA section