Thread: Want to sort out the notorious 300 tdi belt squeal!!

Lots of discussion here about the serpentine (alternator, water pump, P/S) belt maybe look elsewhere, I have had this same problem "belt squeak" with my previous '97 Disco Tdi and now my next Disco, a '98 Tdi.
The squeal in the '97 was due to a timing belt idler (Bend) pulley, the one that runs on the back of the timing belt opposite the tensioner pulley, I replaced it with a new one when I replaced the T-belt, noise gone !
The '98 had the same sort of noise when I picked it up from the previous owner, and I thought it was the same source, but after a few plays with starting the engine cold/hot, loading up the electrical system etc, I found that the noise was coming from the A/C compressor drive belt tensioner, the noise will always show up because whenever the engine is running that belt is driving the "free" member of the clutch mechanism, the noise came in at different revs depending on if the A/C was on or off, this is a far easier fix than the T-belt one and and worth a look.

Originally Posted by gazby

Lots of discussion here about the serpentine (alternator, water pump, P/S) belt maybe look elsewhere, I have had this same problem "belt squeak" with my previous '97 Disco Tdi and now my next Disco, a '98 Tdi.

The squeal in the '97 was due to a timing belt idler (Bend) pulley,

the one that runs on the back of the timing belt opposite the tensioner pulley, I replaced it with a new one when I replaced the T-belt, noise gone !
The '98 had the same sort of noise when I picked it up from the previous owner, and I thought it was the same source, but after a few plays with starting the engine cold/hot, loading up the electrical system etc, I found that the noise was coming from the A/C compressor drive belt tensioner, the noise will always show up because whenever the engine is running that belt is driving the "free" member of the clutch mechanism, the noise came in at different revs depending on if the A/C was on or off, this is a far easier fix than the T-belt one and and worth a look.

I had this changed on mine at one point too I'm glad I did simply because when they went in to the timing case they noted that the modification to the time case was never done....

Ahh.. The serenity!! One washer, One 15mm Socket and 5 minutes - wish I'd read about this 3 belts ago..

Cheers,
Chookie
'98 (quieter) 300Tdi Disco