Thread: noisy serpentine belt

Originally Posted by edddo

the new dayco belt I put on about 20000 ago has always been a bit chirpy and recently became worse. So I took it off and cleaned the pulleys with metho(which seemed ok) and cleaned the belt (which seemed ok) and put it back on. It was worse than ever. So I put my old non dayco spare on and it is perfect. The old one is a bit longer than the dayco as the allignment marks on the tensioner are closer together. Why are some belts noisy and is there a fix?

also, how do add my lost signature?
Vehicle is a 98tdi disco
many thanks

Mate , chucked my new dayco belt the black one with the shiny surface, as it was a shocker for noise put another one on (brown) with a different texture on the outside not a prob since.

Cheers Sumo

In all probability it is probably the tensioner and not the belt. the plastic sleeve between the aluminum pieces falls away and the metal to metal squeek sounds like a noisy belt.

Mine was a bit noisy.

It was definitely the belt, not the pulleys.

When I washed the engine bay, it became worse.

I tried most of the things suggested on the forum, but nothing helped until I tried talcum powder.

That was a couple of months ago.

Haven't heard a cheep out of it in that time.

Originally Posted by vnx205

Mine was a bit noisy.

It was definitely the belt, not the pulleys.

When I washed the engine bay, it became worse.

I tried most of the things suggested on the forum, but nothing helped until I tried talcum powder.

That was a couple of months ago.

Haven't heard a cheep out of it in that time.

...yep mine too is definitely the belt as the tensioner is quite new and the chirping disappears immediately when you put some water on the belt...keen to try the talcum powder as dont want to chuck a good belt...maybe a light sand to change the texture of the surface of the dayco belt would also work?

Sumo...where did you get this brown belt and what brand?..thanks

spray on some belt grip/conditioner - works a treat...

Got this reply from British 4WD Tassie and I quote...
"Hello,
there are 2 length belts for the 300 tdi, I need your VIN or year to quote. we supply Lemforder belts which we have found to be the quietest.
The problem is not necessarily the belt causing the noise. The tensioner has a black plastic wearing surface between the 2 halves which wears at an angle, the tensioner pulley then sits skewed and pushes the belt forward. this causes the front edge of the belt to fray and squeal.
Have a look at the tensioner to see if it is sitting at an angle. If you look at where the 2 halves meet, if there is a shiny metal burred edge then the tensioner needs replacing.
Hope this helps
regards
Alan Howard
Ph. 03 6234 9444"

The other thing he said was that there were two diameters of alternator pulley on this model, and there are two belts only 15mm different in length.

BTW he also sells the tools to do the timing belt change.

Hope he dosent mind me broadcasting his phone number !

Originally Posted by feraldisco

spray on some belt grip/conditioner - works a treat...

Does the spray attract dirt?
What is it called - brand name?
Would any belt supplier have it?
Cost?

Thanks, Nigel

available at any auto shop, haven't found it to attract dirt, just make sure you avoid too much overspray and avoid contact of hand/can with moving parts (easiest to get good coverage with motor running but you could apply without motor running if you were patient). Added advantage with manually-adjusted belts (e.g. 200Tdi) is that you can run looser belts for reduced bearing wear.