Screeching Pulleys

Last night I heard this horrible screeching sound coming from the passenger side of the engine. I popped the hood and it sounds like its coming from one of the pulleys. The weird thing is that it would screech for about 2-3 seconds and then would quiet down for 2 seconds and then repeat all over again. Would I hurt anything by spraying a little WD-40 on those bearings to see if that quiets them down?

Thanks for the help!

wd on the belt will make it worse/slip.remove the belt & turn pullies by hand to see whats worn.you can start the engine w/belt off to see if noise goes away.if it does
you've narrowed it down.

wd on the belt will make it worse/slip.remove the belt & turn pullies by hand to see whats worn.you can start the engine w/belt off to see if noise goes away.if it does
you've narrowed it down.

That's not a bad idea. Is there a lubricant available that is appropriate to be used on those pulleys?

you should'nt need any its ussally a sealed bearing.but WD 40 is ok.

WHy is it screeching? Is a pulley seized or is the belt loose?

WHy is it screeching? Is a pulley seized or is the belt loose?

If by seized you mean stuck and not spinning, no, they're all spinning just fine (so it appears). The belt looks fine, everything looks completely fine, its just that awful sound like a rusty chainsaw. I'm probably going to take it in because its 8 degrees outside, its dark by the time I get home from work and I just don't have the time or means to mess with it right now. I just hope its nothing major. Sooner or later this car is going to run out of things to go out. :shakehead

Where they are sealed bearings, oiling them is probably not going to do a whole lot, but I wonder if by chance it can make a noticeable difference once I spray some on the problem-maker; just enough to single it out. Probably not, I dunno.

for around $20, a Mechanics Stethoscope would be your best friend right now. it is by far the best "value for your money" tool i have ever bought

edit: just found one here for $4....
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_385487_385487

for around $20, a Mechanics Stethoscope would be your best friend right now. it is by far the best "value for your money" tool i have ever bought

edit: just found one here for $4....
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_385487_385487


A what??? :confused: I have never heard of anything like that before! Sounds extremely interesting though! For some reason that link isn't working here at work, so I will definitely check it out when I get home! Thank you so much for posting!

if i had to guess, I'd say its the tensioner. did you figure anything out yet?

No, nothing yet. I was actually looking at stethoscopes online and they look like a handy tool to have. I wonder if there's anywhere locally that would carry them for a reasonable price.

I would be jumping for joy if it was just the tensioner pulley. It was by pure chance that I discovered the idler pulley had disintigrated this past summer and I replaced it with a metal one instead of the plastic factory one. When I saw it, the pulley was just melted down to the bearing and bolt that held it on (totally seized). That was easy to diagnose. :lol:

instead of buying a stethoscope...if you wanted to be cheap, just use a long extention. works just as well :2cents: just put it up to the pulley and listen.

instead of buying a stethoscope...if you wanted to be cheap, just use a long extention. works just as well :2cents: just put it up to the pulley and listen.

Extension? Extension of what? :eek7: Just like a hose or something?

So on the way home the check engine light came on: P0420. I checked the belt and all seems fine (aside from the screeching).

The funny thing is I found out after reading this (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=971776) that my wife completely topped off the gas tank (to the gas cap) last night and its sounding like that might be the source of the code. I'm going to clear it and see what happens. Told my wife not to top off gas tanks anymore. :wink:

Extension? Extension of what? :eek7: Just like a hose or something?

lol, no...a ratchet extension. I've used that before, or even a long screwdriver.

lol, no...a ratchet extension. I've used that before, or even a long screwdriver.

:confused: how's that going to help you isolate where the sound is coming from? Do you just touch it to the pulley and it's supposed to make a bunch of noise or vibration when you touch it on the problem child? :eek7:

I'm going to reset that 420 code and see if it comes on again now that I've burned a little gas. I hope that's all it was. :banghead:

:confused: how's that going to help you isolate where the sound is coming from? Do you just touch it to the pulley and it's supposed to make a bunch of noise or vibration when you touch it on the problem child? :eek7:

put the extension up to the bolt that holds the pulley on and listen through the extension, or screwdriver. you should be able to hear grinding, or something to that effect.

I'm going to reset that 420 code and see if it comes on again now that I've burned a little

:smokin: :lol2:

put the extension up to the bolt that holds the pulley on and listen through the extension, or screwdriver. you should be able to hear grinding, or something to that effect.

Ah, gotcha.

I would say its the SC tensioner pulley. The spring in the tensioner could be going bad or its dried out. When the spring dries out its harder to remove the belt because the tensioner spring is more resistant. I took mine off, cleaned it up and sprayed PB Blaster into the coil. It really loosed/de-squeaked the spring.

I'll probably find out tomorrow what the deal is. I'll make sure to post back. Last call for all bets! ;)

Last call for all bets! ;)

a tensioner or idler pulley, if i had to pick one, i'd guess tensioner

a tensioner or idler pulley, if i had to pick one, i'd guess tensioner

I'll put my :2cents: on the tensioner haha

BINGO!

Tensioner pulley! Good job guys, I'm impressed! Please contact Tim and he'll send you your bet winnings. :lol2:

Ah, about that..... I have a bit of a MOD Addiction. All the betting money has been spent on MODs for my GTP.

Couple of things. First the bearing is nothing fancier than a double-sealed 62XX* bearing. If you are in desperation (which you are not but eventually someone will be) I'd attempt to use a medical syringe to inject some lube (whatever ya got) thru the rubber seal and between the races.

Next I have a suspicion that the pulley could be repaired by pressing in a new bearing...but typically it isn't worth it to find out. As I recall, replacing both tensioner arms and all the idler pulleys on my GTP was around $60 total from rockauto last I checked.


* 62XX refers to a series of single row ball bearings commonly used in industry, ala 6202, 6203, 6204, 6209, etc. Made in high volumes worldwide for all types of applications.

dont make the same mistake i did. i bought a whole new tensioner for around $75 when i learned later i could have just gotten the pulley for $18

dont make the same mistake i did. i bought a whole new tensioner for around $75 when i learned later i could have just gotten the pulley for $18

ouch! wont they let you return it? FYI the whole assy is a pain the the a$$ to change.

dont make the same mistake i did. i bought a whole new tensioner for around $75 when i learned later i could have just gotten the pulley for $18


Aw ccccrraaaaapppppp! Oh well, lesson learned I guess. :disappoin

ouch! wont they let you return it? FYI the whole assy is a pain the the a$$ to change.

it was a month or 2 after that i foud it out. my old tensioner was long gone by then
the job wasnt TOO bad

yeah, its not all that bad i suppose. more of a PITA than anything. after doing my first one, i will be sure to order the plastic elbow too because of course they broke and the tensioner assy didnt come with new ones for some reason :confused:

hmmm, mine came with 2 new plastic elbows, o-rings included.

The pulleys on this car are kind of crappy IMO. I had one seize up and it melted off, ruined the belt and another pulley with it. They are cheap and easy to replace so dont wait and wish you hadnt.