86 cierra belt squeal

[atakordie]

I've tried everything, but I keep getting a very loud and embarrasing belt squeal/squawk emmitting from underneath the hood of my cutlass sierra. The engine has been changed recently, but the problem was occurring before that, as I recall. The squeal is usually at idle speed, or commonly during acceleration up to around 30 mph (shift to 2nd gear). 99% of the time, the AC compressor is on when it is squealing, and turning the air off makes the squeal go away usually. I lose engine power when the belt is slipping then it begins to accelerate normally after the slipping stops.

I have changed belts, tightened the belts, and used that no-squeal spray, all in vain. I think this problem is also responsible for an alternator belt breaking. Is there anything I can do to make this stop?

[Chris Stewart]

Yep, mine's been doing the same thing for years.
3 things help minimize the noise:
Keep a new belt on it..you already got that.
Let the motor idle a coupla minutes after startup before turning on any fans or AC, this lets the alternator top off the battery after pulling it down with the starter.
Keep a very good battery in the car so the alternator can recharge it quickly.
That's really whats going on, the alternator pulls harder than the belt can hold.
A slightly bigger diameter alternator pulley would help but who knows what part number that would be?

[atakordie]

that's some good advice, thanks. If such a thing exists, I will probably search for a high-output alternator, at least higher than this car has, that will still work with the '86 and the correct belt sizes. I can tell that there isn't enough electrical power available, especially at night when you've got headlights on and you use the dome light and all the lights dim when the compressor comes on, or you press the brake, etc. If I find a solution, I'll post here.

[williambigbear]

well i have had the same problem and was lossing a charge over time the way that i fixed my squeal was fixing my power steering unit it had bent just a hair over and the pully wheel was hitting the alt belt and causeing the squealling and the belt to break bout every 3 weeks once i got the power steering back intoplace fixed all the problems

[Stormysdad]

Check your pulley's for proper alignment, and make sure the belts are routed right. I've actually seen 'mechanics' route belts so the second belt on the pulley was running backwards to the other belt. No it wasn't Mr. Goldwrench.

[Jeremy86]

Also if you want an extremely high output alternator for decent price. I got quoted for 250$ for a 200 amp alternator. More than ample enough for a normal car. I was going to be running 2400 watts RMS and then some PLUS the car and it would have been enough. ExessiveAmperage.com. Email nathan, he will help you out. Hey actually if you do email him, tell him there is a guy, Jeremy Gray (me) that is having him try to sell mine, tell him to see if you can get that one, it was for a 93 cutty ciera, he might cut you a break or something!

[atakordie]

I think there is a simple solution that has worked for me for the past few months. I am using Top Cog brand belts for all 3 belts. After replacing alternator after alternator, I finally just tightened the crap out of the alternator belt so that there was 1/4" deflection or less. It turns out that the belt was slipping almost all the time while driving, whether I could hear it or not, and I wasn't charging the battery as a result. This left me stranded a couple of times.
After tightening the belt up, I drove 2 days normal driving and then retightened to 1/4" deflection. After that for the next month, I retightened it every week. Now it has seemed to stop stretching and is charging correctly.