Questions about loud screeching.

[dngdong]

I want to make sure I am not being taken advantage of so I would like someones opinion. I went into the store and when I came out and started my 97 GTP my car was screeching really loud like it needed power steering fluid, I checked, and the fluid levels are great. The noise does not change when I turn the wheels so it can't be steering. It starts as soon as the car is turned on and gets louder when I accelerate, it is more of a whine now, needless to say I took it to the shop, the men there would not let me observe what they were doing ,so I watched through a window, they kept shrugging as if they had no clue,then came back and said my belt tensioner,idler pulley and serpentine belts needed to be replaced, they want to charge me $550.00 to do it. I am no car geneous but I have no problem getting my hands dirty. Is there a way for me to check for myself if they need to be replaced? Could these guys really diagnose my car in 5 minutes without pulling anything off?

[BNaylor]

Probably, just to get your money. $550 is too much for preventive maintenance type work. Checking for drive belt, tensioner and pulley noise to include the supercharger is easy and DIY. You may need a second person to start engine while you observe and listen with hood open.

You'll need to break down the two different drive belt systems. One for the supercharger and on the main system that drives the power steering pump, AC compressor, alternator, water pump, etc. Process of illimination. The SC and main drive have their own tensioner and idler pulleys too.

Start by removing the supercharger belt. Then fire engine up and see if noise is still present. It is the easiest thing to do and could be the source of whining.

[dngdong]

Would it be stupid to continue driving it while it is making this noise? I sprayed a belt dressing on the belts to see if it would reduce the noise but it does not, when I take the belts off what should I expect to hear?

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by dngdong

Would it be stupid to continue driving it while it is making this noise? I sprayed a belt dressing on the belts to see if it would reduce the noise but it does not, when I take the belts off what should I expect to hear?

I wouldn't say it is stupid but any noise that you can hear and that loud is not good. In a worse case you could break down.

Again, start with removing the supercharger drive belt and see if noise is still present. If it goes away then you have a noisy supercharger, tensioner or idler pulley. If it doesn't go away then the noise is something associated with the main serpertine drive system. Could be a tensioner, pulley, or anything that drives off of the main system as mentioned in my prior post.

[dngdong]

with the belts taken off the tensioner and idler pulley have a little wiggle to them, you can put your hands on them and they have some play. Is that normal? or that an Uh Oh?