2001 H6 LL Bean belt/pulley squeak

[DRJONESINKY]

I have a 2001 LL Bean, 95,000 miles. On a short drive last night I could smell something becoming hot. On starting the car this morning, I have a high-pitched squeak or chirp coming from the front end, seems to be either the serpentine belt or one of the pulleys. The belt was replaced in summer of 2006 and appers to be in good shape.

Does anyone have any ideas about what could be causing this sound? I would be most thankful for any help that you can give me. Many thanks.

DRJ

[Bonzo22]

It sounds like one of the pulleys are seizing up causing your belt to squeal. Turn your car on and look at your pulleys. Also check the belt for wear and tear now that you have this issue. Good luck.

[bertmaster2000]

funny you should mention this (i know your post is from a couple months ago!), but last night my wife's car did the same. her car is the H6 with about 113K miles on it.

last night I took off the serpentine belt and spun all the "free wheeling" pulleys. the idler pulley definitely had bad bearings, so i picked up a new one today at the dealership for $55 (the correct idler pulley was not available from an aftermarket company, so i had not choice but to go to the dealership).

oh boy, it'll be fun to replace that pulley tonight ;-)

[bertmaster2000]

just thought i would post again today to let you know the idler pulley replacement i mentioned in my previous post took me about 30 minutes from start to finish. i was please that i did not need to remove the radiator to have enough clearance for my 14mm wrench!

cheers.

[Bonzo22]

bertmaster2000,

Did replacing the idler pulley do the trick? That's still a cheap fix when you did it yourself. Imagine what the labor would have been at shop.

[bertmaster2000]

Bonzo22,

Yes, replacing the idler pulley 100% fixed the problem.