SmileyG3

Every time I start up my car in the morning or after work (when the engines cold) a loud screaming and screaching is coming from my fan belt area. After the car warms up the noise goes away....the belt is fairly new and not loose. Plus it is especially loud with the a/c on? It is a 95 LT1.

j8ear

I suspect a pulley bearing on one of the belt driven components.

Alternator, AC Compressor, Air Pump, PS pump...etc.

-bear

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onetime2

I will say the belt needs replacing (even new ones can be bad) or it's out of adjustment (perhaps when the new one was put on the pulleys got out of alignment).

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tfpfreak

Could be the Clutch on the front of the a/c compressor! What kind of car?

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tkkfan

Lube the belt with silicone grease. You can get silicone grease at any dealer(they will just give it to you--it comes in brake pad boxes) The belt is dry and probably needs replacing soon. Unfortunately lubing the belt is the only solution other than replacing. It will dry the belt out in time tho.

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merkerguitars

Take the belt off and turn each of your accesories to make sure they turn correctly. Note the water pump shouldn't turn to easy.

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SmileyG3

It is a 1995 Pontiac Firehawk LT1

mazak

turn ac on and off when the problem occurs,any differance? also belt tensioner,has a bearing as well. merker has a great idea as well. good luck and keep us posted!!

joe1813

Look at the accessories that the belt drives. The noise is likely to be caused by the belt slipping. The frequency of occurrences will increase untill the component fails. If you can find what is causing the belt to slip, you may be able to replace it ebfre it makes you walk...

SmileyG3

Well I had some time to look at it this weekend and I noticed that one of the hoses going to the water pump was routed across one of the pulleys, so i removed it to re-route it and noticed that the hose had been worn down in two places from the pulley....after i re-routed it i started her up and no noise so I let it run for a while and nothing.....I then greased the belt like TKKFAN suggessted and started her up again and still nothing, so I was pretty happy......This morning I started it up to go to work and the sreaching was louder than it has ever been, so I am going to look again tonight, I have also stopped driving it. Thanks all for the help.

Scorps

Humm thats odd..I hate it when you think you fix the problem then it comes back....If you can't find out want wrong go get a mechanic to look at it!

3dwerner

I had the same problem with my camaro.. Try replacing the belt, it did the trick for me. It only screached when it was cold. If not the belt then check out the tensioner assembly, The belt and assembly will run you about $75. Money well spent the AcDelco part numbers you want are 6k642 (about$20) and tensioner assembly number 38145(about $50) make sure you use quality parts or you will get what you pay for

SmileyG3

well, while changing the belt I realized that my problem was the alternator....the small little fan on the front of the alternator is rubbing against the metal front of the alternator making that loud screaching noise....is there any way to fix it with buying a new alternator?

Scorps

Try bending it a little if you can?...but thats what I would do and I fuck thing up a lot because I don't think before I do them

poof

What <b>PainTrain</b> said. Is the fan bent? What bent it? Is the bearing in the alternator worn and allowing the shaft to move?

Also, never lube your belts. Belts should be replaced, not dressed, (belt dressing). The money you spend on belt dressing should go toward a new belt. When a belt becomes glazed, replace it. Belt dressing, or other lubes, merely soften the rubber and delay the inevitable.

It is not easy to troubleshoot over the phone, even harder on the internet.

You need to determine why the alt. fan is now hitting.

If the fan is hitting when cold, it should hit when warm also. The clearance is not so much that operating temps will make much difference.

Replace the alternator with a lifetime warranty from a local/national parts house. Replace the belt also, and check the other belts while you are already under the hood. If one is worn, the others might be worn as well. Make sure the alt. mounts are tight, and very importantly,aligned, use the spacer for the fan from the old alt. and look down from the top and make sure all the belts are aligned as I said before. Don't overtighten the belt as that will just help wear the alt. bearings prematurly.

If you can twist the belt upside down in its longest span, it is too loose, but, it should not be as tight as a banjo string either. Your owners manual should have the info you need.