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sqeak, squeak, squeak, squeak when idling

740TurboPerformance

New member
Joined
Mar 1, 2003
Location
California, USA
I have a squeak squeak squeak squeak noise at idle, it started gradually happening where when just started when cold the noise would occur then go away. Started it today and the noise did not go away even after warmed up, sitting at idle you can hear it. Along with the squeaking you can kind of hear a light scraping noise.


The Crankshaft Pulley is new, all front seals are new, no leakage I can see, Timing Belt and Tensioner replaced recently, all new V-Belts and properly adjusted, Power Steering recently flushed (is currently working fine). The only thing I can think of is that the A/C Compressor went out a little while ago and started smoking when it was on with a bad electrical burning smell, I haven't been using the compressor at all.



I poked my head around and can hear the noise the most from the Alternator and A/C Compressor area, I'm assuming it is one or the other.


Can you just pull the A/C Compressor Belt or does it need to be on for some reason.............? I'd like to eliminate this as a possibility, then if not I will assume it is maybe the Alternator.



Thanks for any information that may help...............!
 
Soap up the belts (bar, or liquid) one at a time and see if that changes the tone of the sound. Silicone spray will also work if you dont want to use soap.

If that dosent change the tone, then try spraying the pullys with silicone.

A good way to detect a repeating sound is with a vaccuum cleaner hose (use it as you would a stethoscope). plug one ear, hold one end of the hose to the other ear and then probe aroud with the end of the hose untill you find exactally where the sound is originating. It can be hard sometimes to find exactally from where a noise is comming, because it may sound different echoing inside the hose than it does to the naked ear. You will ge tthe hang of it eventually.

I don't see why you would need to have the AC belt inplace, only to run the AC everynow and then to keep it functioning properly (like when you turn on hte defroster). I dont have my AC belt on right now because i had to cut it to get to the altinator belt for a quick change on the road side.

GL
 
My alternator squeaks just as you describe, although just at idle. As soon as I rev it it goes away. I've run for about a year with it, and other than a minor annoyance and embarrasment, it hasn't caused any troubles or gotten any worse.

Just my 2 cents.

You can use a tube to poke around in the engine compartment to listen for stuff. Just put one end to your ear, and use the other end as a quasi-directional microphone. Just don't get it caught up in the belts. Bad shit happens. Trust me, I had to learn that one the hard way. :oops:

-A
 
If you remove the alt and pop out the rubber bushings you will probably find that they are quite squashed on one side. This can cause misalignment and squeals. I have gotten away with swapping the least worn ones with the most worn ones. If you note their current position/rotation you can install them with the unworn side where the worn side was or you could buy new ones. Clear as mud?
 
Pop 'er off, it won't hurt anything. If the A/C isnt working, may as well pull it out while your at it and get rid of that weight tooo :badboy:. Get around to the condensor at a later time when you get the rest right.
 
I also had a similar problem with my car not too long ago.
Changed all my belts (they were due anyway) and it persisted. Turns out that the bracket that holds up the exhaust pipe just after the flange lost a screw, and at idle the exhaust is moving enough to produce an irritating squeal noise.
 
thanks for the additional info............


yeah had all the acessory bushings replaced with poly replacements, it seems aligned ok but who knows........... My downpipe bracket has recently been replaced too............ but I'll check these things out anyway and probably cut the A/C belt to see if it helps, I know the upper bracket for the A/C is broken and it is slightly pulling forward because the bolt is stripped a bit, maybe this is the problem............. :e-shrug:
 
I also have this sound, **** my brick has been noisy lately ugh. Well did you figure out what this was. you hit the nail on the head with the sound its making.
 
I had that sound, sprayed water on the alt, gone. It dried off and the noise came back.
I had the original alt so eventually replaced the regulator inside it, put it on, noise gone. I think it was the bearings under load. The belt is now actually looser than with the previous alt and it's quiet. I had noticed earlier that the belt seemed to be jumpy when running like when it's too loose, but it was actually quite tight, too tight IMO, in an attempt to quiet it down.
 
Had a sound like that once and the pcv orifice at the manifold was plugged, the pressure caused a reed-like pulsing sound.
 
Fan blade interference?

Our new '75 245 has this problem.

It needs motor mounts, the rad fan sometimes scrapes the side of
the shroud. I've noticed it's worse going over bumps.

The '75 has a B20 with a steel fan, so I'm not too worried. My
last parts car had a plastic fan and the ends of the blades were
worn right off. I do need to fix this though, I don't want to
have to replace the shroud.

My '79 has a little squeal from the alternator, new belts made it
much better, but the new poly mounts will fix it, I think, once I
get around to installing them.
 
i have the same issue...a little chirp here and there. I replaced all the belts but the crank to AC is being a pain. I have tried adjusting tension with the little round spacers, and when i get 1 too many in there its as tight as a piano string, take 1 out and it is loose as the Hilton Heir.

I cant seem to get it right, so i just look straight when i start up cold while people are around :oops:
 
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