Alt belt squealing like a madman

[PETC]

I can replace an alt belt in under 15 minutes...

[Mr Deuce]

yea its really easy to change the belts. it can be done without even jacking up the car. Although its so much easier without the wheel in the way

[Brokenline]

Originally Posted by PETC

I can replace an alt belt in under 15 minutes...

after reading about all your alt. belt stories, i totally believe that.

[aler_ka]

i got my from toyota for 10 dollar `` replace it .. very happy with it

[N8s93turbo]

Originally Posted by PETC

I can replace an alt belt in under 15 minutes...

wow, i'd love to watch you do it. I did mine and it took me 8hrs, most of the time trying to figure out how to get the new one on cuz the old one broke.

[MR2TRD1]

Originally Posted by N8s93turbo

wow, i'd love to watch you do it. I did mine and it took me 8hrs, most of the time trying to figure out how to get the new one on cuz the old one broke.

r u kidding me? That's a LONG time.

[N8s93turbo]

well the problem was with the belt thats in front of the alt belt. had to remove it first and that belt sucks

[PETC]

???

Just de-tension to AC pulley, which can be done from the top of the car with a 15mm (I think, might be a 14) and then the belt slides right off.

Takes 30 seconds.

[jon_mr2]

just replaced my alternator belt with a napa one because thats all i could buy in my hometown i was at. so i changed the belt and it was worn away bad, so i figured my squealing was cured. but now its been raining a lot lately, and man, the squealing is almost unbearable for about a few seconds which feels like minutes of embarrasing noise. so i was wondering if there could be anything else that could cause the noise?

jon

[jon_mr2]

oh yeah, could it be the ac side idle pulley making noise?

[Gairloch]

You probably just don't have the alternator belt tight enough.

[VTsuckah131]

that'd be my guess.

[Epic1]

whats the best way to tighten the alt belt? Ive been deeling with the squeeling for weeks now(despite changing belt and tightening the alt.s bolts which were loose) its only bad when any stress is put on the alt heater/ac power steering etc.

[Gairloch]

There is only one way to tighten the alternator belt

When I'm replacing belts I try to make sure and twist the belt before I take it off in order to get an idea for what tension it should be under. Anyone have a better method for setting belt tension?

[PETC]

The bolt that helps you tighten the alternator belt (the really long one) snapped in half on my alternator because it was threading off center of the hole on the other side, which I think actually was the thing that broke first then tweeked so the bolt would break.

Anyways, as confusing as that is, I found a solution. Leave the pulley loose, get a wood clamp



Exactly like that was the one I used.

Then take the non-threaded end and place it on the ledge on the alternator, anywhere you can get traction on it. Then slide the other end against the cross member, making sure the little swivel head is flush with the crossmember.

Then just start tightening. Feel the belt with either your hand or that useless tool-a-majob and then tighten the pulley.

Ta-Da! Mine no longer squeels.

[SirJohn]

Are you kidding me...a whole thread on tightening a belt. WOW. If it squeeks tighten it, if it doesn't stay tight after tensioning it, buy another belt. How hard can it be? Check tension and make sure it isn't any more than 1/4 inch when you push on it. done.

[PETC]

Hey, *******, sometimes there is more to a problem then a single variable, and you coming on here with 33 posts and telling us: "Geeze, an entire thread on a belt duurrrrr." just makes you look like a douche.

Sometimes it's not as simple as just tighten the belt, and I'm sure if you had even bothered to read the thread you'd see that the bolt that gives you the mechanical advantage to tighten the belt down has BROKEN, so it's not as simple as tighten it down.

I'm willing to bet you've actually never even touched your alternator belt on your MR2 anyways.

[SirJohn]

Hey asshat...I rebuilt the motor...by myself, I might know what I'm talking about. And I actually replaced the alternator belt last week. If there's a piece that's broken you replace/fix it. Simple eh? I didn't start with the belligerence's son, you did. I'm just awestruck that there's 2 pages of thread on a squeaky alternator belt. And if I cared what people thought of me I wouldn't have said it. Just for the record 1,113 posts doesn't necessarily mean you know more, I have few posts because I rarely have to ask anything.

[Luni]

Oh for the love of MR2s guys.

Think we can chill?

SirJohn obviously someone thought the need to have a 39 post thread on the belt, or it wouldnt be here.

Id be more inclined to believe maybe people are looking for any special hints, tricks, experiences with belts, bad brands, crappy pulleys, whatever.

And it isnt necessarily about how much you post, but these boards are about helping people, so if you know so much, or have experience in something YOU should be posting more to help people.

Your post wasnt necessarily the end of the world, and PETCs reaction wasnt any better, but I mean truly, it wasnt necessary. If we wanted a smartass ****ty response, wed have taken our cars to some mechanic inexperienced in dealing with MR2s.

Thats how I see it.

[PETC]

Oh, okay.