Belt/tensioner Pulley Squeak

[DrLui]

Car 2001 RS Four M35 Stagea VQ25DET

Over the weekend i cleaned the under side of my engine of dirt grime and oil build up because my mechanic said that i needed to clean the oil build up off the motor to pass RWC.

So i got a few degreaser cans from Super Cheap and sprayed underneath the engine and then washed it off. Came up spotless. Now when the car is running there is a squeak/squeal from the belts, I'm unsure if it just the belt or also the tensioner pulley. I have sprayed a bit of belt lube and the sound goes away but then after the car has been siting for an hour or so the squeal comes back.

My question is, is there a way to determine whether its the belt or the pulley, and where is the best place to buy a belt/pulley

Thanks

Luis

Edited August 17, 2015 by DrLui

[GH05T]

if you made your belt wet, then it started squeeling, i would say its your belt.

tensioners make noise when the belt is over tightened.

[GH05T]

to answer your second question... Kudos motorsport.

[GTRPSI]

Spray something on the belts, tyre shine, WD40, whatever.....most car yards use tyre shine as its at hand, if it comes back, use a bit more, carefully try to apply it while the engine is running so it spreads evenly, try not to get caught in a belt, if your not comfortable, do it with the engine off.

Not something to worry about if your belts are tensioned correctly, cleaning the engine bay does not ruin your original belts, but check to see if they are cracked or damaged in case you should just replace them.

One thing that can be damaged with washing engine bays is idler pulley bearings, water can get into them and then they get noisy, its happened to me many times on different models of cars.

[DrLui]

Thanks for the info guys

After a bit more digging around I found that the idler pulley is a sealed unit and by spraying degreaser around the engine bay it is common to clean away the grease in the idler pulley. So to fix my problem i need to replace the pulley.

I went to Nissan and after a day and an age for him to find anything on the Stagea he finally finds the part and quoted my $115 and 2 weeks for them to get in in. After a quick Google search i found one on eBay for $40 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/171475121052?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Hopefully this fixes the problem

Also i have been using JP-Carparts.com to find the factory part numbers, shich has helped heaps. Here is the link I have been using (http://jp-carparts.com/nissan/figlist.php?maker=nissan&type=153&cartype=8)

Edited August 18, 2015 by DrLui

[scotty nm35]

So you sprayed all this oily crap on the belt and wonder why it's slipping? The belt needs to be dry or it won't grip the pulleys, there is no such thing as belt grip imo, or any other product that will clean contamination off the belt or pulleys. Cleaning it off now will take forever.

Should have just slapped a new set of belts on.

[DrLui]

I didn't spay any oil onto it, the only lube I used is tacky belt spray which keeps the belts from slipping. I cleaned the underside of the motor with degreaser which some ended up on the idler pulley and cleaned the grease from its bearings causing it to squeal

[scotty nm35]

The pressure washer sprayed the oil onto it, or it was the water and degreaser causing the slip. All you likely had to do was wait for the belts to dry.

That tacky belt grip won't be helping, that stuff is crap and will take a lifetime to get off. It will contaminate every new belt you put on until the residue is completely gone. I hate belt grip with a passion as you will understand if you try and clean the pulleys.

The bearings are rubber sealed, nothing will have got into the bearing. Its almost impossible to wash the grease from a sealed bearing unless you pop the covers off it.

[DrLui]

Didn't use a high pressure hose as I don't like using them in the engine bay. Only used a hose with no connection. In between me cleaning and using the belt lube was about 2 days (cleaned it on Saturday and sprayed it Monday) not sure how long it would take belts to dry but during that time the noise got louder.

When I spoke to the guy at Nissan he confirmed that it has happened on a few occasions that the bearings in the pulley have been dried due to engine cleaning.

Tge pulley only cost $40 and I will be ordering some belts as well as I don't know when they were last changed.

Edited August 18, 2015 by DrLui

[Hertz Donut]

That tacky belt grip won't be helping, that stuff is crap and will take a lifetime to get off. It will contaminate every new belt you put on until the residue is completely gone. I hate belt grip with a passion as you will understand if you try and clean the pulleys.

I'm nearly out of therapy from having been stupid enough to use it on my Commodore once. It took 3 belts and a new pulley to finally get rid of the crap.

On the positive side though, it's great for repainting parts of your engine bay in a splattered black colour.

[junkie]

That belt grip stuff was one of the worst products I ever bought. Used it once, in the bin it went - the squeal from the belts became worse and more random

Gotta be careful with any other greasy sprays too, don't want that stuff getting into the aircon compressor clutch

[zelda]

Had same problem, replaced belts and bearing, the belts were more expensive than the bearing but it's a fairly simple task even if you took it to a mechanic it still won't cost an arm. Problem fixed, don't waste your time with remedies that don't actually fix anything