Serpentine Belt Chirp/Squeal: in-depth Diagnosis 

That's a nice kit. Eric did a good job explaining the kit as well, but it was good you got to confirmed your pulleys are all aligned. That was a great visual on the differences between the China harmonic balancer and the OEM harmonic balancer. Wow, Dorman strikes again.

I have the gates kit used alot when installing power steering pumps .Seen you at Tst was a great day.Didnt get a chance to talk to you talked to eric and keith you all look shorter on the videos.Wanted to thank you all Ive been wrenching almost 40 years and a shop owner for 30 of those years its refreshing to see guys on youtube that are true pros.so much bad info. On yt from a lot of people that dont have a clue.thanks again for having integrity maybe I will see you at super Saturday in october

You would make a perfect candidate for a position where you have to figure out manufacturing/electrical/driveability issues. Basically the people who come up with TSB's. Very sharp indeed my friend. Thank you for the video!

Very interesting aspects of belt maintenance. Thanks for taking us along for the diagnosis and fix!

dude you're the man, always going to the quantum level of mechanics

Great job Ivan and it was great to meet you and the team at TST earlier today.

Great video and diagnostics Eric will be proud.

Ivan, Thank you for this and the previous video - very informative. I have essentially the same Zetec engine in my 02 Focus wagon (5-speed!, 108K miles) and had the same engine in my (now defunct) 01 ZX2 (which was also a 5-speed) that had over 274K miles on it and ran fine except the body was completely rusted out after 15 New England (eastern MA) winters. Hope you are doing well with the new job - vibration/spectral analysis sounds very interesting. God bless Paul

As soon as you said Dorman Harmonic Balancer, I knew what your problem was. Kept watching anyway.

The "general" car repair type of videos are awesome.

Always love an intelligent video. Hating on Dorman ...gotta love it. Bought a master cylinder once. Learned my lesson. OEM or the junk yard!

The light overhead :D. Thanks for the upload Ivan!

you and Eric o. are the best on RU-vid.

Awesome video! Been wrenching a long time and never thought of this.

Excellent video. Superb diagnosis!!!!

Thank you Ivan. Good job. Bless You for sharing.

That was pretty cool, Ivan!

Well Ivan I learnt how important it is examine your ‘v’ belt pulley profiles and contact wear pattern. I have a car that struggles when at idle to generate enough power especially if the main lights are on (the battery light flickers). No squealing from the belt but it is no evident that bottom of the OEM belt grooves are glazed and the after market alternator pulley shows wear on the tips.

great job. looking forward for replacement spring video

That's funny, I put a Doorman harmonic balancer on my Ranger, 1 year later it squeaks on cold starts when it's cold outside. I would have never thought the crappy balancer was to blame.

After spending a few miles in the Mystique I can vouch for the car being squeak free, runs like a top!! Nice find and fix Ivan.

Great vid. Diag was great ,you had reduced tension along with less surface area. Outcome squealing. That poor little Merc is really proving it's worth. Great haircut as well. Take care

Excellent root cause analysis there Ivan... 2 thumbs up!! Keep up the good work... :)

I actually sanded my smooth pulleys. Had that melted rubber on them and generally looked like glazed metal surface. Some very fine grit sandpaper made it look new again.

Well, at least you have a nice paperweight harmonic balancer now. The coil spring breakage issue seems common in the rust belt. A lot of manufacturers stress to not damage the paint coating on the springs because the exposed areas will rust, which creates a weak point on the spring, leading to spring breakage. I believe my 1995 Nissan Sentra was recalled for that, but only if the vehicle was ever registered in a rust belt area.

Great find! Interesting Video! Well done.

I fitted a dayco serp belt to my car that didn't fix the chirp, only to find 3 years later when i fitted a gates belt my problem was gone but the dayco belt was 2 inches longer than the gates belt. I never thought belt lengh would be a variable to the manufacturer!

Ivan - be sure to send us the harmonic balancer so that we can sell it to another customer.

I do not know if the description for this video was intentional, but "Two years and 30k miles ago..." reminded me of the Gettysburg Address.

Well done Ivan

excellent video ivan. your'e # 1 man.

Well done I like your approach.

Great demonstration. Thanks!

Ivan & Eric o - auto detectives. Learned something new

Really good eye, Ivan! Awesome stuff! Also that's not a busted spring, it's just the car telling you it wants to be lowered. ;D

Never seen pulley alignment kits offered by either Gates or Dayco in Australia so I'll be chasing the local reps to aquire. Had a very similar incident with a FM Volvo prime mover with 650k on the clock. The OE alternator bearings let go at highway speeds and embedded liquid belt throughtout all pulley valleys and alignment was impossible when reassembled . Was going to cost well over $10k to replaced all drive pulleys so were removed and CO2 blasted. Replaced with no issues. Thanks for another great vid Ivan. 👍👍

Not many of your average garages will both with the examination and cleaning of the grooves when replacing a surp belt which they likely make 3 times profit on the part. I was charged area of $70 for a surp belt that I found on line for $25, same brand. One thing too, some of those idler pully's are made of plastic and wear at an angle vs. flat. Best to replace them with the metal version along with the tensioner when replacing a surp belt just for good cause. Thanks for the input Ivan and the tip regarding the Dayco laser. One day, some folks will wonder which brand of belts and hoses are best over the overpriced OEM.

Ivan! Damn it! I learned something awesome! What you did on the harmonic balancer and the peak, grooves etc. That was excellent diagnosis! I never gave that much thought on that! But I definitely will look into that in people's vehicles with complaint of squeaks etc. Great video! :) see ya in the next one :)

Fantastic info. Very well explained..

Great video. Learned a lot. Things to consider: 1. Were you able to twist laser tool on pulleys? Any slop would render measurement void. I think Gates says need angular alignment within one degree, which is tiny. 2. Yes tensioner spring is weaker than new, but is it outside of spec? 3. I would have torqued the harmonic balancer to spec. Again I enjoyed your video.

YOU AND ERIC O LOVE THE DORMAN STUFF

This just in: Aftermarket parts are junk! ;). Eric's belt diagnostic vid sold me on that belt alignment tool too, and I also bought it from Advance. Works well.

Wow! In depth scrutiny. There should be a tool to measure the height and width of pulley ribs in addition to the tool you have that measures the belt dimensions.

Well done!

Hi Ivan I am wondering about your tensioner spring test. I see 3 markers on the unit I know the old tensioner travelled farther but still within the marks at 15ft lbs of torque, could the difference just be production variation? I would expect a opperational range of opperation for the tensioner and if within the marks would it not be at proper tension?

Anyone wanna decode the morsecode of Ivans lamp hanging right above the hood? :D

Greate video just did almost the same thing to my 2007 ford f150 2 valve. Will have to get me one of those belt tools. And you should deff do a video on the springs!!

Excellent review, Ivan. That's very perceptive of you to notice the subtle difference in pulley anatomy. Regarding the laser pointer, we sometimes use similar lasers for aligning telescopes. The only problem we encounter with them is that it is very easy to knock the laser out of alignment by dropping it. So most of us who use those will collimate the laser before collimating the telescope. Those astronomy lasers have two tiny allen screws that adjust the laser. I don't know if you can do it but the lasers for telescopes are in circular barrels, and we just rest it in a V shaped saddle and point it at a wall 20 feet away, then spin the barrel to see if the laser point traces out a circle. We try to tune the laser to keep the little circle less than an inch in diameter at 20 feet. I'm not sure it needs to be so accurate for your application.

Would have liked to see how the profiles on the two harmonic dampers differed using that belt comb. How about smearing some thread lock on the crank bolt?

Красава!!! Все гениальное просто! Ваня молодец!!!!

Nice explanation.

Better than sherlock ivan I have noisey belt issue on a 1998 honda prelude also clogged egr ports have to drill out and pop out caps to clear carbon buildup have the time now that im retired although I dont have the patience saludos

There is a subliminal message in this video. The blinking work light over the hood is flashing morse code - 'never use Dorman parts' Great video and analysis Ivan. I am amazed hoe you only have 28K subscribers with the value of your diagnostics and analysis.

I do not agree at all on the tensionner spring test. When does the "new" tensionner was made ? How do you know if specs were not modified by the manufacturer over time ? Did you look inside to see if the old spring wore down the inside of the housing,where both of its extremities seats on ? Very good video.

Recently had a persistent belt squeak on 03 MDX and found the replacement belt (gator brand) was slightly longer (1/2 cm) and replacement w/ shorter belt fixed squeak.

Great video! Also, beware other aftermarket kits! I always use OEM or an equal serpentine belt from a good mfg, like Goodyear. Beware of Gates tensioner belt kits! Sometimes Gates, supplies a tensioner that does NOT use an OEM size belt! Instead it has a custom belt sized to lock you into the Gates tensioner forever! If your serpentine belt was damaged or cut, you would then find the OEM belt or equal length won’t fit properly! Not something you want to discover out in the boondocks! Belt to use an OEM tensioner and a belt that fits it! Not saying Gates Belts are bad, just saying if you buy their kit, that includes belt and tensioner, you are locked into a unique Gates size belt!

now you dont have to hear ned beaty on a canoe trip every time you drive lol. hows your morse code? that drop light is sending you a message lol

Nice video.

I agree, OEM is my first choice also, but when you can no longer get OEM, your choices revert to Dormann thru necessity.

Thx! My serpentine popped off 8yrs afterI bought it...They put in a new one at shop 1, lasted a day popped off , switched shops lasted 2yrs poppedoff again... now hoping I can find a shop that can do proper diagnostics like your video...Probably go to dealer...I thought Midas was better than the "ma and pop" shop???Any recommendations? Firestone?

Did I hear the fuel pump running when you turned it off until you turned the key completely off? Good old nickel and dime stuff now :-) Happy Saint Patty's day. Spring arrives at 12:15 pm on the 20th for you Ivan. Good to know about the belt alignment stuff too. Hope the new job is still ok for you :-)

How does spraying water identify the problem as a squeal from the belt? If the squeal is caused by glazing on belt and/or pulley causing a slip, wouldn't water lubricate the contact surfaces and reduce the friction even more?

Nice job, Ivan. Be careful when you change that spring, boy they take a hell of a lot of compressing before you can get them off - scary stuff with just normal spring compressing clamps. (I know from experience because i own a 1997 Mondeo - same car in the UK, and yes, they do like breaking front springs, done a few of them on mine. Make sure the top strut bearings are good whilst you have it apart, and don't over tighten the top nut on the strut, that can cause the spring to bind when turning the wheel).

Nice, Dorman strikes again.

Knowledgeable; excellent. Here is my squeal problem; desperate for help: 98 escort zx2. After new water pump install, squeal started and got worse. New throwout bearing and clutch. New tensioner, 2nd new water pump, 3rd new belt frayed when using junk dummy ac compressor pulley, now replaced with new ac compressor running as a dummy pulley. New idler pulleys. Mechanic says alternator is fine, but that crankshaft has longitudinal motion. If so, it would misalign crank pulley, hence squeal. Reasonsble? New engine required? Scared of cost; on social sec. 118k miles. Or replace car? Any comments?

Did it start squealing later? Also noticed that top idler pulley ( smooth one) had no wear shine in center of pulley like the back and front of the pulley did. What's up with that? Curious. Lol. For future reference Fordtech Makuloco is a good Experienced Ford tech source. Brian's sharp. Nice diagnosis video.

Morse code to the family back home.

I think that the oil leak was also contaminating the belt - dissolving the rubber, causing it to swell and causing slippage due to lubrication. It may not look like oil was making it on the belt but you would be surprised how much mist comes of rotating parts if they have leak nearby.

Excellent. Some audio sync issues.. YT issue or this file upload issue?

ahhhhhhh aftermarket junk strikes again lol thanks ivan, i've never learned so much about the accessory system anywhere else.

I’m a little confused. I thought that power steering pump pulley had quite a bit of movement. That is a classic cause of belt noise. Chirp because it causes misalignment. Any issues with?

Ivan aren’t those markings on the tensioner guides to know when it is worn out or reached its serviceable limit? You look at the markings while everything is installed . I believe thats what they are.

They usually say when you replace the drive belt to replace the tensioner and idle pulley. Not very expensive to replace those 3 parts. Had it done for 95 dollars on my sons fusion with me providing the oem ford parts. The parts cost me about the same which made the replacement less than 200 bucks total.

You can also use those blue things where you checked your belt to check the profile of your pullies

If my water pump was leaking water on my belt would that make it squeal? Cause it doesn't make sense when water make it stop usually

My 09 Nissan Altima squeaks in the belt location for about 15 mins after start up on cold mornings when I got the car it never made a noise but one day I started it and the serpentine belt snapped so I put a new non squeaking belt on it any idea what’s causing this it only squeaks for about 15 mins when cold out then stops and don’t make a sound

did the power steering pump not have a ton of endplay? most every ford I seen wears and the pump walks in and out with RPM and Pressure change by nearly 1/8th ( the pulley & shaft) but still don't leak ;) OK< you showed it slightly further into the video, that is major play and it will walk outwards when RPM's are up, which is probably closer to aligned ( one of the many issues)

Arr matey, man the parts cannon!

The harmonic balancer is separated to remove the material between the pieces. And all the parts are dumped into the appropriate bins. On reassembly, parts are simply grabbed and assembled with the fiber between them. They are not checked for fit nor alignment. They are junk.

I like a little belt squeak on my Toyota, it lets me know its running. Poor belts always suffer all the blame. Nice as you say Case Study. You should do a Whats Up Thursday, then you to can eat dinner on Camera like Eric does :)

carquest gatorback belt pretty good for high mileage, if looking for quick fix.

Isn't there a gauge for the pouly in the kit. Gates can give you a plastic gauge for free, they are for both the belt and pouly

Lets see those springs go in and speaking of spring maybe another slog up the mountain, thanks!

I had Chev super charged CORVAIR in 1960's-an aircooled wonder indeed !! -a rich man's VW with guts OR poor man's Porche ? - where SINGLE LOOOONG belt YOGAD around many Horizontal parts,including fan-no water pump thankfully ~~ -then twisted 90 ^ to turn Vertical parts !! SOON learned to carry TWO spare belts-just in case- by the way ,is that a Dorman trouble light in background that you are using ?

When my buddy was stationed in Korea circa 1992 he called it the land of ALMOST RIGHT. Kind of sounds like Dorman.

nice tool

If it was here I'd put the Dorman pulley on the lathe and take a skim off the peaks to bring it into contact with the flanks of the V-groove instead of the peaks. LOL LOL. Great detective work. Thanks Ivan.

Nice! Thanks, great info! Bob Belgium🍺🇧🇪🌃

Yeah that would have been my first guess. Those tension pulleys are usually the culprit in ah noise situation.

A problem with VW a had was a alternator clutch pulley. It's like a one way clutch. They seem to fail and the result of that is a squeal. Replacing belt and tensioners does not help.

Doorman not getting this part right just begs belief... how difficult can it be to carefully measure something or mold it and do a lost wax casting to get blanks for copying a part?

Just replaced my belt it was squealing, its plus 20 to below zero , it now chirping , is that normal .. a winter chirp?. I should say chirp only last a few seconds on some cold starts

How did you break the coil spring on the front suspension?

Seems like you could also use the wear gauge to tell if a pulley is badly designed

One of the parts is wrong if they don't match. The belt or the pulley might be a knockoff!

How does Dorman stay in business when most of their products get returned? They spend money on making the product, just up the tolerances!

Спасибо.

I've got a '92 RS Camaro with only 94k miles that the electric Speedometer has quit working on. I've checked all the wires I can get to, changed the VSS out, hoping to get lucky to no avail. When you turn the ignition switch on, the needle will move up to about where "0" would be, but won't read anything after that...and the odometer has quit as well...please help!

The belt wear tool might have shown the difference between the harmonic balancer.

lmao..that was great... great job in diagnosing belt issues. To bad the engine made more noise than the belt ever would.