Ac Belt Squeal Noise On 01 Es300

[ayeung74]

I recently replaced by timing belt and also changed out the serpentine and ac belts just as a matter of convenience. These were simple aftermarket belts I bought at Autozone. AC belt now has a loud squealing noise that occurs in the morning or has sat around for a few hours. The belt squeals and gets louder when I turn the AC on and it also gets louder when I step on the pedal, but eventually stops after a few seconds. The sound is horrible and loud. Where did I screw up? What is causing this? And how can I stop this---it's really loud and annoying, but more importantly I don't want to damage my car.

[steviej]

Belt tension needs to be adjusted. Aftermarket belts, even though specific for your vehicle, may not be the exact same size as the OEM belt.

steviej

[kingjack133]

...spray on some belt dressing

[camlex]

OEM

[gbhrps]

I put all new accessory belts on my 90 300ZX several years ago and got the same results, a terrible squeal at startup. The fix was to tighten up the AC belt until it didn't squeak any more.

[steviej]

...spray on some belt dressing

that would be hiding the symptom and not curing the problem. belt dressings should never be used!!

steviej

[Lexlogic]

...spray on some belt dressing

that would be hiding the symptom and not curing the problem. belt dressings should never be used!!

steviej

Agree, no Fan belt dressing! Perform Fan Belt tension adjustment! And then Turn "ON" the AC and see if the Clutch is turning.

[kingjack133]

I wonder why the product is sold? If after you tighten up those belts and there is still squeeling, maybe thats when it may be ok to use. I wonder...

[steviej]

I wonder why the product is sold? If after you tighten up those belts and there is still squeeling, maybe thats when it may be ok to use. I wonder...

Because unkowing people will buy and use it rather than have the problem addressed correctly.

Once again, belt dressings only temporarily mask the problem rather than solve the initial problem.

steviej

[kingjack133]

I agree steviej, when you re belt is schreeching and its time to replace....thats when auto belt dressing is handy ie; to cancel the noise untill you can get the new belt in and set up properly. There is no need for it on a newly installed belt as it won t be squealing if it s set up properly. I stand corrected!