iTh3 Riddler

Alright so I drove my car to dinner on Tuesday night and she ran like a champ. Went to pick it up from my girlfriends Weds and she started fine but when you step on the gas she squeals like a pig and has some serious power loss. I have no idea where to start. Luckily I have a second vehicle so I am not in a hurry. Any suggestions on what it could be or where to start. Its a 1995 Firebird Trans am with the LT1 motor 6 speed transmission.

cprmn14

serp belt?.. or bad pully maybe. Need more details

iTh3 Riddler

Well I ended up driving it home about 3 miles but she kept wanting to stall cause she was loosing power and I would floor it in first and second just to keep her moving. I can't hardly tell if the belt is slipping or what.

duh

iTrader: (16)

^+1 check and make sure all the pullies are spinning. If one's frozen up it'll chew through the belt in a heart beat

double check that the belt is still in one piece. If it's still there start looking at the charging system. Sounds like the bearings in the ALT could have bit the dust as well

cprmn14

Sounds like:

A) you broke your belt

B) your alternator pulley locked up on you

or both. lol

iTh3 Riddler

lol belt is definitely still there. I'll check tomorrow to make sure everything is actually spinning tho

iTh3 Riddler

Well it seems the squealing is coming from the alternator but the alternator is still good cause car kept running when we disconnected the battery with all accessories running. However I now think my cat is clogged so I may just remove my exhaust and see what happens ha

popo8

Bearings in the alt can still be going out and making noise while it still works... But... When it locks up...expect to lose ur belt....

Now...

Y do u think the cat is out...

shbox

You should never do that on a modern car. It can ruin the alternator. Of course, if it is squealing, you need to address the issue anyway.

trilkb

iTrader: (4)

so its not the back tires? hmmm....odd.

popo8

Well, what was it?

wrd1972

iTrader: (12)

Yeah and the following really happened to me. The big front bearing in the alt walks backward out of its socket in the aluminum housing and the plastic fan blade starts grinding against the housing. Sounds like nails on a chalkboard. I lightly JB welded the socket and machined it out to simply better snug the bearing in place. Only reason I went to that much trouble is because the alt housings are painted.

joelster

Take the serpentine belt off and start the car. The water pump is gear driven so it won't run hot. If the squeak is still there you have an internal engine problem.

cprmn14

You can take the alt to a rebuild shop and he can replace the pully for a fraction of buying a new one. Start there I'd say

djjab57

iTrader: (17)

I thought mine was the alternator but ended up being the A/C . Froze up and had a great smoke out

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

been there done that my a/c compressor locked up solid when i first put my 385 together and was on the street with it.....makes a hell of a noise and mess lol

Manic Mechanic

iTrader: (3)

His cat is clogged. The squealing noise is the high exhaust pressure escaping from the weakest point of the system ahead of the cat, probably the manifold gasket right behind the alternator. There's not a belt driven accessory known to man that will over power a v8 at heavy throttle. But a clogged cat will do this with ease.

OP since you left it at your GF's house overnight unattended make sure somebody didn't shove something up your tail pipes to clog it up before you cut off the cat.

Vernon

Tinbender59

what he said ^^^^^^

iTh3 Riddler

Tailpipes appear to be clear. I may chop out the cat tomorrow because I have been busy the last few days with family for christmas. I have a feeling the cat is the problem.

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

So you might have a built in whistletip. Woooowwwwwwwwwwooooo!

I dunno... I'd think there would be a distinct difference between a whistle and a squeak. Any way you can get some audio of this? Anyone mad at you?