01Z28smith

Ok so I have been trying to stop the squealing belt issue with my 2001 z28 for a while now and finally broke down and just started belts after it would start making noise. well in the past 3 months ive been through 5 belts and its starting to get pricey with the gatorbacks so ive got just one question. Ive noticed that there is fluid on the top of my power steering pump under the cap and leaking down the front side of the pump tank and there is no cooler on my car i thought all 2001 came with the cooler but after doing so searching ive found that the stock ps cooler pump wasnt that great anyway but do you think that maybe a new cap or adding a ps cooler would fix the problem of the squeak because im guessing the leak is causing the squeal? Is this the cause of the leak? ive replaced the idler puller and tensior pulley with no real results only time the squeal stops is with a new belt ive wipped down the belts with hot water and some soap then washed them clean and wipped them down with a dry towl and blown them off with compressed air and it stopped for a while. so im kinda leaning to the power steering pump is causing the noise. If a cooler will stop the leaking or boiling over can someone post a link to how to setup the ps cooler that i see people mounting behind the front bumper spoiler under the radiator. ive never setup something like this a step by step would be great but just a pic of the hoses running from the ps pump and to the cooler and back would work just as good. imma try replacing the cap but ive read on here that it rarely helps as the pressure builds and distorts the oring enough so that it leaks. anyway sorry for the long post and thanks for any help.

01Z28smith

ok so i just read on a thread with a write up on how to do it and seems straight forward after i went and looked at my hoses under the ps pump tank and it looks like a 30 minute job tops. but also my fluid doesnt really seem to run all the way down to the bottom of the pulley on the pump but can just a lil come out get on the belt and cause a squeal? if i cant get the issue resolved imma just have to get some bigger speakers and turn up the music lol although i do hate stopping at a red light and seeing people look at the engine compartment of my car with this ugh look when i take off again.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Are you sure the belt is squealing? Have you tested to see if any of your rotating equipment or pulleys are the source?

Have you taken the A/C belt off the car and run it with only the main belt to isolate the problem to the particular belt?

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

If you have a leak, fix it.. Replace belt. Diagnose again if problem persists.
Trade that belt in, don't buy another.

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

ALL new pulleys and gatorback fixed mine......jus sayin...

01Z28smith

Yes I have taken the ac belt off and the squeal continues and I've even taken the main belt off and ran it for less than a minute and the noise stops so I'm pretty sure it is the main belt. I'm going to try the hair scrunchie trick mentioned in a different post around the cap of the PS tank and see if that help with the leak before I buy a new cap also going to run the cooler setup posted by ls6427 hopefully the two together will stop the PS tank leak and if that doesn't work I'm just going to replace all the pulleys. How hard is it to remove the PS pump pulley BTW? Seems like it may the more difficult of them I've read somewhere on here that it has something holding it on like a shim behind the pulley I may be thinking of the entire PS pump though. Anyways thanks again for the fast replies guys.

chrysler kid

iTrader: (14)

Squeaks come from the pulleys not the belt. Try getting a new idler pulley for the main serpentine belt

Spartan7

iTrader: (7)

I disagree. I had a squeaky A/C belt on my truck that disappeared when I replaced the belt. I touched no other parts.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Or, it could be the P/S Pulley, Balancer Pulley, Idler Pulley, Tensioner Pulley, Alternator Pulley, Water Pump bearing, Alternator Bearing, P/S Pump Bearing, etc...

Another easy/free thing to do is to use a metal rod (or mechanics stethescope) to listen to the rotating components and see if the squeal is coming from a rotating part.

There are so many causes of these noises. I just had a squeal, which was a big surprise - it was a bad bearing on a 100% new alternator with only 20K miles on it. (That was not a happy day.)

MRMonster

iTrader: (3)

I also have a squealing belt problem. I did notice that my car only does it in cold weather or when the motor is warming up. Once the motor is at its operating temp the squeal stops. Could temperature cause a belt problem?

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Not unless the belt is slipping - which it shouldn't do.

Hot/cold will expose a bearing problem as the parts expand and contract.