so i got my 2000 ws6 a little while ago and its been running great.. ive put 1500 miles on it since ive owned it and this week i started hearing a squeeking noise coming from the engine bay.. to troubleshoot i put the car in neutral and revved it and the squeeking got worse with the higher rpms.. and i figured out it was the belt. at idle it barely squeaks but the moment i give it any gas it begins to squeak loudly.. the car has underdrive pulleys and an aftermarket belt that came with the car. i have not had any problems like this since i got the car.. the noise sounds like it could be coming from the tensioner but im not sure.. what would cause the belt to squeak and what is a possible solution. is there a possibility that a change in temperature would cause the belt to shrink/expand enough to make it squeak? any help would be appreciated. thanks

 

More than likely it's the tensioner. You can use a stethoscope to pinpoint it.

 

take a look at the tensioner when the engine is running...if it is bad, sometimes it will rattle and bounce around a lot. This is what happened to my AC belt tensioner. They should be relatively stable....

 

so if it ends up being the tensioner then thats all id need to replace? whats a rough cost of one?

 

thinking back to when i popped the hood.. i did notice the tensioner having quite a bit of movement when i hit the throttle.. thanks for the help

 

spray the belt with silicone spray if the noise goes away=bad belt if not troubleshoot further down the line,tensioner/pulley. it could also be your a/c compressor clutch.

 

The tensioner is supposed to move. If it doesn't, then the whole assembly is bad. You're concerned with the bearing in the guide roller on the tensioner, which is why I said to check it with a stethoscope.

 

silicon spray ftw! im guessing the recent change in temperature caused the belt to expand or shrink.. 4.26 from autozone for some liquid wrench and the job was done.. 30 mins of driving and 30 seconds of work to fix a small annoying problem. thanks for the help guys and im glad it was something minor

 

You are correct, supposed to move a little, but I have seen tensioners bounce like they were riding a wild bull! They should hold the belt down pretty well if they are working properly.

 

Sadly I had this problem about a month ago. I always heard squealing. No matter how much belt dressing I sprayed, it always came back... Replaced my tensioner.. better, but still squealing. Noticed my belt wasn't in the best shape (actually noticed the metal showing on the inside of the ribs), replaced the belt. WAY better, but still a TINY squeal... Replaced my AC lower belt.. Now it's silent as can be. All you hear is the cam

I feel dumb for not replacing the belts first, but hey I've got a new tensioner and it looks good in the engine bay.

 

pulleys......not belts.......99% of the time