Pulley Noise Help! - Squeaking noise on cold startup
ls1 m6
160K
Hi All,
Looking for advice about some squeaks I'm getting from of of the belt driven accessories. The noise is only on a cold startup and goes away once armed up. This just started recently and I can't seem to narrow down the problem. I've ruled out the A/C belt system as I don't have the noise when the serpentine belt is removed. I also pretty much ruled out the idler pulley as its new as of yesterday. Please see the video below.
All my belt driven accessories are fairly new:
- Tensioner Pulley (Gates)- 450 miles of use. (the old dayco pulley wore out after a few thousand miles). I doubt this is the issue as the noise doesn't seem to be coming from the area.
- Idler Pulley (ACdelco)- 100 miles of use. Literally replaced Yesterday. (old dayco pulley wore out after a few thousand miles)
- Power Steering Pump (ACdelco)- 450 Miles of use. (old one leaked out the main seal and whined)
- Alternator (AC Delco)- 375 miles of use. (old one had slightly squeaking bearing at times)
- Water Pump (Gates)- 8k miles of use.
With the belt off, spinning the individual accessories by hand doesn't reveal any super obvious indications of a bad bearing. The only pulley that makes an odd noise is the water pump, which sounds like the seal is making noise when spinning by hand (no real signs of play). See the video below, I'm not sure if this noise is normal or not as I don't have a new one to compare.
Spinning accessories by hand . Weird water pump noise - Video:
Squeak Noise on Cold Startup - Video:
The alternator is a new Ac delco unit (3351075) that had a slight whistle to it since it was first installed. Not sure if it's related. The Power Steering pump has the tiniest bit of play only when pulling straight out, but I don't know what is normal/acceptable.
Can anyone help me pinpoint what the noise is or give any advice? Do the water pumps normally make such a noise when spinning by hand?
I still have a lingering suspicion about my brand new alternator that likes to whistle.. while it works. We shall see.
ls1 m6
160K
Hi All,
Looking for advice about some squeaks I'm getting from of of the belt driven accessories. The noise is only on a cold startup and goes away once armed up. This just started recently and I can't seem to narrow down the problem. I've ruled out the A/C belt system as I don't have the noise when the serpentine belt is removed. I also pretty much ruled out the idler pulley as its new as of yesterday. Please see the video below.
All my belt driven accessories are fairly new:
- Tensioner Pulley (Gates)- 450 miles of use. (the old dayco pulley wore out after a few thousand miles). I doubt this is the issue as the noise doesn't seem to be coming from the area.
- Idler Pulley (ACdelco)- 100 miles of use. Literally replaced Yesterday. (old dayco pulley wore out after a few thousand miles)
- Power Steering Pump (ACdelco)- 450 Miles of use. (old one leaked out the main seal and whined)
- Alternator (AC Delco)- 375 miles of use. (old one had slightly squeaking bearing at times)
- Water Pump (Gates)- 8k miles of use.
With the belt off, spinning the individual accessories by hand doesn't reveal any super obvious indications of a bad bearing. The only pulley that makes an odd noise is the water pump, which sounds like the seal is making noise when spinning by hand (no real signs of play). See the video below, I'm not sure if this noise is normal or not as I don't have a new one to compare.
Spinning accessories by hand . Weird water pump noise - Video:
Ls1 water pump noise - YouTube
Squeak Noise on Cold Startup - Video:
Ls1 Accessory Noise/Squeak - YouTube
The alternator is a new Ac delco unit (3351075) that had a slight whistle to it since it was first installed. Not sure if it's related. The Power Steering pump has the tiniest bit of play only when pulling straight out, but I don't know what is normal/acceptable.
Can anyone help me pinpoint what the noise is or give any advice? Do the water pumps normally make such a noise when spinning by hand?
After watching the video, it is possible that the noise is coming from the water pump bearing.
Also, it appears that the noise could be caused by pulley misalignment, especially since the noise occurs in the morning after start-up, but then goes away once warmed up. If possible, you should probably perform a water spray test onto the belt’s ribs right after start-up (while the noise is still occurring), and if it immediately goes away, then it is most likely the belt (i.e. pulley misalignment) rather than the water pump.
Hope this helps!
Brian
It turns out with the new pump that I had to set the pulley slightly more on to the PS pump shaft than normal for it to line up correctly and for the belt noise to stop. I can only guess this is due to slight variations in the pump body. The pulley felt like it was on the verge of breaking for me to get it on into the correct position, as they get very tight the more you go press them on.
The hardest part was really figuring out which direction to go with the pulley and how far.This required some interesting belt techniques.
Hope this helps someone in the future.




