Car has recently developed a belt squeal.. it's steady, despite RPM but if I put the car under load, like accelerating from 30 in 5th, the it will go away completely. Tried to pinpoint the noise using a sethoscope, but the stock air box sort of limited my room. it sounded like one of the pullys was making some noise, but it wasn't the same tone as the squeal. anyone else had this same problem?

Also, I've noticed my RPMs don't drop very fast when i press the clutch. Causes shifting to be a little jerky since the RPMs won't drop to where it needs to be for the next gear. any cause for this? maybe i need to bleed the master and slave cylinder?

'00 formula, 6 speed.

 

If you spray WD-40 on them and they go away its the belts. Or check the pulleys for grease? I just replaced both mine today , cleaned the WP, pulleys etc. My AC runs better and my voltage went up. My belts were shot.

 

Mine did this after changing the radiator. Some coolant got on them and cleaning them wasn't helping. I hit them with a good dose of silicone tire dressing then let thwm set. I had it on hand and figured if it didn't work I'd change the belts. It worked.

 

I also scrubbed the water pump where the belt makes contact.

 

what does it mean when the sound still there although i removed both belts?

 

Next time it happens pull your oil dip stick and see if it stops. If it does your pcv system is faulty and needs redoing with something better like breather tubes, or a catch can system.

 

occurs from the moment the engine is started actually. where is the pcv located?

 

Pulling oil dipstick did nothing. what now?

 

you removed the serpetine belt and the A/C belt and you still get the squeeky noise when the motor is running?

 

yep. oil pressure reads normal.

 

Hmmm... If you pulled both belts and still hear the squeel, then it's not the belts or pulleys. And that rules out even the possibility of bad alternator or PS pump.

Did you by chance put a whistle on the intake somewhere? lol j/k

PCV is to the left of the intake. It's a little cylendar about an inch diameter and has a rubber hose going into the intake manifold. But you ruled out that option.

Does the engine run rough? You might have an intake leak... Is the check engine light on?

To help locate the noise, take your stethescope and a long thin wire and put one tip of the wire on the stethescope and the other you can place on various parts of the engine till you find the noise...

 

Or.... you can find a loooong screw driver and place the handle in your ear and the other end on various parts of the engine to locate the sound.

 

hmmm... at that point the only thing "spinning" is the crank pulley.... and it wouldnt squeek... you sure its a squeek and not a hissing noise? perhaps a vacuum line somewhere, which could cause the rpms to hang as you speak....

have you done any maintenance to the car recently? oil change, air filter change, etc.

 

Definitely not a hiss. A loud, high pitched whistle might be a better description. CEL is on, but only for catalytic inefficiency. I think one of the post o2's are bad. No recent maintenance... sound just came one day. The pitch doesn't change, but if the engine is lugged around, it'll go away.

 

Stock headers ?

 

Yep... think they might be cracked or something?

 

I think you have an intake leak somewhere.

Look all over the top of the engine for any holes in hoses or vac lines that aren't plugged in.

My last camaro developed an intake leak on the back of the intake manifold that was for the PCV that went between both of the valve covers.

If you know anyone that works at a shop and has access to a "smoke machine," use that. It's a VERY handy tool for finding intake leaks.