Civicnoobie

Is our serpetine (which is also our alt belt) able to be tightened? I had mine replaced 3 months ago but the hissing is back. Before i replaced it i had hissing only when the AC was on. When I replaced it, all the hissing was gone, for a few months till the past couple weeks its come back. Now i get it with the AC on or off but only when the car has been started and til it gets warm or so. After about 15mins of driving and the car is fully hot the hissing is gone. Not sure if the car being cold or hot has anything to do with it.

Another thing is, do you think it could be my timing belt tensioner? The previous owner had the timing belt replaced about 20,000km ago but not sure if they replaced the timing belt tensioner as well....which i was told is recommended. But i was told if its the timing belt tensioner, it wont give a squeling sound cause it has teeth so it would give a clicking sound, is that true?

A guy told me this

"serpentine belts have no adjustments tension is controled by the belt tesioner if the belt is loose the tensioner would need to be replaced and if the belt is glazed due to slipping it would need to be replaced as well what is your year make and model i will make a quote up for you."

Is that true? Our serp belt is non adjustable? Not sure if hes just trying to sell me on installing new parts even though i just had my belt replaced.

Another guy told me

"usually the belt is self adjusted.....the tensioner could go bad but on low milage car like yours its rare......the belt probably wasnt out on correctly or is a misalignment with the belt and pulley and needs to be readjusted"

So which is it?


So from my research is this correct?

We have an Alt/Serpentine belt, an AC belt, a power steering belt and a timing belt. All 3 of those belts each have thier own pulley and the power steering is pump.

MindBomber

You have three belts.
The Timing belt - which is auto tensioned and not visible.
The Power Steering belt - which has an adjustment wing nut easily accessible on the drivers side of the engine next to the upper belt.
The Alternator and AC belt - directly below the ps adjustment nut, maybe 60 cm lower.

What your describing sounds exactly like a loose Alt/AC belt, it's a tight space but you can reach your hand down and tighten the nut by hand. If you can't get it tight enough by hand you need a 14mm combination wrench or cresent wrench.

Civicnoobie

Thanks. I thought the AC and alt belt is the same belt but this moron kept telling me its not. Well, you think i can tighten the belt without having to remove the power steering pump?

MindBomber

No, no, alternator and ac is a single belt. The moron is correct.

yes, you can, I'll take a picture of what you need to tighten later.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

Here is the drive belt information.

Civicnoobie

Thanks for the link Craig, i printed it out. But I notice its 2 pages with one page "Alt/AC compressor belt" and other Alt belt" im confused. Arent they the same belt? Not sure which to go off of. Let me know please thanks.

When I look at the belt, im going to check to make sure its not a misalignment with the belt and the pulley. Maybe the belt is rubbing against the pulley. Whats the best way to check for this?

MindBomber

Actually, the belt is rubbing against the pulley, that's exactly what's causing the noise. When the belts not tight enough the pulley doesn't have enough grip on it and it creates a squealing noise as the metal rubs against the rubber.

Civicnoobie

Ah ok thanks so all i need is to tighten it and it should be properly aligned then. I just hope my pulley doesnt need to be replaced.

Today and yesterday i drove from cold start, no hissing at all with the AC off or at idle. But once the AC came on the hissing was back.

MindBomber

yup, that's definitely an alt/ac belt squeal then.

once it's tight enough that sound will go away. Pooring rain all day, will take pics so you see what to tighten when rain stops.

Civicnoobie

Hey so i checked out my belt today and its tight and no rubbing at all with the pulley. Belts looked good and even checked the powersteering one.

Had the car running for awhile and from what i noticed, the sound is more of a squeal than a hiss and it would always come on when the AC compressor kicks in. Once the compressor turns off the sound is gone.

Went under the car with a stethescope and put it right by the AC compressor clutch. The clutch would kick in and out fine but when it would kick in, the sound would occur, once it kicks out the sound is gone. Sprayed the bearings inside the AC compressor pulley with some WD40 and the sound was cut back but still there.

My guess is its the bearings inside the pulley of the AC compressor. Is it common for the bearings in the AC compressor pulley to go bad?

Do people normally replace just the pulley or the entire AC compressor?

The last thing i want is to have to replace the AC compressor, not only is it a big job but its big $!!!

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

just... go there and tighten them...

Civicnoobie

read my last post. The belts seem tight.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

I see another LOL session in the making...

Describe tight, for starters... There is a measurement for that, you know...
See no rubbing?!? what do you mean for that? It's not a visible thing, you know...

Don't tell me you simply tried to pull the belt around... Do you have any idea how much resistance an alt/AC makes when they are active? don't know any guy with strenght enough to move a belt with that much force...

And since you so much love calling other mechanics crappy, moron, well, before doing that to others, highly recommend you looking at a mirror.

rednwhite04

iTrader: (3)

the hissing your describing is the ac compressor. after so many miles the bearings start to make noise. I scrapped mine and the sound is gone.

Civicnoobie

You tossed yours for another compressor? How much did it cost you? I really dont wanna blow big money on getting it replaced. You think i can go without replacing it? What i dont get is, why the sound would go away once the car is hot and driving?


No need to be rude about it. Ive never properly measured a belts tightness before. I was just going by where i heard the sound coming from, its from my AC compressor.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

replace the alternator and reuse the belts
replace the AC compressor as well, but keep the belts
replace the steering pump too, but keep the belts.

lazlong

It's called deflection:


@ noobie: Live with it till it dies then get a new compressor.

E is the wingnut for adjustment of the alternator belt

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

^ yup, upsets me when i see one trying to replace an expensive part (alt) without going to the cheaper ($0 buck) tightening (that he does not even know how to measure but likes to freak out for no reason at all)

Civicnoobie

What will happen when the AC compressor dies? Will I still be able to drive the car?

I read this

Is that true? Holy jesus i really wanna avoid having any belts snap or break on me.

And when i run the heat, it doesnt use the AC compressor right? Cause i dont use the AC much. But this pisses me off cause just a couple months ago i got a guy to recharge it putting in new freon in it.

What if I just replaced the pulley with the bearing in it? Wouldnt that be cheaper and easier? When i got my AC recharged 2 months ago the guys did a test on my AC compressor and said its running good aside from the bearing in the pulley.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Calling mechanics (that are right on what they said) "crappy", when you are crappier, is much, much worse. if you think what i said is rude (?!? - lol), you said much worse. period.

yes, your whole car is totaled, you just did not notice yet. seel it now for 1.00, because that's all it's worth after you tried to DIY your RWD car's rear brakes. yes, RWD does affect your brake bleeding LOL
(for those you don't get the joke, search for noobie's previous posts when he called vics RWD and said it affects brake bleeding and called some mechanics crappy lol)

Let me reiterate again: tighten your belts the right way, measuring the deflection. Does it solve the problem or not?
If yes, good, if not come back again (but do NOT create a new thread, as you so often do, rather search for this one)

azmarv71

Thank you for posting this info on the drive belt. I'm going to have my husband to check the tension on the one in my Civic as we recently had the timing belt, water pump, air compressor and belts changed recently and now its squealing like a stuck pig! Horrible!! In fact, I just opened the hood then started the engine with the a/c on, and the squealing was so loud my ears are literally still ringing. I'll post with the results when the hubby goes out and tightens the belt to the correct tension. Thanks again for posting. This seems to be the most help so far.

ezone

As said before, tighten the belt.

Most people would march right back to the last shop that touched it (the timing belt job) and raise hell until they fix it.
It WAS their responsibility to get it tight.
Ignoring it and letting it keep on squealing will ruin the belt, if it isn't ruined already.


Were factory belts used?
Cheaper aftermarket belts tend to stretch and need readjustment rather quickly after installation and run in, where factory belts have much less of a problem with this.
Also, many inexperienced people just don't get them tight enough to start with.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

It sounds like the bearings are going bad in the a/c clutch. If I were you I would just leave it alone for now. Dont continue to spray Wd-40 as it will just speed up the wear. Wd-40 is a DE-greaser. You want grease inside those bearings.

The previous "mechanic" may have overtightened it and caused the bearings to go bad prematurely.

If you want check shops around your area for a price to change the pully and bearings on the compressor. I think you should be able to not have to open the a/c system if you do that. However its probably a pain in the *** to get a puller on the compressor while its in the car, and labor may cost more then just changing the whole compressor. Its your call.

On belt tension: most people dont have the silly tool to measure belt tension, but this is how you do it.

Take longest run on the belt (The part of the belt that is the longest from one point of the pulley to the next) and twist it 90 degrees if it doesnt twist 90 degrees its too tight if it twist more then 90 degrees its too loose.

Blank_Pages

I think this is exactly what is happening to my 2004 Civic.

When I turn the car on, the serp belt makes no noise. But after a few seconds, it squeals, then goes silent.

A mechanic told me I had to replace the belt. ($180) I thought no way man.

The belt has to be around $30, and there is no way it would take me more than an hour to change it. It doesnt even look like I would have to take anything out to make the switch.

Big problem is, I am not a mechanic.

The AC in my Civic doesnt work. If I turn it off will it solve this problem?

The AC turns on always because of some dry air defrost thing.

Help!