Lump138

Okay so im new to the site so if i have broken any rules or anything upfront i apologize. Its a massive forum and took me a min. To even figure out how to post a new thread in the first place lol.
But anyway im having an issue with my 1998 civic ex and hoping someone can help me resolve the issue. Okay so like i said its a 1998 civic ex with 270,xxx miles on it. Before anyone asks the timing belt and water pump was done about 150-160k miles. Should still be good. (Keyword is should). Anyway i start the car up the other day and it starts squealing really loud. Its a high pitch squel, not like a grinding or anything. So i figured it was a belt. I tried calling off work but no one could cover me. So (not being very happy about it) i drove it anyway against my better judgement. As im pulling out of the parking lot the squealing stops. I take a few deliveries and a few hours later it just starts happening again. This time i put it in drive and go to take off and it stalls out. I place in park, turn off and turn on again this time its weaker to turn over and still squeling but somethings stuck. It looks like the tensioner belt and alternator belts are trying to move but stuck. Anyone know what belt is stuck? Or if its even that at all?

Ps. Its still parked at work and they only gave me a few days before they tow it...

Thanks in advance eveyone!

ezone

Wildass guess...May have locked up the tensioner pulley for the AC belt,

Should be relatively easy to confirm this belt or the other two belts remove one and see if engine turns


You could remove the AC belt. If the belt is ruined already you could just cut it off lol


BTW the timing belt is due every 60,000 miles, read your owners manual for confirmation

Lump138

I thought so as well but i wasnt sure if the ac belt would cause the car to stall out after being started, or if it could be the alternators belt instead. So im just a little confused with where i should start. The ac or alternator belt? If the ac pulley is locked up could it cause all the others to as well and thats why it stalled? And could it happen as sudden as it did? Ive heard it will smoke and whine for a while before it completely locks up.

P.s. i was wrong on 2 things. I thought the timing belt/ water pump replacement was good for 100k miles (this is what i was told) and thats wrong. But number 2 is the timing belt and water pump was done less than 50k miles ago. Which again, leads me to believe it should still be fine.

So im most definitely gonna check the other two before spending the money to do the timing belt and water pump.

ezone

If ANY belt driven accessory or pulley locks up, it can certainly make the belt screech, it can kill the engine, and it can even prevent the starter from working after the engine dies.

On that particular car the AC belt adjuster pulley was a common failure item, so was the bearing in the compressor pulley. That's why I guessed at it.

LSUfan71

Having same type problem as the original poster so I hope this isn't considering hi-jacking the thread.

Stupid question: If the bearing in the compressor pulley is bad or locks up won't that cause the compressor to turn constantly with the belt?

There was some squeeling from the engine and the pulley locked up, the belt burnt off. My son was driving it and he says it died just before he smelled the burning rubber.

I put my hand on the pulley and it won't turn. Shouldn't the pulley turn free even if the compressor is locked-up? I'm thinking the pulley would be free if the clutch isn't engaged, right???

Anyway, the compressor pulley will not turn by hand with the car off.

I'm clueless on a/c stuff so any suggestions would be welcomed.

ezone

No. The pulley on the compressor is not an integral part of the compressor, it simply mounts on the compressor housing and rotates as the accessory belt drives it.

The clutch plate is what couples the internal parts of the compressor to the pulley.


Generic pic:



If the pulley were to lock up due to a failed bearing, the belt would probably squeal very loud, then be tossed off or burned off. Seems like that's exactly what you wrote.

If the pulley were locked and the belt was still intact, you might not be able to start the engine.

If the drive belt is wrapped around the pulley, you would not be able to rotate it by hand....but you should be able to rotate the outer plate of the clutch by hand with a little resistance....unless the pulley is now wedged against the plate (quite likely if there is no bearing remaining to keep it straight).
If the belt is now missing, the pulley should spin freely if it were not locked up.


If the pulley bearing failed, it could have jammed pieces into the clutch plate or damaged the snout of the compressor if it locked and spin the inner race.
Remove the outer clutch plate and take a look for visible damage?

Inspect the adjuster pulley if this is a 6th gen car (spin it and listen for bearing noise). That one usually went bad long before the compressor pulley bearing did.



Also, a failing bearing in these usually makes some noise for a long time (weeks or months) before finally destroying itself in spectacular fashion, so young Junior might need some education about (turn the damn radio off and) paying attention to new and unusual noises the car makes.
"Much like contracting an STD, ignoring a problem doesn't make it better. Nor does it make treatment cheaper." (Yes, I do use that explanation at work, but not to actual customers)


HTH