Squeaky Belts

[fuelhead7]

My girlfriend's 2003 Protege5 was squealing on start up, so i bought new belts and got them put on, started it up and it sounded all nice and smoothe...but then i went to get a pizza to celebrate a job well done and as I idled in the drive-thru it just started squealing similar to how it did before, so i killed the engine and started it back up and it sounded fine again, until i started to turn back into our apartment and it started squealing again!!! The only the i can imagine the 2 scenario's had in common is i may have been straighting out my wheels in the drive-thru and turning into the apartment...could it be a tension issue on the P/S belt? the noise got worse when i rev'ed it up, if that helps any? I'm stumped so

P.S. This is my first post! Woot!

 

[mp5la]

Make sure the belts aren't too lose or too tight. They should have just a little deflection in them when you try to twist them.

 

[esnave09]

The squealing is going to sound worse when you rev it up, but sometimes revving it makes the squeal go away (it usually works for me when my P5 is warming up) when the belt catches again.

 

[lowlevel]

I had a new alternator put in and belt... and it has squeeled a couple of times... a little revving made it go away in my case... hasn't been back yet.

 

[denim]

I have had some belt squeak for a couple of weeks during the cold front moving in, but since it has warmed up recently, there has been no squeaks.

 

[pcb]

New belts stretch a bit after the initial install. They might just need a little tightening.

Here's a link that might be helpful.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123834300-Is-this-the-sound-of-a-bad-alternator

 

[fuelhead7]

OK so I loosen the belts a bit, thinking I may have over tighten them, now it only squeals at start up and idle, so I guess I'm gonna tighten them up again and try to hit the sweet spot

 

[fuelhead7]

OK so i read in another post about only being able to twist the belt 1/2 a turn can someone confirm this...

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123823926-03-Pro5-belt-squeal&highlight=belts

 

[pcb]

OK so i read in another post about only being able to twist the belt 1/2 a turn can someone confirm this...

I've been doing the twist method ever since Tweety suggested it.

If you can barely twist it vertical it's too tight. If you can easily turn it upside down its to loose.

If you can get it set accurately at a shop or something, then you can reach in and twist it to get an idea of what proper feels like.

 

[buttthrax]

The alternator itself is the tensioner for the water pump/alternator belt. Its very annoying when you change this belt because the new belt will stretch out initially and you have to re-tension it. You have to remove the passenger side wheel and go underneath, loosen the alternator bolts, then retighten.

 

[fuelhead7]

I think I got it figured it out, I had to tighten the Alt. belt ALOT more, apparently i have a poor opinion of tight! Now it twist just between 1/4 and 1/2 and theres no squeal, now i just got to extensively test it out, and if everything seems good my girlfriend might give me some sexy time!!!!

 

[Pimpecoven]

I think I got it figured it out, I had to tighten the Alt. belt ALOT more, apparently i have a poor opinion of tight! Now it twist just between 1/4 and 1/2 and theres no squeal, now i just got to extensively test it out, and if everything seems good my girlfriend might give me some sexy time!!!!

Where do you tighten it at? is it like a bolt you loosen and then adjust the piece and the re-tighten? or an adjustment bolt? can you post a pic maybe? would be greatly appreciated! and have fun with your sexy time! very nice!