Need inputs please, I have done all the searching that I could and can't find a concrete answer. At cold start, with AC/Heater on the car squeak/squeal intermittently. I have bought this 2009 car used with 46k miles. So far I have spent money buying a new battery, new drive belt, replaced the water pump and belt tensioner with new OEM replacement parts. Thinking that with these old part replaced, the squeak/squeal will go away. However, the car still squeak/squeal intermittently at cold start.

The sound is at the center of the motor and that was the reason I was thinking that the water pump or tensioner was the culprit. However, i was wrong and before spending more money just replacing things, can I please get some inputs? Thank you in advance.

 

Hard to say without hearing the squealing noise on start up??

Can you take a short video and upload it to YouTube or something then link the video here so the guys can listen and give their feedback?

 

i will try to upload soon. But for now it might be the fan motors? Highly unlikely but the sound is more prominent in front of the bumper instead of it being in the engine bay. I think I need to just get a tetrascope and start probing.. the bad part is that it only does it intermittently so by the time it starts and I go probing around, it will stop Ahahah

 

On start-up spray wd40 on the belt when the noise is there, if not spray the fan bearings you have to remove a few things to get close, process of elimination let us know how you go good luck.did you replace the idle pulley, and run it without the belt will tell you a lot

 

Isn’t it bad to get oil base fluid on the ribs of the belt? I have heard about using just a spray bottle with water. I have not replace the idler pulley yet. That’s next on my replacement part list however the sound is from the center of the motor, idler pulley is on the left side of the motor. Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll dig into it this weekend as the car is my daily for work.

 

WD40 wont harm anything ,if your worried use belt slip spray

 

Update: no bearings on the pulleys are binding when I spun them by hand. So after speaking to the master tech at a dealership that I know, he said usually the belt sometimes are cut a little off causing a belt wobble that we can’t see. So he gave me some Würth gel belt dressing and it seem to be working so far. I would assume after awhile, the squeak will come back when the gel is worn off. Or I guess I could keep buying belts to get the right one ahaha. So far I’ve tried gatorback and the oem belt, both seem to have the same results. But after the gel is applied, it’s gone. So good news is that the belt squeak went away, but for how long, I can’t tell. I’ll be buying the Würth gel I guess and keep it in handy. Thanks for all the help and inputs.

 

Maybe its Wurth it now that the squeal is gone