I was told by a mechanic friend that my squealing/ squeaking belt is being caused by a misalignment. We did the water bottle trick (spraying water on the ribbed side of the belt while in motion )...apparently if it got louder its a tension issue and if it quieted down , its a misalignment issued. And after spraying it... It got quiet....not really sure what to check... The belts got less than 8k and 2 years on it.

Thanks in advance!

 

I for one have never heard of such a trick.

Is it a cheap off-brand belt or a good name brand one? Belt material does make a difference.

Guess you could always check pulleys and their alignment using a straight edge between each pulley groove and see if any are out of alignment.

 

Not too sure about that trick, not to say it doesnt exist. Check if the tention wheel is within adjustment, (there are marks near the pivot bolt). Check inside of the belt for missing pieces .If there are than its time for a new belt. Do check with straight edge. Try installing the belt going backwards as it could have some cone wear.

 

the belt is a dayco. i also saw the trick mentioned on a dayco video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwtLj_2SMNw..will take your advice and check with straight edge.

also belt visually looks good, no cracks or any real signs of wear noted

 

Ditch it and get a Goodyear Gatorback. These engines do not like conventional serpentine belts. Many members have replaced a TON of parts in the accessory drive to find that it was the brand new belt making the noise. The Gatorback has slots cut across it on the underside that allows it to bend more sharply as well as have better traction around the grooved pulleys.

 

over every youtube video i watched in the last hour it was of the dayco belt causing the squeak and replacing with a gatorback does the trick haha. what size would I need, i remember last time i looked i saw the ac and non ac length sizes which I would need ac size. but there were different length by an inch or so

 

Must be a reason why I have always used Gatorback belts on all my vehicles. They cost a bit more, but I have never had one squeal or break....I just replace them after 5 years as a preventive maintenance thing.

 

mine is on its way, yea an old coworker suggested it about 3 years ago when this happened before, but it went away and here its back. such an annoying sound lol

 

gatorback worked perfectly so far, but i dont expect itll give me a problem. will keep the old belt as a backup. thank you once again guys!

 

If the noise comes back, watch the video again in post #4 regarding pulley misalignment, and how to correct it.