ok, so ive had this little annoying, once in a while squeak form somewhere near the serp belt. its done it for months but its slowly getting more frequent. so i decided to replace the belt. only one i could get around here was a dayco, but i hear theyre "ok". so put it on, same little squeak. searched and read everything i could find, took belt off, spun all the pulleys except the crank and all seemed free of wobble and friction except for maybe a little friction in the idler and tension pulley. removed them and clean them up and shot some wd-40 in where the bearings are. both spin freely but the idler pulley seems to spin alot longer on my finger than the tension pully does. but yet not sound of grinding or binding etc. reinstalled the pulleys, same little squeak. sprayed wd-40 next to what looks like the fan clutch bearing? no change, still squeaking, sprayed wd-40 on where the tensioner assembly rotates, still squeaks. now im pretty much stuck wondering if it is in fact a pulley, the crank, or the tensioner assembly. when the belt is installed it feels pretty tight but i can turn it about half way so that i can see the ribs. maybe thats too loose?? im turning the portion between the power steering pulley and the crank.


if anyone has any ideas your input would be of great help. ive read about spraying the belt with wd-40, or white grease, or even lightly running sandpaper over the flat side of the belt. im a little hesitant to spray wd40 on a $50 belt.

fyi its a 2004 dakota quad cab 4.7, a/c , AWD/4WD/Auto


thanks again for any help guys, this squeak is driving me crazy.

Ptesmoke

 

Its hard to diagnose a noise problem online. But the usual culprits are the tensioner and idler pulley. But can be anything Just spray wd on everything just one pulley at a time. Do it at a self service car wash if you want so you can wash it off after.

 

Do you have a needle for your grease gun? If so poke it through the side of the (probably) sealed tensioner pulley bearing and give it a squirt. I had a Ranger years ago that drove me crazy like this and this cured it. Also make sure the tensioner is not binding and able to pivot freely. If not don't try to lube it, just replace it.

 

ok, so after i did everything i said in the first post, i went back outside and pretty much soaked the pivot point of the tensioner pulley arm. still squeaked, soaked a part of the fan, looks like where there bearing would be between it and the water pump pulley. let it sit over night in -20c. lol. got up today for work and no squeak.....its now -15c and 6pm. still no squeak. hopefully whatever i did cured a dry bearing and isnt just masking a problem that will just come back. i will keep you all updated but i am leaving for vacation soon for the holidays and wont be driving the truck for about 2 weeks. lets keep our fingers crossed!!


on a sid enote im starting to think it was something in the fan. you ever notice that when you turn of the engine the belt stops turning but the fan still slowly spins down?? well, a few times after i shut off the engine i would hear the little squeak ....squeak squeak. so this makes me think it is in fact something in the fan/bearing/etc. hopefully the wd40 cured it.


thanks for the input guys and i will report back in about a month and let you know how its working out.

Ptesmoke

 

Actualy, if the Wd40 did anything for you it most likely just masked the problem. Wd isn't really meant to be a lubricant (WD-40=water displacer, formula #40) yes, it does have 1001 uses one of it's best uses is as a cleaner/degreaser. that being the case it can really upset a grease or oil-filled bearing. it will probably squeak again soon. my advice is to keep trying to isolate your squeak (which sounds like you are on the right track as far as the fan and or water pump bearing) and replace the component.

 

Mine is a 98 and I'm getting the exact same squeek, and it is getting worse. About the time I started hearing the squeek I noticed a small drip of coolant leaking from where appears to be the water pump. Let me know if your squeek comes back. I'll try doing what you did and see if that at least quiets the noise. When driving you don't notice it as much as going through a drive thru or something. Then it really drives you nuts. ha