so i was driving home in the rain about a week ago and hit a huge puddle in the road. Once i stopped at a light and started to go i had a really loud squealing noise as if a belt was wet. The noise continued for 2 days and actaully increased with each day. On the third day i did some toolin around and noticed that the noise would only start once i hit 2k rpms and the noise would go away if i pushed the clutch in. Well after a cpl runs down the interstate under wot the nosie just randomly went away. Now today i installed my stage 2 and after a 3rd gear pull as i came to a stop and started to go again the sound came back but now its a very very low constant squeal/chirp and can only be heard in 1st n 2nd gear. After talkin with some people and telling them the sound goes away when i push the clutch in they think that when i hit the puddle, or lake, w/e u wanna call it.. that the clutch got water on it and possibly warped? i was wondering if anyone could confirm this or give their thoughts on the noise. Kinda dont want to take it to a dealership as i just installed my stg2 kit today.

 

In the past two days mine has been doing that as well! Well, it started as the power steering belt more than two days ago, and may still be that, but why would it stop/soften when you put the clutch in?

 

i dont know... i just thought it was a wet belt but if i push the clutch in the sound goes away completely which is why everyone thinks my clutch is warped from the water.

 

I meant to say that I have the same issue, although ti only happens when there is a lot of moisture in the air. I know it is a belt, but still can't figure out why it would soften when the clutch is pushed in... Can anyone shed some light on the matter for envious8 and myself?

 

Why don't you try to eliminate the belt possibility. Take some belt dressing or wd40 and spray it down. Sometimes belts will dry out, I have seen some belts be dry within a year. I know on my mk2 vw 16v, that this happens a lot. The belt will start to squeel when you are getting in the power, and when you step on the clutch, the belt will regain traction and stop squeeling. How much water did you go through? A lake? Then got out of the car to let the water seep into where the clutch is to warp it? How could enough water get into there to warp anything. Do cluches get that hot all the time to cause warping by water, brakes get hot and they don't usually warp. I guess I would eliminate the belt, it is probably dry and the water caused it to slip, and then once slipping it gunked up one of the pullies. Clean the pullies and replace the belt, you know they don't last forever, and even if they are not cracked doesn't mean they are still good.

 

In a week or I will be throwing some springs on the ride, so I plan on tinkering/tightening the belt at the same time. Word on the street is that the belt spray only masks the issue for a short period of time... Wouldn't WD40 dry it out worse? I don't even use that stuff on bike chains because it has more of a cleaning/ stripping ability than a lubricating one.... As for warping the clutch, I'm quite certain that is not my issue, but can't speak on behalf of envious.

 

If your belt is squeeling, the wd 40 will soften it, and make it swell a little, thus causing the squeel to go away. If this happens, I would just replace the belt, it is just a short term fix, like say till you replace the springs and are going to be digging around anyways. Replace the belt, and don't forget to check the pullies as well, they might have some build up on them as well.

 

Ah, I see... Thanks for the input!