Squeeky Belt/Car Overheating

Ok, guys here's the deal: About 3 weeks back my car's belt started squeeking; it was faint at first and would go away with a little driving. Now the squeeking is pretty loud and I decided I would order a Gatorback belt thinking the belt was worn. So I did. My real concern however is that my car overheated twice in the past 2 days; so is there a possibility it is more then a belt?

Also when changing the belt I had difficulties rotating the belt tensioner because my 3/8" did not want to fit over it. The image of tensioner belt also seems to be mirror image of the one shown in the following drawing, but everything else is not mirror-image.



Also as far as drivability goes; if the temp guage goes up to 250 but then quickly falls back down to 220 (which has happened both times) is it safe to drive?

Please someone help!

[digitalballz]

check for coolant leaks. Maybe a water pump leaking on your belt causing it to slip and squeak!

[Dave Carney]

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

Also when changing the belt I had difficulties rotating the belt tensioner because my 3/8" did not want to fit over it.

Over it? The ratchet end slips into the square hole on the tensioner. I used a tensioner tool myself but a ratchet should work.

Originally Posted by Dave Carney

Over it? The ratchet end slips into the square hole on the tensioner. I used a tensioner tool myself but a ratchet should work.

Hmm; that's weird I guess that I was trying to get at the wrong bolt...weird. Is it like directly below the engine mount?

Does anyone have a picture by chance?

Also if anyone knows about the overheating being a problem or not that would be quite nice to know, asap, thanks for the help guys.

[Bouchie11982]

hmm my belt squeaks as well and sometimes never goes away......but this usually starts when the weather starts to get cold. is this nearly the same that Rockfan has the same issue with the belt?

[Mike Jung]

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

...Also as far as drivability goes; if the temp guage goes up to 250 but then quickly falls back down to 220 (which has happened both times) is it safe to drive?...

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

...Also if anyone knows about the overheating being a problem or not that would be quite nice to know, asap, thanks for the help guys.

IMO,

NO, it is not safe to drive !
(In-terms of safety of the engine.)

At 250°F/121°C engine coolant temps: You are starting to cook all the fluids in your engine.
(Example: Motor Oil, ATF, Power Steering Fluid, & if any higher your Engine Coolant)
I hate to see what your Motor Oil & ATF temperatures are.

Anyone see what happens to regular dino motor oil at 250°F/121°C or higher ?
& your motor oil would be thinning out at those temps.

If you get any higher, you could start melting down/warp stuff in your engine; like your heads.


There is a reason why the high speed engine coolant fans come on at 110°C (230°F).

Originally Posted by iceman

The PCM commands Low Speed Fans ON under the following conditions:

The engine coolant temperature exceeds approximately 106°C (223°F).
The A/C refrigerant pressure exceeds 1310 kPa (190 psi).
The vehicle is shut off when the engine coolant temperature is greater than 140°C (284°F) and system voltage is more than 12 volts. The fans will stay ON for approximately 3 minutes.


The PCM commands High Speed Fans on under the following conditions:

The engine coolant temperature reaches 110°C (230°F).
The A/C refrigerant pressure exceeds 1655 kPa (240 psi).
When certain DTCs set.

Ok, so it's not safe to drive; that's fine.

What do you guys think the problem is with the overheating? Could is simply be caused by the belt? Or is it something more serious like a bad water pump; the reason I think it's the belt is because it has never been a problem until all of the sudden when engine temps started to rise at the exact same time the belt started to squeek.

An actual picture of the belt tensioner that is circled would be great as apparently im retarted and can't find the darn thing.

Thanks, again for the help.

[mfuller]

The tensioner basically is immediately below your alternator. Use a 3/8" breaker bar to rotat it so you can get the belt off.....the square hole nearest to the pulley, not the big bolt that attaches the tensioner assembly to the engine! Using the breaker bar, push towards the firewall to slip the belt off.
Like someone else said, check for anything leaking on the belt.

[digitalballz]

Take it to a garage! If you dnt know how the tensioner works than you dont need to be working on your car. Take it to a profesional and have them diag the car.

Originally Posted by digitalballz

Take it to a garage! If you dnt know how the tensioner works than you dont need to be working on your car. Take it to a profesional and have them diag the car.

Yeah, tomorrow I'm going to take it to a garage; though in my own defense I know it works by tightening itself up to take all the slack out of the belt. I was hoping I could change it myself; but that's alright. I

'm just hoping that it's nothing too serious as I don't have much money lying around.

[gectek]

its prob the slipping belt because there isnt much of a contact patch between the belt and the water pump anyway, so if it is the tensioner spring is bad and making the belt slip, then its a new belt and tensioner, also check the other pulleys and make sure they look ok

Ok guys so here's the news:
I had coolant leaking into my oil. It's either head gaskets or LIM gaskets that's probably causing the problem. It was leaking so bad that it started to spray and it got onto the belt; and for whatever reason I totally missed this when I went to do my check. They gave me a quote of $1,640. How reasonable is this?

The guy said that they couldn't determine wether it was the head gasket or the LIM gasket without taking it apart. That being said they could replace the LIM gasket for $800, but the thing is that since they couldn't determine whether it was the head or lim gaskets that doing a lim gasket change for $800 would be a 50% chance of success as it may just be a head gasket; in which case it would could me $2400 to fix...so I'm probably going to pay the $1600...

The only thing is; it there a cheaper alternative to this, how unreasonable/reasonable is this price, should I get this looked further into? Would it be cheaper to order the parts online and bring the parts to them?

The cost would break down like this: Labor Parts Subtotal
R/R Head Gaskets (Both Banks) 880.96 399.99 1280.95
01PGAHGS Head Gasket Set 399.99 399.99
Machine Shop Labor 300.00 300.00

Labor: $1180.96
Parts: $399.99
Shop Supply: $24.18
Subtotal: $1605.13

[Bouchie11982]

sorry to hijack the thread, but im also having a squeay belt issue. but everytime i bring it to the dealership (still under warranty) it doesnt make the noise, so i had them keep it over nice and start it in the morning. nothing....
so could it be my LIM gasket leaking again? this was already repaired last year. the squeaking started last winter, then stopped once spring/summer came around. now it started again but even louder and longer, sometime sit doesnt go away until i shut the car off

[DrFabulous]

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

Ok guys so here's the news:
I had coolant leaking into my oil. It's either head gaskets or LIM gaskets that's probably causing the problem. It was leaking so bad that it started to spray and it got onto the belt; and for whatever reason I totally missed this when I went to do my check. They gave me a quote of $1,640. How reasonable is this?

The guy said that they couldn't determine wether it was the head gasket or the LIM gasket without taking it apart. That being said they could replace the LIM gasket for $800, but the thing is that since they couldn't determine whether it was the head or lim gaskets that doing a lim gasket change for $800 would be a 50% chance of success as it may just be a head gasket; in which case it would could me $2400 to fix...so I'm probably going to pay the $1600...

The only thing is; it there a cheaper alternative to this, how unreasonable/reasonable is this price, should I get this looked further into? Would it be cheaper to order the parts online and bring the parts to them?

The cost would break down like this: Labor Parts Subtotal
R/R Head Gaskets (Both Banks) 880.96 399.99 1280.95
01PGAHGS Head Gasket Set 399.99 399.99
Machine Shop Labor 300.00 300.00

Labor: $1180.96
Parts: $399.99
Shop Supply: $24.18
Subtotal: $1605.13

I'd be willing to bet it's the LIM, not the head gaskets. VERY common with these cars.

Originally Posted by DrFabulous

I'd be willing to bet it's the LIM, not the head gaskets. VERY common with these cars.

I know that but the problem is it's a complete gamble and the car was overheated 4 times (got right when the overheated light went on I would pull over and let it cool; so it never stayed within the overheated temperature for more then 2-3 minutes), so the heads may be warped/cracked.

[DrFabulous]

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

I know that but the problem is it's a complete gamble and the car was overheated 4 times (got right when the overheated light went on I would pull over and let it cool; so it never stayed within the overheated temperature for more then 2-3 minutes), so the heads may be warped/cracked.

Jesus. You should just buy a whole new motor. I know around here I can get a 3400 installed for like $1600.

[Sprucegagt]

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

I know that but the problem is it's a complete gamble and the car was overheated 4 times (got right when the overheated light went on I would pull over and let it cool; so it never stayed within the overheated temperature for more then 2-3 minutes), so the heads may be warped/cracked.

Even if the heads were in good shape before overheating the car 4 times. I seriously doubt that they are now. I wouldn't bother with just a LIM gasket change.

[gectek]

Originally Posted by rockfan0005

I know that but the problem is it's a complete gamble and the car was overheated 4 times (got right when the overheated light went on I would pull over and let it cool; so it never stayed within the overheated temperature for more then 2-3 minutes), so the heads may be warped/cracked.

easiest way to tell with the LIM or headgasket issue is to either use a coolant pressure pump to pressureize the system and see where it leaks from, and also do a cylinder leakage test, that way you can determine if it is the LIM or the head gaskets, also if you do a compression test, it will show up as lower compression with a blown head gasket. those would be the prelim checks to do before you go out and get one or the other

DrFabulous-Where would you buy a whole NEW motor for $1600 then be able to get it installed? Or were you refering to picking one up at a junk yard? If I can get a brand new motor for that I would do that in a heartbeat.

Spruce-yeah; i don't imagine they are in good shape. Though the amount of time was so short each time. The first time it was for like 20 seconds in the red zone; the second time it was about 20 again; the third about 2-3 minutes; the fourth about 2 minutes.

One question I had was wtf didn't my stupid low coolant light go on?

gectek-I will keep that in mind and I may do that; I don't know how much each test would cost though; but it it costed less than $100 and it would show it was the LIM or the head gasket that certainly sounds promising.


Ok guys...I'm looking for advise as what to do:

I could go buy a yard that's 8 miles away from me and pick up an engine with 69,000 miles on it from an oldsmobile alero; but the problem is I am taking a gamble there too as it may very well be completly damaged and damage is not able to be seen from the outside; hell just like mine.

I could also go ahead and get the tests done and see if it's just the lim or the gasket and then have them do it (if so does anyone know where I could pick head gaskets/lim gaskets up for less than $400? as im sure that price is not the lowest they come)

Any other options?

Again thanks for the help guys I do really appreciate it; especially because money is very very tight for me at the moment.

[gectek]

the test equipment can be rented from any auto parts store, you would need a compression tester, a coolant pressure tester, and a cylinder leakage tester. they wont cost u anything really because you get your money back when u take them back. also the best way to test the new engine would be the same way. these tools are very useful and are a good investment if you are looking for some multi-use tools. just my .02