texasmade830 Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 The squealing noise came a few weeks after changing water pump. Ever since I been trying to see where its coming from. The car squeals at just about every start up and off and on when driving and accelerating on the gas. I tried to check the belts one by one and I noticed that the noise stops when I leave the alternator belt off. As soon as I put it back on the noise is back. Could it be the alternator itself, because I tried replacing that belt and the noise was still there. Could it be another pully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 I don't have direct experience with the 4.1 liter powertrain but the alternator pulley is the most demanding point in belt traction/slipping in nearly all cars. One way to tell whether it is the alternator pulley slipping is to note whether it is instantly worse when you turn on the headlights, or stops when you turn them off. There are two places that a belt can slip if this proves to tell you that alternator drag is causing the problem, though - it could be the drive pulley that's slipping. If so, oil or antifreeze could be on the slipping pulley. I would start by removing the alternator belt, cleaning all the pulleys, looking for leaks of oil, power steering fluid, or coolant that could contaminate the belt or pulley, and then put on a new belt at the recommended tension; don't try tightening the belt as much as you can to stop slipping as this can cause damage to the alternator bearing or the idler pulley bearing. One key point is that this started after changing your water pump. If coolant contaminated the belts or pulleys, you probably need to replace the belts. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 The squealing noise came a few weeks after changing water pump. Ever since I been trying to see where its coming from. The car squeals at just about every start up and off and on when driving and accelerating on the gas. I tried to check the belts one by one and I noticed that the noise stops when I leave the alternator belt off. As soon as I put it back on the noise is back. Could it be the alternator itself, because I tried replacing that belt and the noise was still there. Could it be another pully Did you tension the belt properly when you replaced the alternator belt? There is a deflection spec. per a given application force applied at the midpoint. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmade830 Posted September 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 No I did not tension the belts to specifications. I'm goin to go ahead and clean all the pulleys and replace all the belts hope this solves the issue. Ill also be getting a belt tensioner to get the belts to specifications. Any good belt brand suggestions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted September 26, 2012 Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 No I did not tension the belts to specifications. I'm goin to go ahead and clean all the pulleys and replace all the belts hope this solves the issue. Ill also be getting a belt tensioner to get the belts to specifications. Any good belt brand suggestions If you didn't tension the belts, that is probably the source of the squealing. From your original post, you replaced the alternator belt so I doubt that one is the issue. Unless the other belts are old, I'd be inclined to tension the belts and see if the noise goes away. When I had cars with the individual belts, I never used a tensioner - I just estimated the force by hand and adjusted the jackscrew to tension the belts. I agree a tensioner is the proper way to go but I imagine those are hard to come by just like a carburetor choke angle plate gage. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmade830 Posted September 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 Just bought all new AC delco belts and in the process of putting them on. As I was cleaning all the pulleys I noticed the a.I.r pump pulley was making a little squeal noise as I turned it, could that be causing the noise? But again the noise was only there with the alt to fan belt was on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 I don't know if the A/C belt passes over a pulley on the A.I.R pump shaft or not. If not, it seems unlikely that the A/C belt would affect the A.I.R. pulley. The simplest way to tell is to oil the bearing or change the pulley and bearing and see if the squealing stops. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmade830 Posted September 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 No the AC belt doesn't pass through the air pump. What can I oil the bearing with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 I haven't owned a 4.1 liter so I'm unfamiliar with the pulleys, as you know from my earlier posts. If it's not sealed, I suggest motor oil. If it's a sealed ball or roller bearing but the seals are gone, I would use something like motorcycle chain lube, which is lithium or moly grease in a penetrating oil base and a propellant like Freon that boils away. The combination of effervescence and a penetrating oil base will get the lubricant into the bad bearing. If the squealing stops, then, if the bearing is not sealed, you are done. If it's a bad sealed bearing - as it almost certainly is - then you will need to replace the bearing. A new pulley will come with a new bearing. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinW Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 If I recall correctly, the HT4100 alternator belt runs off the waterpump pulley, which is driven by a waterpump-airpump-crankshaft belt, similar to some older Cadillac V8s. Keep in mind that the alternator belt may not be squealing; rather, the additional load of the alternator may be causing the airpump belt to slip over the waterpump pulley. I tend to set new belts on the tight side to compensate for break-in, but prefer to run with minimal tension to prolong accessory life. Alternator V-belts need to be tightened to the point where the pulley no longer slips when torque is applied to the alternator's cooling fan (by hand). In the case of the later Oldsmobile V8 accessory belt arrangement, one should be able to turn the crankshaft by manipulating the alternator pulley. ___________________________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolnesss Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 Whatever you do, do it quickly. When the belts are loose, they can glaze on the surface of the pulleys, and the belt then needs replacement. This sounds like a classic loose belt. The fact that it is squealing now a few weeks after installation, it's because the belt has now stretched out a bit after the break-in and needs to be tensioned again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmade830 Posted September 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 Cleaned up all the pulleys and put all new belts....so far so good no squealing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Sometimes the simplest problems, once solved, give us the most fits in getting to the solution. Not too far back, I had a connector farkled a couple of years ago by a mechanic and had one wire pulled out and jammed back in, and the connector clamp apparently mangled and certainly thrown away. It took a year and three mechanics to fix it. A Goodwrench mechanic did the trick by going through the GM process, which involved using an ohmmeter on the grounds - and pulling on all the wires, one of which pulled right out. Unfortunately, it was too inaccessible for me at my age to make it a DIY project, as I would probably have had it in a few days. In fact, I took that old car back to the dealer because I couldn't get mechanics to listen to me and look at the connector. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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