HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

I changed the alternator belt AND the power steering belt, but it still makin that high pitched squeal noise. Everytime i down shift it squeals and the rpm jumps to around 1300. Whats wrong with my car??? Do I have to tighten the altern belt more? Please help. Its a 97 Civic.

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

usually that loud squealing noise is one of the belts being loose...push on them and see if theyre loose and can use any tightening..try tightening them and see if that makes a difference...does it squeal right when you turn it on?

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

The belts should only have 1/2" of slack when u push it down in the middle but some ppl like to put them alil tighter.

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

Thanks! I will try that right now. It squeals when I turn it on sometimes.

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

I guess I had to tighten the alt belt a lot more than i thought, took about 3 trys.
Hope it doesn't squeal after a couple of days!
Thanks for the help (:

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

mine is doing the same thing. my alternator belt. i have it as tight as it will go....

its incredibly loud, i turned my car on in the morning, it was squealing for 20 seconds.. i turned the car on and immediately touched the alternator belt and it was incredibly hot..

too tight maybe?

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

i had the same problem with my 97 civic, it was my alternator belt that was not tight, tighten it up and the squealing noise went away

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

water pump bearing or alt bearing

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

You can actually take a bar of hand soap and run it on the inside of the belt while the car is running.

*WARNING THIS IS DANGEROUS*

The soap actually acts as a poor mans belt dressing and the sound will go away for a while. If its still making noise and its as tight as possible then something else is wrong. Like the guys said above, there should be about a half inch of deflection at correct tightness.

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

i finally fixed just needed a little man power haha
it wasn't tightened all the way, now my car doesn't squeal!
its been about two weeks and its goin fine (:
thanks!

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

I can't get mine to tighten fully I guess... I have it pushed back as far as it would go before I tightened up the 2 bolts

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

I used a bar to help me push it back far enough, then i had a friend tighten the bolts.it doesn't seem like it could go any further but after i did that my belt stopped squealing. the squealing can be caused by it being tooo tight or its still loose. make sure the ridges line up with the pulley and there are no small rocks or chips in the ridges of the pulley, that can have something to do with it as well.
hope this helps!

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

so it can squeal if its too tight also? i think mine is too tight then

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

II used a long screw driver to push it. I will try again though today if I have time. I appreciate it!

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

is it loose or too tight when i take off from a stop and squeal? cause thats what it does. it doesnt squeal when i start it up. just when i take off normally from a dead stop.

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

Mine squeals at start, sometimes when stopped, and when I down shift

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

Mine squealed at start/stop, when i take off and down shift. My problem was that the belt was too loose. If the belt is too tight it can also break and wear easily.
I changed both the power steering and the altern., both was getting old.
(It can even be your power steering belt??)

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

:scared:

Re: HELLLLP! Car is making a squealing sound.
 

I have never seen a belt squeal from being to tight but I have seen the grooves in the pulley wear down to were the belt didn't make good contact any more. If ur pulley is worn then no matter how tight u get it, it is still going to squeal. Also if it is to tight u will wear out the bearings and brushes in the alt., p.s., a/c, whatever faster.