Also: The serpentine belt attaches to (3) pulleys. The middle/bottom pulley (may be connected to the water pump) does NOT spin when tried to rotate hand. Should it? Maybe I need to loosen it. If so, how do I get to the bolts on it (it is a tight area).

 

Sounds like what happened to mine just before the bearings in the A/C compressor went out. Hopefully you didn't over-tighten the belts. Over-tightenning them will cause premature death of the bearings. From memory, if you have a standard set of box-end/open end combo wrenches, and a regular socket set with extensions, you should be able to get at whatever you need.

I would take all the belts loose and spin each pully to see if there is any catch in them. If you find one that doesn't spin freely, it probably needs to be replaced. That excludes the crank (the bottom one) pulley of couse. The rest of them should spin OK, even the water pump.

 

One more tip: If its the A/C compressor bearings, like mine was, it will only squeel or break belts when the A/C is on, since the clutch must be engaged. That is unless the clutch/pully mechanism itself is what is causing the problem.

 

It's an auto. Plus, I didn't have the A/C or Heat on.

 

Can somone please tell me WHICH pulley is the water pump pulley? It seems that a common problem is that this pulley is installed backwards during re-installation. Also, how can I tell if this pulley is on backwards?

 

The water pump pully is somewhat in the middle of all of the other ones, and by far the most difficult one to fix. Its not the power stearing, which is the front most one on top, or the alternator, which is the front most one on bottom. There is also a tensioner pulley, that is smallish, and has a hex bolt right behind the pulley for adjusting tension (you probably know the one I mean). Sometimes those go out as well. Usually if the water pump is bad you start leaking coolant, but that's not allways the case. If it needs to be replaced, you'll be replacing the timing belt at the same time.

 

was tinkering around today and realized that perhaps the belt could be tightened a little more. It really is not that tight. My current method for tigthening to use a long skiny metal bar I have and pry back the alternator until the belt seems tight. I haven't had trouble doing this alone, but the belt seems to be slightly loose each time after doing this. What do you guys use to pry back the alternator. Also, I have been loosening the 12mm bolt on the right side of the alternator to do this, this is the only bolt, correct?

 

Yes, that's the only bolt for the alternator belt adjustment. I think I usually use a large box end wrench, but it doesn't really matter what you use.

 

Ok, thanks. I tried to tighten it a little more by applying more of my weight. I think for now it worked.

 

Update: Well I have been battling with this belt for the last two weeks, but to no avail. I have tigthened it over 50 times this weeks trying to stop the squeaking, but no luck whatsoever. I have tried different tensions, tools, etc. Since there are always new guys coming on here, I thought I'd see if any of you have any tips on stopping DSM belt squeal. You older guys are welcome too, but you already had to help me with this crap before.

Anyway, like I stated before, all of the pulley's seem ok. I will get the squeaking to stop for a day or two, then it comes back. It usually takes 4-5 attempts to quiet the thing, but like I said, it'll come back within days. I am clueless to the fix for this problem. Any advice is helpful.

 

Well, I had a crappy last two days.

I took the Eclipse up to my buddies shop yesterday to have him look at the pulley's, belt, etc (since I cannot seem to fix this on my own). He could not find anything that would be causing the belt to squeak/break. I have a new belt on for now, but I really need to figure out what is causing the noise/breakage soon. Of course, the thing is already squeaking again, and it's only 1 day old

I noticed something on the way home from work tonight. My guage lights dim/brighten as I drive at night. It seems that when they become dim, the squeaking would stop, and when they brighten up again, the belt squeaks. What could cause this?

Finally, when I had went out to my car yesterday morning to go to the shop, I noticed right away that the brakes weren't working properly. The petal was going straight to the floor with no feedback in the brake system. I was able to get it there, and right away he found a leak in the brake line. The right rear line leading to the caliper (?) was extremely rusted and had a pinhole in it. Turns out the the entire rear line is was rusted to shit, and wasn't holding fluid at all. My buddy went ahead and replaced the entire brake line system free of charge (still can't figure out why), so I owe him big time. Just curious, what would this normally run somebody?

But yeah, this serpentine belt is biopolar, one minute it's fine and dandy, next minute its screaming. I feel like I have tried everything, and am about to give up.

 

[Your alternator could cause that problem] *edited*

There are only 3 things I can think of that will cause your problem:
1) Backwards WP pulley
2) Bad bearing on pulley
3) Half broken crank pulley

It sounds like you have checked thoroughly; but just to be clear:

Take all the belts off. Rotate each pulley by hand at least 360*
It should feel smooth but firm. No rough spots. It should have no side to side movement, and if you spin it (like a top/not just rotating), it should stop moving very shortly after you have applied the "twist"

If all checks out, check the spacing on the waterpump pulley from the timing belt cover. If it is on correctly, the pulley should almost touch the cover, if it's on wrong, you will have a noticeable gap (about 3/16") Trust me, I know cause I have done this. Note: a belt that has been on a dsm with backwards wp pulley will show more wear on one side than the other, and the ribs in the serpentine belt will be stretched more than normal.

If that checks out, put on the alt, wp, and crank belt only. Try to eyeball the belt and make sure it is very straight. Use a straight edge and good lighting to make sure it's straight. If it looks straight, the start the car and see if you can get the squeel to go away through tension.

If you can't solve the problem this way, try belt dressing. If it persists, inspect your crank pulley for cracks in the rubber piece (there are 2 metal pieces on your crank pulley and they are held together by rubber. When the rubber begins to fail it can cause the belts to misalign as the crank pulley separates from itself).

I know it's long, hope this helps you.

 

Ok, thanks a lot. I will try all of that this weekend. A few questions:

1) Is there a way to tell if the waterpump pulley is on backwards by simply looking at it? It is very close to the timing belt cover as you stated. I have not found that that one side of the belt shows more wear than the other, it just seems to wear evenly if anything.

I have belt dressing, but this doesn't do anything for me. It keeps the sound away for a bit, but that's about it.

 

One more thing. Should the bottom pulley be able to rotate by hand? It's the largest one I am speaking of. I have heard yes and no.

 

no, that's the crank pulley. It moves with the motor's internal parts. You don't need to worry about that one moving freely cause it won't!!!

just check the condition of it (ie cracked rubber) and check the straightness of the belt like stated.

Where does the belt seem to break? Does it shred?

 

oh yeah, how's the spacing of the ribs look? When I had my pulley on backwards I noticed the ribs spread out more (1/8") duh.... Doesn't sound like your problem though.

When the pulley is on backwards, it's not so obvious. But it will stick out a bit more than in the correct position. I mean the pulley should damn near touch the timing cover.

 

Well the pulley defintely is near touching the plastic cover. I observed the belt while spinning and it wasn't being interferred with at all, so I figured that was fine.

The belt broke this past week with a pattern of wear in the middle. It was to the point where you could poke your finger right through the middle of the grooves. I think this was caused by overtightening, way after the fact that the belt was continually slipping. I never seem to find wear on the outer edges.

 

Like I said, I will try and see if the pulleys appear ok again, as you suggested. Hopefully can get to that this weekend, or Monday at the latest. I will try spinning them, seeing they move in or out, etc. From what I can tell, they are not chipped. They are cleaned up of any grease/rubber also.

The last time I personally took off the belts to check the pulleys myself was in November. I am trying to remember how long it took me. How long should I give myself? I just want to make sure I have enough time before work, or if I should wait. Is it necessary to take off the right side motor mount? I remmber having to do this last time for some reason.

 

If I find that a pulley needs replacing, what is the best way to locate a new one?

 

There is only a brace going to the motor mount that needs to be taken off. It is about 3-4" and it goes around the PS belt. The motor mount can stay put.

Give yourself at least an hour if you are not confident in your mechanics.

If one of your pulleys is bad, you are going to have to buy either a complete alt (or rebuilt), water pump, or crank pulley (also called harmonic balancer/dampner)

I would buy them new if I could. Genuine mitsu if you can afford it (esp on the alt) parts store for other stuff.

Remember, you don't have to have an ac belt if the belt runs nothing but the ac.

 

Oh, so if a pulley is bad then you have to replace the part that it controls as well? For example, if a water pump pulley is bad, that always means the water pump is bad too? I'm not sure that I follow.

 

Alright well Monday I will have a solid 5 hours to tear this thing apart and see if I can find anything. I just want to get everything straight and perhaps you guys can help me. I need to figure out what each pulley is called (in case replacement is needed).

Pulley # (1) Alternator Pulley? Should I be able to spin this pulley by hand? If it does not spin, does this mean it needs replacing? Can you buy just the pulley or do you need to replace the entire alternator in this case?

Pulley # (2) Bottom Pulley - As stated, this is the "bottom, or lowest pulley" that controls the serpentine belt. I think this may be the crankshaft pulley. How can I tell if this is bad? I know that this will not spin by hand. If it needs to be replaced, is this difficult? This is also the largest pulley.

Pulley # (3) Middle Pulley - This pulley is the highest pulley that control the serpentine belt. It may be a water pump pulley? I am not sure. It is a two peice pulley, meaning it has two pulleys. I think that four bolts connect this to the motor.

Anyway, I am just trying to find out HOW to find out which pulleys are causing my problems, if any. Sorry for being repetitive, just getting my thoughts together.

Also, I mentioned that my dimming lights seem to correlate somewhat with the squealing, any idea why?

 

Alright well Monday I will have a solid 5 hours to tear this thing apart and see if I can find anything. I just want to get everything straight and perhaps you guys can help me. I need to figure out what each pulley is called (in case replacement is needed).

Pulley # (1) Alternator Pulley? Should I be able to spin this pulley by hand? If it does not spin, does this mean it needs replacing? Can you buy just the pulley or do you need to replace the entire alternator in this case?

Pulley # (2) Bottom Pulley - As stated, this is the "bottom, or lowest pulley" that controls the serpentine belt. I think this may be the crankshaft pulley. How can I tell if this is bad? I know that this will not spin by hand. If it needs to be replaced, is this difficult? This is also the largest pulley.

Pulley # (3) Middle Pulley - This pulley is the highest pulley that control the serpentine belt. It may be a water pump pulley? I am not sure. It is a two peice pulley, meaning it has two pulleys. I think that four bolts connect this to the motor.

Anyway, I am just trying to find out HOW to find out which pulleys are causing my problems, if any. Sorry for being repetitive, just getting my thoughts together.

Also, I mentioned that my dimming lights seem to correlate somewhat with the squealing, any idea why?

As long as the belts are off, all the pulleys should turn except for the crank pulley.

#1)the alt pulley: If it does not turn as I described before, then the bearing inside the alternator is bad. You will need a new alt, or have the old one rebuilt.
#2)crank pulley: Check this one last. I have already told you how to check if it's bad, but to REALLY check it you will need to remove it. It's not difficult, you will need a breaker bar to take it off though. It's much harder to put back on unless you have air tools because the middle bolt needs to be very tight and the whole pulley will turn when you try to tighten it.
#3)water pump pulley: the waterpump is mounted to the engine block with more than 4 bolts (6 or 7 I think). The actual pulley is bolted to the waterpump with the 4 small bolts you see. Like the alternator, if the pulley does not turn as described once the belts are removed, the unit will need to be replaced.

You mentioined your lights before, and I answered it. Yes, the alternator could be at fault. As the demand for electricity increases, the alternator works harder. The alternator might not be able to keep up with the load your lights put on it and that could cause the squeeling. My alternator is doing this now, only when I turn off my lights, the squeeling stops. However, before you replace parts, you have to CHECK IT.

for additional info on how to do stuff on your motor, go to www.vfaq.com

I'm out. I have to clean my spoon.

 

You stated, "Water Pump Pulley...if the pulley does not turn as described once the belts are removed, the unit will need to be replaced."

When you say the "unit will need to be replaced," do you mean the entire water pump?

You also stated, "My alternator is doing this now, only when I turn off my lights, the squeeling stops."

What do you plan on doing for this?

 

Well I just got done looking at everything involved with the alternator/power steering belts. This is what I found out:

1) Alternator/Alternator Pulley: I let the car run and disconnected the negative battery cable. Car ran for 20 minutes with no problems. I will not be able to get to take to alternator itself up to autozone for a few days. The alternator seems fine though, unless a test would prove otherwise. As far as the alternator pulley, it spins well, no rough spots at all. I did notice something though. When you spin the pulley clockwise (when directly facing the pulley), it spins great with no noise or rough spots. However, when you spin it the other way, there is slight squeaking. The squeaking get worse if you speed it up or put more pressure on it. Mind you, it's very faint. Does this matter? I am not sure of the alternator only rotates in on direction to begin with. I am assume it goes clockwise when running?

2) Power Steering (PS) Pulley: The PS pulley closest to the front of the car (the one which is next to the tensioner bolt, seems to be going. It in slower when you spin it, and it moves very slightly out (left and right) when you pull on it. If this pulley were going bad would this affect the alternator belt(serpentine belt) ? It does not share an axel with any alternator pulleys, but as many of you know, the second PS pulley runs off of the serpentine water pump pulley. Could this cause the serpentine belt to eventually break?

All other pulley's seems fine, just the two above were worth noting anything about.

Finally, before I messed with everything, I took out the alternator fuse, just as a precaution not to blow it again. After I had the belt's back in place, I put the fuse back in, and started the car to test it all. I turned the headlights on and found that the driver's side headlight now doesn't work (low beams). High beams work fine, but the passenger side head light is the only low beam working. Is this a fuse failure? Or a burnt out bulb? I am not too worried about this currently, since I still have high-beams and all, but I will need to fix this as well.

Anyway, let me know if any of you have any input as to what I found today, Thanks a lot.