What noise could a loose or worn engine drive belt cause?

Grinding or squeaking noise from the belts or tensioner If the tensioner is loose the belts may squeak or squeal, especially when the engine is first started. It is also possible for the tensioner pulley or bearing to wear out, in which case the vehicle will produce a grinding noise from the pulley.

Why is my drive belt loose?

A loose drive belt may be the result of stretching over time. If your drive belt has stretched, it should be replaced. Depending on the vehicle, there are a number of ways you may be able to loosen the tension on the drive belt.

What does a slipping belt sound like?

Your engine belts make a screech or squeal noise usually because the rubber belt is slipping on the metal pulley and just like your tires spinning on the road, this causes noise. The belt may be slipping due to improper tension or because it simply has gotten old and the surface has become glazed, cracked or brittle.

How do you tell if a belt is slipping?

A squealing or noisy belt is one of the most common symptoms of a slipping or worn serpentine belt. Squealing can be more pronounced when you’re climbing a hill and running your heater or air conditioning at the same time. Squealing can also occur after you drive over deep puddles or have an undercarriage car wash.

What happens if the alternator belt is loose?

If your alternator belt gets too loose as you’re driving, it may cause your engine to stall. This means that you’re engine essentially shuts down and you’ll be forced to pull over onto the side of the road. Obviously, you wouldn’t want this happening on a busy street or rush hour traffic on the highway.

Can I drive with a loose belt?

Don’t drive any vehicle with a squeaky loose serpentine belt, because it will cause a lot of damages to the vehicle if it comes off the pulleys and breaking up into pieces.

Will loose belt cause overheating?

If there is not enough tension, a belt can slip, squeal or run hot. Quick fact: If your serpentine belt is loose, you may have other mechanical problems like under-performing water pump, which can cause the engine to overheat. Avoid performance loss.

How do you change the serpentine belt on an Acura TL?

Using the boxed end of the 14mm combination wrench, turn the tensioner pulley (Figure 1) counter clockwise to allow the serpentine belt can to loosen on the pulleys. Keep tension on the tensioner pulley until the serpentine belt can be removed from a single pulley.

Where is the tensioner pulley on an Acura TL?

The easiest pulley to get to is the power steering pulley at the top of the engine. Once the belt is pulled off the first pulley, release the tension on the tensioner pulley. Continue to pull the belt off of the other pulleys until completely removed. Figure 1. Tensioner pulley location. Take the new belt out of the wrapper.

What makes a belt sound like a squeal?

If you have belt noise that sounds like a squeal or chirp, you’ve got an underlying problem that must be fixed. The #1 cause of serpentine belt noise is a worn automatic serpentine belt tensioner. Most people blame the belt and replace it only to find the belt noise returns.

How big is the Gates belt on an Acura TL?

For instance, the Gates belt, PN: K060841, indicates the belt is 6 ribs wide and approximately 84″ long. With the new belt in hand, loop the belt with enough of it to fit over the crankshaft pulley. Feed the looped belt down the front of the engine and secure the loop around the crankshaft pulley.