Forum:
Hi, I'm wondering if any can help. I bought a 1995 Sportrak a few days ago and over all the car seems to be in very good condition. However my query is this...
There seems to be loud squealing noises coming from one of the belts though i cant pin point a specific one. I have noticed though that the timing belt seems to be very rigid. There is no play in it all. Is that normal for a Sportrak?
If anyone has any suggestions on what might be causing these noises and about the rigidity of the timing belt can you please post a reply. Any help would be greatfully apreciated.
squealing noise
Hi,
The noise is most likley a slipping altanator belt it just wants to be tightened up more annoying than anything else it mostly screems when accelerating hard.
Hope this helps out.
Alfie.
SQUEELING SPORTRAK.
There are two visible belts on the sporty plus the cam belt behind the cover therefore I am not sure what the timing belt refers to other than the cam belt.
The two visible belts are the power sterring belt and the Alternator belt. At their longest length the movement should be 1/2 inch. I suspect te Alternator belt is the problem and will squeal when accelerating and also when drawing poewer on tick over or whe changing down at night. SOmetimes oil contamination can cause the problem and not belt loseness.This is often caused by WD 40 being spearyed on tothe rear of pullys which often squeak. The alternator belt is unfortunatly difficult to adjust and knuckles will get skinned. If either belt is hard orbrittle then theyprobably have seen better days. Do youknowwhen the Cam belt was changed? If not then you should consider changing the lot in one go. The Rad. has to come out to get the front cover concealing the cam belt and both the Alternator and power steering belt have to be removed first. That is the best time to change them with the Rad removed and doing the cam belt is not difficult and will save the engine.
There are two types of alternator belt , the first being the normal single V shaped an d the second being the multi v belt. Make sure you get the correct belt. I all most certain by 95 they had all changed to multi V but youcan check by looking at the Alternator pully or by feel. They are awkward to get to and if one broke on a journey then the wives stockings would not get you out of trouble like in the old days. All are available from Milner Off Road.
Hope this helps
oldminiman
M J Young
Thanks for the replys guys.
Thanks for the replys guys. I actually made a mistake on the orginial post. Its not the timing belt which is very rigid but the Steering Pump Belt. Is that normal?
Also the squealing noise is worse when the car is sitting idling, but dies down when revved up.
As for the timing belt though, it says under the bonnet that it should be replaced every 60,000 miles. The car has done 68,000 miles on the clock, is there anyway to tell if the timing belt has been replaced by the previous owners? Lastly if the timing belt did snap, can anyone tell me what kind of damage that might cause to the engine.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer, its much apreciated.
timing belt
hi
if this is a 1.6 with the engine code HD-E then it is called according to my autodata disk an "interference" engine meaning if the timing belt snapped then there is the possibility of valve to piston damage occuring.
for this i have a simple rule if buying any car from anywhere regardless of what people,service books or mileage say always always change the timing belt after all spending a little on a belt change is worthwide considering spending alot on a new engine,valves both inlet and exhaust, valve guides etc. i mean the cost of replaceing the belt could be 5- 10% of the cost of repairing the engine after belt failure
there is no way to be able to guarantee that the belt in the vch has done 6 or 60,000 miles so i would always replace it. now the manufacturers intervals and procedures are subject to alteration at any time
as for the squealing noises a word of caution it is possible to over tighten these its not a case of as tight as possible as in the long run damage could be done to the shaft bearings in the water pump,alternator shaft and power steering pump all could squeal if damp/oily. check by ensuring that the pulleys run parallel to the block and arent wobbling alot i totally agree with "oldminiman" regarding belt tightness but would add that with power steering squeal you may feel a bit of pulling on the steering wheel when squealing dusting the oftending pullys with a bit of talc will hush them up and help with finding the problem belt
good luck
H
Belts & Bits
Having just shelled out to have the timing belt replaced on my Fourtrak I concur with what the other folk have posted. It got changed at 51000 rather than 60000 as timing belts are age limited as well. And in terms of age not mileage the timing belt was overdue. And they replaced the power steering belt & auxilary belt at the same time thus saving a bit on the labour charge.
And still much cheaper than picking bits of engine up off the motorway.
If you have still got the noises after checking the auxilary / power steering belts for tension, pulley alignment etc, I recommend their replacement.The invoice here shows £8.42 plus vat for the auxilary belt and £8.33 plus vat for the power steering belt. Timing belt was £31.88 plus vat. The power steering was getting noisy when full lock was used, this noise has now dissapeared entirely since the belts were changed.
Fine when its going but a pain when it's not!
Thanks a lot for your help
Thanks a lot for your help guys I really apreciate it. I think i'll save myself any future grief and have all the belts changed at one go.
Thanks again for the help