Squeaking Noise during start up after drive belt change

Your belt is loose.

Nirav

96 Max GLE, 125k

Yep, it needs to be a lot tighter than you would think.

Thanks for the help. Will take it back to the dealer. Will be mad if he charges me labor again.

New belts almost always need retightened after a few weeks. They will stretch initially, but after the re-tightening, they should be fine. If you let them squeak for too long, they may start to glaze over, and will need to be replaced again.

Do it yourself. It's about the easiest DIY job you'll find.

No, it isn't. It is about a 3 on a 10 scale for 96-99, although he didn't say what he's got. That's assuming you have jackstands so you can take off the front passenger wheel, and also that you know the damn screw for the power steering belt works in reverse of logic.

It's possible that chirp is actually coming from the starter, due to dried up grease. If so, it will continue to get worse as cold weather sets in, and the miles accumulate.

Not to mention finding and loosening the power steering pump pivot bolt. The PS adjust screw will break and the pump won't move until that pivot bolt is loosened. Honestly, that one pivot bolt makes this job much more difficult.

Dave

So it wasn't just me :) I thought I was having a bad day under the car while changing my belts... Here is how I spent my 1.5 hours...

10 mins removing wheel/fender lining, and raising car 10 mins removing accessory belt 20 mins locating/reaching loosening power steering pump pivot bolt 10 mins loosening PS belt tensioner 20 mins replacing both belts and tightening pulleys/tensionsers/etc. 10 mins replacing wheel/fender lining 5 mins to readjust tension to eliminate startup chirp

I'll proabably need the same amount if I do it again - that pivot bolt is so hard to identify - even with the FSM and Haynes handy.. I was doing all sorts of contortions trying to visualize it and locate it...

Nirav

96 Max GLE, 125k

I was just referring to adjusting the belt, not replacing it. I can do one of the adjustments just by opening the hood. The PS belt has to be done from below, and the alternator belt too. The OP just said "drive belt", and didn't indicate what year it was.

I guess I've done it so many times on my '91, along with other much more difficult repairs, it just "seems" like such an easy fix.

You guys with your high society timing chains have just forgotten how us little people still have to do the timing belt/water pump repair every

60-75K miles. ;-)~

Wow, this is much more complex/time consuming than my '91. I'm sure I could replace all 3 belts in probably 30-40 minutes.

Bill G '91 SE Auto

Bill,

tightening the accessory belt on the VQ30DEs is very easy, its the power steering belt that is a pain. The accessory belt can be tightened just via the hood opening (as for your 91) -> loosen the idler pulley and then adjust the tensioner as needed.

Nirav

And loosening the idler pulley can be a project in itself. The nut was frozen, and I stripped it while trying to remove it. I had to cut it with a nut cracker, or whatever it's called.

The alternator belt is a bit too loose.