96 Nissan Sentra: How do I determine which pulley is squealing?

My 96 Nissan Sentra XE began to have squealing sounds come from the engine today. After opening the hood, I could hear that it was from the pulley area of the engine. It sounds like it is one of the bearings of one of the pulleys. How do I determine which pulley or unit it is coming from?

Thanks, Al Kondo

Reply to
Al Kondo
Loading thread data ...

Squealing can come from the belts or from the pulley bearings. Your Sentra has 2 drive belts: alternator (and A/C) belt and water pump (and P/S) belt. First, check the tension on the belts. If they seem tight enough, remove the water pump belt and start the engine. See if the noise is still there. If not, the problem is: the belt (most likely), the water pump , or the P/S pump (least likely). You can try and turn the pulleys by hand and check for noises.

If the noise is still there after you removed the water pump belt, look at the alternator belt and the pulleys it drives. There are 3 pulleys: idle\tensioner pulley, alternator and A/C clutch. Again, turn them by hand and listen carefully. If one of the bearings is bad, it will not squeal at low speed but it will make some funny noise.

Reply to
NickL

A quick(BUT BE CAREFUL!!!)way to determine a bad bearing is to use a

30-inch stick of wood(molding is fine, or ~1/2-inch diam metal rod), put one end on one spinning bearing and the other end to your ear--again, using due care. Hold it firmly & listen. Try each bearing, and the culprit will distinctly reveal itself. sdlomi
Reply to
sdlomi

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.