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Elantra pulley misalignment

I have a 2000 Elantra that had the timing belt changed(it broke). It seems to run fine and has plenty of power, but we're getting a belt whine and screech when it's cold. The repair shop had reefed on the belts(alternator and a/c compressor?) so they were very tight, so I loosened them slightly to see if that was the problem. It didn't help. I was looking at it, and it looks like the two driven pulleys may be slightly out of line with the crank pulley. Could this be my imagination, or is there a way to put the crank pulley on so that it's not properly aligned.

Reply to
dubber
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It'd be so difficult to misalign the crank pulley as to be nearly impossible. It's possible the crank pulley is coming apart. If the noise is loud enough to be called a "screech," then your belt(s) are likely too loose. Pay particular attention to the alternator belt. In fact, it needs to be quite tight to not screech. To see if the noise is indeed coming from the belts, you can take a can of spray-lube like wd-40 and spray just a little on the belt to see if the noise changes or goes away.

Reply to
hyundaitech

Rather than lubricating it with a potentially harmful product like WD-40, wouldn't it make more sense to use a belt dressing on it like "Belt-Ease"?

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Nothing harmful in a short spurt of WD40 Brian. It's basically useless stuff, but it will help to identify something like belt slip with no after-affects. Belt-Ease on the other hand is something I would stay away from. A product like that is an attempt to circumvent proper maintenance and attention and IMHO will ultimately result in more harm than good.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

I'm with Mike on this one, Brian. I've found belt dressing --I'm not familiar with the particular product you've mentioned, so correct me if I'm off base-- to make a mess on the belts and the pulleys and to remain there and remain gummy, requiring substantial cleanup and making more issues at a later date.

I specified "just a little" to help insure the reader understood we were just looking for a change, not looking to lubricate the belt.

Reply to
hyundaitech

Reply to
Jody

The WD-40 will evaporate fairly quickly and won't cause any harmful affects. The idea here isn't too lubricate the belt permanently, just long enough to tell if slip is causing the noise.

Personally, I'd just tighten the belt to the proper tension and see if the noise goes away. If it does, then you are done. If it doesn't, then replace the belt.

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

Using belt dressing on ANY belt is a no-no. If a properly tensioned belt is making noise, then it needs to be replaced.

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

Fair enough. I've only used "Belt Ease" a couple of times and it doesn't create a mess. I understand your concern, since anything that attracts and holds dirt would create more problems than it solves.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

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