in the morning when i start up the car, or when it hasnt been driven for several hours. it makes this loud screeching noise. i thought it was the drive belts. i managed to change one. but it seems that the sound isnt really the belts because the noise didnt even lower in volume. it sort of sounds like it comes from the back of the engine bay in the middle. and it starts to go away once the car is at N.O.T. i think. i hope its not the trans. its an auto. any thoughts about what this could be. i could try taking a video of it.

also after changing one of the belts. when i turn the wheels all the way in one direction as im driving i get a screech for 2 or 3 seconds.

 

it's the power steering / alternator belt, change it and you'll be fine

 

Check for belt play. That's a good way to find out which belt is loose. A quick check would be to use your weakest finger and push a belt down. If you can move the belt really easily, chances are good that you found the issue. Better yet, look at the underside of the belt for cracks and wear. It's easy bro. Squeals usually come from the belts.

Does the squealing go away if you rev the motor to a sem-high RPM range?

 

well i change the bigger one of the 2 belts. the old one had lines on the back side of it. i couldnt get to the smaller belt yet. that one is hidden pretty good. when i rev the engine the noise only gets louder. when i start to reverse out of the drive way the volume lowers. but when i pull away in drive it gets louder as the rpms get higher.

 

its definetly the belt

 

I agree its the belts too.

 

is there an easy way to get to the smaller belt. ive taken a look at it and that thing is really down in there. i have ramps for the car so i can get under the engine easily. Haynes doesnt really provide enough info. maybe i have to reread it again. cuse i cant find the pulley for the small belt.

 

ouch! i still have that problem with my car...when it first starts, it squeels. annoying. good luck on the fix.

 

I've got a 99 and with 85k miles and it's doing the same thing. I recently changed all belts accept for the timing belt because I couldn't get the crankshaft pulley to budge, so I could get it out of the way. On there solid so I had to quit. I did try using the right puller. Didn't matter.

Anyway, I believe I've narrowed the squealing down to the tensioner pulley, which is up front and relatively easy to loosen and access. The only problem is, when you try to pull the bolt out the side, it hits against the frame. So there's no getting this pulley off for me. I've looked at the center piece where the bearings are and I can tell it's no good. The grease is coming out the back. I bought the new center piece on ebay to replace the old one, for 30 bucks. I've had it for a year, but I don't know how to get the pulled off. If I call a dealership, they won't tell me for "liability reasons".

Anybody know here? The belts are tight. It squeals when I first turn on and when I drive for a while and eventually the squealing stops. It's very irritating. Anybody know the best way to get the tensioner pulley off? The easiest way? Do you have to take the whole bracket off?

 

I took the one motor mount off on the passenger side and lowered the motor down a little bit. Then you can access the smaller pulley better. I suggest doing this with two people as it's not as easy as you would think.