Don't ignore a squeaky belt!

[ski4evr]

Caught it before it failed, but could have been tragic this weekend. Been hearing a little squeaking in the mornings while warming up engine. Quit once got underway, and never heard again. Finally annoyed me enough and I ordered new belt and tensioner (with my luck, its never the easy fix). Belt is 1 1/2 seasons old. Tensioner is original. 830 hours. Tensioner was definitely "softer" than the new one and the picture tells the story on the belt.

[jhersey29]

Did you check the pulleys and make sure one of them isn't stiff. The only time I've had a squeak in the belt was right before impeller explosions. Check impeller or anything else that belt rotates. Alternator, etc.
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[ski4evr]

Yep, everything was "free" turning, replaced impeller last month, thinking the tensioner was letting belt slip until it built enough friction and heat to start grabbing. Will definitely be keeping a close eye, and ear on it. Side note, if I had put my hand on the engine cover "the pretty red one" I would have felt all the belt dust and fixed it sooner.

[HS]

Tensioner was definitely "softer" than the new one.

Ski4evr, can you explain what you mean by this? Is it the surface of the old tensioner causing wear?

[ski4evr]

The spring was weak. It didn't take very much effort to release the tension on the belt. Wasn't aware until I changed it out. The new one had substantially more tension than the old one. There was belt dust all over engine. Again, not sure if the tensioner was the culprit, but the 1 1/2 year old belt was near failure. Well definitely keep a closer eye on the new one in case something else is causing the issue.