Possible pulley sqeak?

[bklyn]

Had to change air filter and clean the maf due to a check engine light on. With the top hatch open I could hear a intermittent squeak coming from the drive belt area. The belt is new (approx. 6 months) can this be one of the pulleys? If so how should I check?

[JFP in PA]

Remove the serpentine belt, and turn each by hand. You will hear or feel a bad one.

[Wayne 962]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

Remove the serpentine belt, and turn each by hand. You will hear or feel a bad one.

I agree that you can do this if you work on cars all day long, but each pulley will tend feel differently regardless of whether they are working properly or not. A lot of people have come back to me, and told me that when they've tried this, all of the pulleys feel different and it's difficult for them to figure out if one is squeaking. I've also personally never had good luck "feeling" the pulleys myself when I've removed the belt, especially when there is an intermittent squeak like this.

What I like to do is get some WD-40 and spray it on each component (lightly) while the engine is running. This will help you isolate the noise (hopefully), and figure out which component bearing may be failing. If I were to hazard a guess, I would think that one of the two idler or the third tensioner pulley is failing. These tend to have smaller bearings, less support, and turn more revolutions than the components driven by the belt, and thus tend to wear out quicker. I have an article here on the replacement of the idlers: Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Idler Belt Pulley Replacement - 986 / 987

-Wayne

[bklyn]

This is what I needed, my weekend project. I did get some belt dressing on the belt from the top compartment but the squeak was not influenced what so ever.