What's that noise?

[wholberg]

As the weather has gotten cold, my 87 Carrera has started making an unusual noise on startup.

When the engine fires up, I hear a high-pitched squeal that lasts for about one-half second. It is not terribly loud, and it does not recur when the engine is warm. On this forum, I have read that tensioners going bad gives a rattling sound, but this sounds like a quiet version of a slipping power steering belt on a old Chevy. I have checked the fan belt and the tension is OK.

Any other ideas?

Thanks.

[WERK I]

Still could be the belt. If it's old, the inside of the belt(grip side) gets hard and will slip making a squealing sound, even if the tension is ok.

[patkeefe]

Start the car with the belt off tomorrow when it's cold and see if it still does it. If it does, then worry.

[KFC911]

Yep, I'd bet on the fan belt...I had my outer pulley half replated a while back, and I'm still getting a similar noise 3K miles later...mostly when cold, and both upon startup and shut down. What Pat said....

[scottb]

A way to do a quick check to see if it is the belt is to give it a shot of WD-40. If it doesn't squeal, then you know the old belt is dry and needs to be replaced. Our host sells belts. If you're buying belts, buy two -- one for installation on the car now, and the other to carry in your tool kit.

[wholberg]

Originally posted by scottb
A way to do a quick check to see if it is the belt is to give it a shot of WD-40. If it doesn't squeal, then you know the old belt is dry and needs to be replaced. Our host sells belts. If you're buying belts, buy two -- one for installation on the car now, and the other to carry in your tool kit.

I'll replace the belt this weekend as I have a good one in the toolkit. We'll see what happens then