Weird Noise on startup.

[Weq]

hey guys, just a quickie here.
I washed my car the other day and left it for about 5 hrs or so on the road. I came back to put it into the garage, and when i started the thing it made a horrible squeel. The squeel lasted about 2 seconds and made me jump. I put it away quickly for the night, but inthe morning it made the same noise again. I pupped the hood and it was definatly comming from around the alternator/other belt's area. I had a poke around, looking for anything out of place but couldnt see anything. I then gave her a drive around and went to start her up againa nd she was ok.
Over the past few days i have still noticed this small squeel (like rubber shoes rubbing on tiles when they are met). It only happens for less then a second now, just as the engine is turning over - like the starter cranks - no noise - then when it kicks i hear a small screech and then nothing. I have had no other problems with her. This problem hasnt effected anything else.

My question is, and i correct in thinkings its something to do with the belts? it sounds like somethign isnt lubricated properly? ANy ideas?

My car is a 94 Civic VTi.

thanks!

[wynode]

Sounds like your fan fan belts are getting old, hard and noisey. Short of replacing them what you can do is spray the belts with some lubricant(note sure what its called) to get a bit of moisture into them.

Mine are making a slight squeek on startup but its nothing major.

[willsy01]

If it is in fact the alternator pulley you will find you can adjust alternator to get some tension back in the belt. It will most likely be held onto the block with two bolts, one of which will be one that allows adjustment.

[Civic Si]

Might b because the belts r wet?

Usually if da belts are wet or moisture is gettin to them, they'd make a high squeal noise at start up!

[Weq]

I had a good check over of the belts this arvo. The writing on them is still quite visible and i checked for cracks and abrasions as well as tension. Everything looks ok, if the loud screech comes back i'll check out the specs(tensions etc) of the belts with my haynes manual. I think though it coulda been some water on the belts as the first/only time it happened was after i washed my car, and went after my first drive....

thanks for ur suggestions.

[toE]

fink it's the fan belt...cos that happened to my dad's car a coupla years ago and he came back to me after letting a mechanic look at it saying it was d fan belt...hope u find the problem!!

[EG_2_TEG]

try putting morning fresh on the belts. fixed my old Vti civic

put a bit on ur fingers and apply it on da belts

[Weq]

Will the morning fresh do anything to to corrode or cause exccess wear tot he belts? I dont mind the noise, i just want to know if its saying 'help me i'm damaged' or its normal...

[wynode]

If its sqeaking, then it must be for a reason. As they get old and hard they tend to get noisy.

If you are worried then change the belts.

[SiNH]

Never put dishwashing detergent on any part of the car, especially never wash your car with it.

Reason being is that it has a high sodium ( salt ) content which will induce corrosion ( rusting ).

If you want to try the morning fresh idea, you are better off using car wash detergent since it has no sodium content.

I think that the belt, especially fan has been soaking up the water when you washed the car and its wet and inflated with water.

I suggest you park it on your front yard with the bonnet opened for 5hrs and let the sun dry out your engine bay.

Once its all dry then you can give it a go again, I dont think its anything serious.

[gen2_si_lude]

Had exactly the same problem with my lude at startup, I just went to the mechanic and we put it up on the hoist and what do you know, one of the two bolts that holds the alternator on was gone! I dunno how the poor thing kept turning over!

[-MuGen PoWer-]

yeah i had the same problem, try puttin the aircon on and accelerating and c if the squeaking noise is loud

my problem was the tension belt was loose and the bolt was loose from the pulley