Hey you 3800 owners, do you get chirps and a low pitch squeal when the belts get wet? When it rains my belt/belts chirp and are noisy. Been that way since I purchased the car. Car does not have splash shields so may be water is getting up to the belts. I am looking for the shields. Yes I know Rodney has some, but being unemployed I am searching for good used first.
But why is water causing the belts to be noisy and when they dry out they are quite?
Possibly lack of tension. General rule of thumb is 10lbs/belt rib. So if you have a 6 rib belt you should be aiming for 60lbs of tension.
If you have no idea what your's is at stop by an Auto Zone and ask to borrow/rent their Krikit gage. If they have the laser alignment tool get that as well and check the alignment of the pulleys as that could cause a belt to wear out quickly and exhibit those characteristics.
Another possibility is that it could just be a crappy belt. I've had good luck with Goodyear Gatorback belts when others would sequel like the stock 2.8 V6 belt routing.
Check the age of the belt and wear. The new belts no longer crack, but the material wears down. As the others said, check the tensioner also. I don't think it should squeal, even when wet, but it's always a good idea to replace the rubber shields. (Mine didnt have the rubber and did not squeal). I prefer Gatorback or the nice gates ones also. If there isn;t enough tension, maybe you need a slightly shorter belt.
Dont know I bought the car this way. You would have to ask anavaree what he installed. I have had several comments when the pulleys were view " what kind is that?"
Check the age of the belt and wear. The new belts no longer crack, but the material wears down. As the others said, check the tensioner also. I don't think it should squeal, even when wet, but it's always a good idea to replace the rubber shields. (Mine didnt have the rubber and did not squeal). I prefer Gatorback or the nice gates ones also. If there isn;t enough tension, maybe you need a slightly shorter belt.
PO says the belts were new when he did the swap. Swap was done as far as I can tell in 2012 at around 190k car now has 209k. So new belts should not be worn correct???
[This message has been edited by solotwo (edited 11-01-2013).]
Any chance they swapped in a metal idler for the factory plastic? I've fought chirps and squeals and discovered there is a reason GM used plastic for some of them. Put in the plastic - gone. It seems to be a problem where the idler rides on the back side of the belt.
[This message has been edited by TK (edited 11-01-2013).]
I have an '08 Grand Prix with a Series III 3800 and about every 6 months my belts chirp when I first start the car in rainy weather. If I put some belt conditioner on it, the problem goes away for about 6 months and the cycle starts again. I would be interested to learn if we have the same issue.
Any chance they swapped in a metal idler for the factory plastic? I've fought chirps and squeals and discovered there is a reason GM used plastic for some of them. Put in the plastic - gone. It seems to be a problem where the idler rides on the back side of the belt.
