Belt squeal cold start - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

faiz23 · 01-20-2010, 03:25 PM

Hey guys and girls newbie here just got a 09 camry i4 se with 37k miles for my family and really enjoy the vehicle and the ride but got some minor issues to iron out. I have the annoying buzzing and rattling that needs to be looked at and the serpintine belt. Now the belt looks in good condition and tension seems good on it but early in the morning when going to work when i start the car the belt squeals a little around 1k-1500k rpm and once the temp has come up and idle is normal it goes away and usually does not return all day.

I have sprayed the belt with conditioner from o'reilly and it has helped and i can tell that the conditioner helps so it must be the belt. My only issue is with only 37k miles and belt in good condition why does it squeal in the morning only. I plan to get a Goodyear gator belt and throw that in there along with Hids in the next couple weeks but i would rather not mess with a car on the belts being so new. The belt does not look to bad overall for a weekend job along with Hids and possibly a laser jammer. The car was a rental prior to me and i got it and it was marked as certified but i removed the certification and got $500 off.

thanks.

njerald · 01-20-2010, 03:36 PM

Replace the belt..........I would never buy a rental.

faiz23 · 01-20-2010, 03:44 PM

thanks i figured the belt needing replacing but any idea as to why it needs to be replaced at such early age. Also any issues with just using the belt as is if condition looks fine and only the squeal when it is cold. Reason for purchasing the vehicle was we got a good price on it and it was an SE model plus the remaining of the powertrain. Also rentals are very strict on maintenance schedules and we got new tires on it as well due to the certification they did on it. Here it is if you guys want to have a look and an article on MSN about rentals.

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/artic...umentid=472672

http://adamstoyotascion.vinmanagersi...spx?ID=3880241

I believe it was budget who had it as a rental.

thanks

AlmightyCamry777 · 01-21-2010, 11:25 AM

Please do NOT use belt conditioner...it contains a petroleum distillate that soften the rubber for a while, but the problem is it softens too much and your belt will snap in short order. This happened to me after which i decided to never use this crap again.

This is a common problem, my wive's 2001 solara has it, it comes and goes but never really goes away, i changed the belt and tightened it like a banjo string, but still it chirps! Its not really serious, just annoying. What i do when it happens on my camry, usually only when it gets cold, i spritz a good dose of silicone spray on the belt (parts i can reach) and the pulley, then immediatley start the engine and run it for a minute at least, to spread the silicone a bit. This seems to work very well. (Armor all often works too.)

If the noise is coming from your lower belt, you might have to remove the wheel and tire and the inner cover or at least crawl under to reach the belt. You don't have to coat the entire belt for this to work, just a portion, then start the engine and that is usuallysufficient to stop the squeak for a couple thousand miles.

kenny1773 · 01-21-2010, 11:35 AM

Live with the belt squeak, I have two toyotas that do this, both belts replaced and 5-6k miles later the squeak is back.

It only happens when the air is damp and on first start up, the belt is fine it is just a characteristic of the belt material. I even tried a Gates brand belt instead of Toyota and the squeak came back.

techtable · 01-21-2010, 11:41 AM

I had the same problem with my gen5, I mostly parked outside in the drive way, when the weather cold and drop below 30F here at mid atlantic it made lot of noise. I replace with dealer belts, and that fix the problem, you don't have to loosen the belt tensioner to remove/replace, my wife cousin is a mechanic in Lexus, shown me a quick way to replace it by cut all belt and remount them all by using the 21mm or 22mm socket, I don't recall, but one of them would fit, with extension to mount them all back on by turning clockwise, mount the inner belt first. Hope this will give you an idea.

TT,

gdanaher · 01-21-2010, 01:17 PM

Try running some sand paper over the the metal pulleys (engine stopped of course). Sometimes you get some crud attached to the pulleys that generates the squeak. By doing this you put some fine scratches on the pulleys and they grip a little better, hence no squeal.

HotRod53 · 01-21-2010, 07:02 PM

+1 on the Goodyear gator back... one of the best and quietest belts on the market IMO. I use them myself on everything and recommend them to all of my friends.

Brake cleaner on all of the pulleys and the belt might buy you some time, personally I would bite the bullet and replace the belt and probably clean the pulleys too. If you used belt goo on the old one, you're done!

faiz23 · 01-21-2010, 10:16 PM

thanks for the replies i have already used some conditioner to diagnose and plan not to use anymore. I will order the good year belt and give that a shot and will clean the pulleys that i can access when i am changing it. I plan to drive 3000-4000 miles and replace the belt since i am going home in Feb and will have access to a garage for couple days when i plan to throw in the HID and belt. I am looking at amazon for the belt any suggestions out there for where else to get the belt local stores only had dayco and gates and storebrand. i have a 19mm ratcheting wrech with flexible head you think that would work or would i need a 19mm socket which i guess i can get from autozone for free.

goodyear # 4070763

Amazon

thanks

faiz23 · 01-21-2010, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by techtable

I had the same problem with my gen5, I mostly parked outside in the drive way, when the weather cold and drop below 30F here at mid atlantic it made lot of noise. I replace with dealer belts, and that fix the problem, you don't have to loosen the belt tensioner to remove/replace, my wife cousin is a mechanic in Lexus, shown me a quick way to replace it by cut all belt and remount them all by using the 21mm or 22mm socket, I don't recall, but one of them would fit, with extension to mount them all back on by turning clockwise, mount the inner belt first. Hope this will give you an idea.

TT,

is this for the v6 or the i4 since the i4 only has one belt and v6 has two. I have the 2az-fe i4.

thanks

techtable · 01-22-2010, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faiz23

is this for the v6 or the i4 since the i4 only has one belt and v6 has two. I have the 2az-fe i4.

thanks

I had the SE V6, there are two belts on the V6, you can use the same method, so you don't really have to deal with the tensioner and worry free about the setting. That is how dealers used this quick way to replace your belts and charge you a leg/arm price. You will see the big 21 or 22mm bolt one of the big pulley where you can use the socket with extension/breaker bar to turn it over, remember only turn it clockwise to mount your belt. It's very simple, for the V6 just remove the front passenger wheel, cut the old belts, and turn to mount them.

TT,