whirring / scratchy / screeching from the belts

Hello,
I bought a Hyundai Accent 2001 Coupe a couple of months ago. I notice
this winter that when its cold or humid there is a
whirring/scratchy/screeching noise that comes and goes away. This sound
is coming from the belt side of car. At times, it doesn't sound the
same as a screeching belt. The belts are not loose and they do not
appear to be wore down. The car has 55,000 miles and, I am the second
owner, the timing belt was never changed. I am planning to change it at
60,000 miles.
Do you have any ideas what this sound might be? Is this a sign that the
timing belt needs to be replaced?

Thank you for your help and advice.

 

Probably the belts. For the sake of peace of mind for the next 5000 miles,
consider doing the timing belt, water pump, and other belts now.

 

The easiest way to tell if it's coming from the drive belts is to spray
just a little WD-40 or similar substance on them. If the noise changes or
stops, then you know it's coming from the belts. If the belts are not
cracked or otherwise worn, don't sweat it. Then, when you replace the
timing belt, replace the drive belts, too, since you will already have
them off the car.

 

Reply to message from "hyundaitech" <> (Mon, 20 Nov
2006 14:49:43) about "Re: whirring / scratchy / screeching from the belts":

h> The easiest way to tell if it's coming from the drive belts is to spray
h> just a little WD-40 or similar substance on them. If the noise changes
h> or stops, then you know it's coming from the belts.

I once applied belt dressing on the belts on my 1993 Elantra to quieten a
slight but squeal that started after I washed the engine.

The squeal got much worse - so much so I had to change the belts to stop
the squeal.

Don't know how belt dressing differs from WD-40 but it can't be that
different.

Since that time I am very reluctant to spray anything on my belts. I just
wash the engine trying to stay away from the belts.

Best Regards
Wayne Moses <> Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:13:04 -0600

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Belt dressing is very sticky and I don't receommend using it at all. Like
you say Wayne, it has a tendency to make things much worse.

And I'm not talking about trying to make the noise go away with the lube,
either. It'll come back, so that's pretty pointless. The idea is just to
spray enough to see whether the belts are the issue.

 

Reply to message from "hyundaitech" <> (Tue, 21 Nov
2006 06:25:46) about "=?Windows-1252?Q?Re=3A=20whirring=20=2F=20scratchy=
20=2F=20scree":

h> Belt dressing is very sticky and I don't receommend using it at all.
h> Like you say Wayne, it has a tendency to make things much worse.

h> And I'm not talking about trying to make the noise go away with the
h> lube, either. It'll come back, so that's pretty pointless. The idea is
h> just to spray enough to see whether the belts are the issue.

Thanks for clearing that up. I was wondering if you were endorsing belt
dressing or similar.

Best Regards
Wayne Moses <> Tue, 21 Nov 2006 17:12:42 -0600

=== Posted with Qusnetsoft NewsReader 3.3