belts wont stop sqeaking! - tried everything! - help!

[mxprecidia]

well i went yesterday...the mechanic up the street put in a new washer on the screw that u tighten the belts with and tightened it with a blow gun...he said i couldnt tighten it anymore cuz i didnt have a washer on the screw...so the sqeak went away...but my engine still shakes...and somethin is vibrating at high rpms like i have a wrench on the valve cover or something..i think it may be the VERY TIGHT belts.. i dunno i havent checked it out yet...also im gettin a whole mx3 (same as mine but standard) for $555 US this weekend and doing an auto to manual swap...what mounts should i switch over to mine?

[hondah8er13]

It is fixed! I got sooo sick of waking up the neigborhood everynight so this morning i went out there and used a cresent wrench as a prybar and tightened the living hell out of them both... it was not easy but when i started it up it was quiet as ever.... I thought all along that they were tight enough but somehow i managed to get them a bit tighter...worked for me.. Good luck

[KY mx3]

Oh my god, I'm so glad that I'm not the only person who's had (has) this problem. I've had belt problems for a year and a half now. Not only does my belt squeek, but it's come off while driving. I've had my alternator belt replaced about 6 times so far. I've had it break or come off 3 times (both times on the interstate). One time resulted in the radiator blowing (trying to get it back off the interstate). I've replaced the alternator, water pump (thinking that it was leaking, causing the squeel), and radiator. The last time I got the belt replaced, it stopped for a week and then started again. Then we put on a cheap belt and everything was fine -- for a couple of months -- but now it's squeeling again. Same deal -- squeels at start, not bad during the day, but at night with headlights and things on, it squeels at every light and then doesn't stop for a while. It drives me crazy! I'm getting ready to put it back into the shop and see if I can fix it for good this time. Cross your fingers.

[Custommx3]

I had the same issue, after replacing the water pump, and all my belts. it was fixed. YOu may wanna check your waterpump. Turns out, my waterpump had a tiny leak, not enough you could see, that was causing the squeek. I replaced everything, including crank seal and cam seals. No squeeks.

[mxprecidia]

all i did was put a washer on the screw and tightened the hell out of it with a blow gun

[Phat93Mx3]

I know exactly what everyone is sayin!! I have (or had) a 93 1.6 SOHC and the belts talked to me everytime I drove it...eventually the engine blew up and I found out that it was a tiny hole in my water pump that was causing my woes...(have that checked out!!) BUT the good news is since I had to get a new head gasket, water pump, alternator, etc..I now have a K8 in there and I'm lookin into swappin that out for a BPT (which I shoulda done in the first place but I got a GREAT deal on the K8---$250.00!!) BTW the engine is VERY smooth...no hard vibrations, knocks, ticks, or chatter

[mxprecidia]

its only been a ouple weeks and my belts are sqeaking again...so the tightening only worked temporarily...the mechanic said its cuz my top pulley is wobbling...so he said to replace the pulley first, and if thats not it than i need a new water pump...any suggestions?

[bronzeboy]

Guys I don't think there is an answer to this. I have had this problem for 4-5 years, have replaced my belts 6 times, new pulley, new water pump, etc. I have probably spent 1500-2000 just trying to fix the damn squeel and it still does it occasionally. Mine happens when the air is on or the rear defroster. I wish someone could figure this out.

[FlyingMXer]

I tried forever to figure out the problem when my belts were squeking. I even used belt dressing on brand new belts. Come to find out (if I had listened close enough in the first place) It was the alternator bearings. Like Guyaverage said, even though it is new they could still be bad. If so I'd raise hell and get them to replace it for free. Just a thought.

[Spotted]

Tightening your belts are only a temporary fix. I was a mechanic for 8 years and every time we got an MX in for the first belt change, the came back every week for squealing.
tightening the belt too much will damage the bearings after a while.
They should not be tightened that much as you see, they only help for a short time.
Take the car to Mazda. they can fix it.
That was I had to do to finally get the damn thin to stop squealing.
try it. It works.

[mxprecidia]

Originally posted by Spotted:
Tightening your belts are only a temporary fix. I was a mechanic for 8 years and every time we got an MX in for the first belt change, the came back every week for squealing.
tightening the belt too much will damage the bearings after a while.
They should not be tightened that much as you see, they only help for a short time.
Take the car to Mazda. they can fix it.
That was I had to do to finally get the damn thin to stop squealing.
try it. It works.

well when u took it to the mazda dealership what did they do to it? and how much?