squeal in the morning

[steinbachphoto]

So every morning (and whenever the engine is cold) under the hood is an awful squeal. But after driving around for like 30min and leting the engine warm up I can barely hear it. A co-worker told me its most likely my alt. belt. Is this correct? if so is it easy to get at/fix myself? or should i pay the mechanic to do it?

[eyagel]

spray some belt dressing and see if it goes away, or check the taughtness of your belts.

[bwanac]

i agree.. easy fix. just tighten that belt... or start it up and put your ear to it!

EDIT: i did not agree with belt dressing, check the belt tightness!

[Majikal]

Tighten the belts. Belt dressing is only a temporary fix and when you actually do fix it will cause a problem if there is too much residue on the belt.

[brandondan1]

Squeeling def. isn't good. It'll wear out the belt teeth really fast. Don't use belt dressing unless it's only temporary. Might as well replace the belts if you have chipped teeth etc. It's not very hard, but you may have to remove the other accessory belts while you're at it. Don't pay someone unless you've never turned a wrench in your life.

[steinbachphoto]

Squeeling def. isn't good. It'll wear out the belt teeth really fast. Don't use belt dressing unless it's only temporary. Might as well replace the belts if you have chipped teeth etc. It's not very hard, but you may have to remove the other accessory belts while you're at it. Don't pay someone unless you've never turned a wrench in your life.

I have never :oops: but my step dad has lots, but he's allways busy!

[153624]

The belt dressing is an easy way to tell if it something else like a water pump. If it still squeals after you hit the belt with the hidden valley ranch, you have other issues to look into.