cronic belt squeal- 4banger/ auto 87 22re

[F-junker]

I've had a cronic belt squeal issue wih my alternator belt now for 3-4 years. I've put on new oem toyota belts, seems to last about a year then back to the same old s***. I took it to a shop last year as I didn't have time to fool with it and was given a 300 dollar bill. I about flipped my lid. They told me the brackets were bent and the mechanic had a hard time realigning the bracketry and pulley. I swallowed hard paid the bill and swore off the last mechanic shop I'd ever use. I normally work on all of my toyotas, and others as I don't trust anyone anymore to do a job right.

I'm going to try and replace the oem adjustment bracket with one from a volvo as it has an adjusting bolt built in, rather than use a crowbar to adjust the tension and hope it's right. Has anyone done this type of mod before?
Has anyone had this issue with these alt. belts on ifs 86-89 trucks? I might try and cheap out for a belt dressing shot one time to see if it even helps.

 

[Jukelemon]

As opposed to a belt it could be a worn pulley.

Funny you mention this, I am having issues with my Crank pully belt.

 

[F-junker]

Worn pulley, how so? There is no idler pulley on this system or are you talking about the inner faces on the pulley friction surface? I'm all ears to possible problems, I'm trying to figure out the best way to check the pulley/belt alignment on the front of the engine as maybe this alignment issue could be the source of the problem. Aside from buying new oem brackets or makeing new I'm not sure how to easily and economically fix an alignment/bent bracket issue.

 

[Jukelemon]

Yes, I mean the friction grooves in the pulley.

The alt pulley may just be flat out worn. Snap a pic

 

[kore]

how to tell if your pulleys are worn:
take the belt off, and look at the pulleys. they should be a V shape, not worn into a U shape. having them too tight will wear the pulleys or worse. also the belt installed in the pulley should not be sunken into the pulley, it should protrude above the pulley. the inner circumfrence of the belt shouldnt contact the pulley at all, its the sides of the V that must contact the pulley. if the belt is bottoming out on the bottom of the V its no good! replace it.
also wd40 is good at making squeeky belts pipe down.

 

[RedfishBluegrass]

Had the same problem with my wife's rig for years and finally got a hint from a mechanic buddy of mine. I asked him to look at the squeaking belt as it had been replaced and dressed over and over. He cranked it up and before I could see what he did the squeak was gone! I asked him what he did...he laughed and said this. I took a wire brush and held it on the bottom of the belt, no noise since. Of course you need to be very careful trying this but it just gets junk built up on the bottom which causes the squeak. I tried everything and this is what fixed it. Its worth a shot and is certainly cheap! Good luck.

 

[Jukelemon]

Another old mechanic trick-which is friggin hard to do on the 22re is to use a cheap bar of soap and lube the bottom of the belt.

Use EXTREME caution in the 22re because space is tight and this was typically done on large bay, vintage (now) autos.

Works very well IF it is a non worn pulley issues.

 

[F-junker]

I'll check on the pulley for wear and use the wire brush and soap tricks today. thanks fellas. I'm normally on the 40-45 section daily but never really come over here as I thought traffic was light. I'mm come by more often!

I did pick up another bracket yesterday from the boneyard, wow I forgot what a pita that bracket is to get to. I also snatched up a screw/bolt type adjuster from another alt bracket off a jap car and will possibly weld this on the bracket if these tricks don't pan out. I'll post up picks should zi perform this mod.

 

[the truck doctor]

How would the brackets get bent in the first place?

 

[alex4640]

I had the same problem on my 86 for a long time. I did all the same belt treatments and they would either not work or only work for a short while. I finally noticed that the braket was bent. I adjusted it myself with a B.F.H. tool and some time. I think it becomes bent by years of crow bar titening. I guess if I had a choice, I would use an adjustable braket like the one discussed above.