I forgot to mention in my last post the car starts everytime but lately it has squealed just after catching. until tonite it goes away when you let off the key. If you were to continue to hold the key on it would continue to squeal, but anyway tonite when I started it it stopped after I let off the key but when I got 10 feet down my driveway it started to squeal again, I was in reverse and even when I shifted to drive it continued to squeal very loud for the next 5 sec. Then stopped all the sudden and didn't do it the rest of my drive ( about 10 min). What should I do, look for?

 

which engine? start with the belt. rubber does the opposite of most other compounds when cold, it expands. also, they will stretch with age. if it is old and cracked, change it(them). if it is new, get a can of belt dressing at any auto parts store, and spray it on the INSIDE of the belt. next would be the tensioners. the 2.5 has manually adjustable tensioners, the 2.3 only has automatic. replacement only, unless only the bearing is shot
there is also a chance that the harmonic balancer is fubar. this is attached to the crankshaft, and drives all the belts. the outer part is bonded to the inner part, and over time, the bonded part can separate. this needs to be addressed asap, if it comes apart, it can really mess up your engine.

 

Its not an s so it doesnt have the miller cycle engine, i just bought the car and it didnt make any noise at start for the first 3 weeks, the person i bought it from just had the timing belt, tennsioner and waterpump replaced less than 5000 miles ago. he furnished a reciept to prove. It seems to be worse when its cold and i live in iowa so its around 30 degrees here now and has been even colder since i bought the car. should i take it to the shop that did the repairs originally you think? it says on the reciept lifetime warranty but im sure that didnt transfer to me when i bought it. Thanks for the response and help.

 

belt squeal when cold is common, esp if the car is parked outside exposed to the elements overnite. still, it needs a slight adjustment.

 

I noticed something while i was
looking under the hood, the resivoir for the power steering fluid is an inch or so higher than the max line. is it possible that the power steering belt is causing the squeal at start up? why i ask is the only time its ever squealed other than at start is last night as i was backing down my driveway(which takes a little bit of manuvering to do) and into the street then it stopped as suddenly as it started once i was going straight. I plan to remove the excess fluid and test but im at work right now and just thought id ask and see if this could be a problem. thanks for any input. by adjustment do you mean tighter or looser? sorry kind of a newb when it comes to engines. Do you know where i could get a diagram showing which belt does what?

 

extra wont harm anything. you can take it out with a turkey baster(but dont EVER let the wife know-dont ask me how i know). i finally got one of those fillers for old style batteries, with the bulb at one end-and a new baster for the wife. belt needs to be a bit tighter. any auto parts place should be able to give you a printout of the belt diagram. but you should first try the belt dressing. it's best to have the belts as loose as possible, it will save all your bearings.

 

Thanks for all the help keninn, you seem to know quite a bit about cars. I have a few things ive noticed since last post. I got belt dressing(stp) and sprayed on upper and lower belt with engine on. i let it run for a few mins. i shut it off and restarted with no squeal at all. i shut off and let sit for 10 min. i start with no squeal again. then 3hrs later i leave and squeal just as bad as before at the start. so sitting at a drive through in drive, idling, i turned on my heater fan to the third setting and a quieter but same tone squeal started and got louder. i hit the off button for the fan and the squeal immediatly stopped. i pulled forward and while sitting i used my windshield wiper and the squeal immediatly started with the motion of the wiper. i shut them off and immediatly the squeal goes away. i drove home about 5 min without another squeal. it seems to only squeal after the start if i have my headlights on! it makes sense now but i hadnt noticed before. if i spray belt dressing on the belt closest to the radiator (upper belt i believe) before i shut the car off i can start it with no squeal for about an hour then it goes back to doing it. i have been talking with a few people about this and we keep coming up with the idea to change the upper belt, tensioner, and have the altenator checked. Do you think were in the right spot based on the symptoms? I know the worst kind of repair is to just throw parts on and pray, along with the fact im low on funds, im trying to diagnose as close as i can before i pull it apart. thanks for any input and i never thought id type or say "squeal" so many times in my life! oh yeah and its starting to squeal for a longer amount of time after the start more and more everytime it does it.

 

It's possibly the belt is old or you have a water leak

*edit* Sorry, I meant the belt is possibly old and needs to be changed or a water leak

 

belt adjustment is very simple, with just a few hand tools. you should try that first.