High-pitched squeal, in gear, at idle

[jkm311]

2006 base with under 49k miles:Recently, when I approach a stop light, I begin to hear a high-pitched squeal. Not loud at all, just high-pitched (so far). If I put the Vibe in neutral, it goes away. Put it in park, goes away. Begin to accelerate, goes away. It's gotten to the point where I know the precise moment it will begin. With the windows down, I can hear it begin JUST before I come to a complete stop. So, under 10 mph.I have inspected the belt, as closely as I could, and I could not see any wear.And I'm surprised the squeal stops when I put it in neutral. I thought this would be nearly the same "stress" the belt would be under if in drive and I am at a complete stop. Any ideas? I'm hoping it *IS* the belt, so I can just go about replacing it. At nearly 50k, it wouldn't hurt, and I would have that added peace of mind.Help me, GenVibe. You're my only hope. Sorry, had to...

[ou.grizzly]

Serpentine + Belt Pulley Tensioner

[TONY TAT2]

Last winter my 85 was doing the same,if I reved it up the noise would stop,I kept driven it that way,finally the altenator seized,shreaded the belt etc. I was close to work so I just drove it there,a little tuff to stear without PS tho.

[Caretaker]

I've had a noise like that for over 5 years with my 03. Are you referring to the sound that lasts about 10 seconds, gets higher in pitch, and then stops with a small tick sound at the end? Sounds like something is preparing to launch into lower earth orbit, but then aborts at the last second. I've grown rather fond of my Kennedy Space Center noise.

[jkm311]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »Serpentine + Belt Pulley Tensioner O.U., do you mean the tensioner you pull/leverage to get the belt off and on? Are you saying to replace it? Tighten it? Other? Will fixing the tensioner fix the serpentine? Sorry, kind of limited in my engine part knowledge.Quote, originally posted by Caretaker »I've had a noise like that for over 5 years with my 03. Are you referring to the sound that lasts about 10 seconds, gets higher in pitch, and then stops with a small tick sound at the end? Sounds like something is preparing to launch into lower earth orbit, but then aborts at the last second. I've grown rather fond of my Kennedy Space Center noise.This is not the exact sound. It is a constant pitch, when the engine is warm (idling low and in gear). it does not increase, and will only stop if I put the vehicle in neutral, in park, or tap the accelerator when in gear. No "small tick," either.Any suggestions, folks?

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by jkm311 »O.U., do you mean the tensioner you pull/leverage to get the belt off and on? Are you saying to replace it? Tighten it? Other? Will fixing the tensioner fix the serpentine? Sorry, kind of limited in my engine part knowledge.Usually the squealing is from either one of those items and the belt tensioner pulley + bracket on these cars do go bad quickly it seems (make squealing noises).

[jkm311]

So, no way of lubricating anything to help reduce the squeal? I'm very surprised I am dealing with this before 50k. What does a new tensioner cost?

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by jkm311 »So, no way of lubricating anything to help reduce the squeal? I'm very surprised I am dealing with this before 50k. What does a new tensioner cost?After searching and re-reading other threads, it seems when other members belt tensioners went, it made a "rattling" sound. I know on other vehicles when there are squeals, it usually is the belt and or tensioner. Any way you can jack the car up on all 4's when someone is in the vehicle while you have the hood open and listening to noises? Try that 1st before you start buying parts, do not want to spend it if you do not have to. As for lubricating, you could try hitting the idler pulley and see if that works. Make sure not to get any on the belt.

[jkm311]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »Any way you can jack the car up on all 4's when someone is in the vehicle while you have the hood open and listening to noises? I wish. The best I can do (considering it doesn't squeal in park) is put it in drive with the e-brake on. However, I may just enlist the wife to keep both feet firmly planted on the brake while I dig my head in there.Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »As for lubricating, you could try hitting the idler pulley and see if that works. Make sure not to get any on the belt. Definitely staying away from the belt. My knowledge is limited, but not THAT limited. I will try this first. As it seems to be the easiest option and will only take a few minutes.Now, are we talking where the red arrow is pointing (my guess is yes), or the blue. Wasn't sure if the tensioner "assembly" would need lubrication as well. Couldn't hurt?

[jasonvibe]

here's an update...mine did the exact same thing . But not all the time. The squel was the top of the tensioner piston has a plastic cover that was rubbing. This was due to the lower bushing warn out. AND I had the "marble noise" too at high idle when cold start and in gear. I replaced the tensioner piston, no more noises. I did see the whole assy. is over $$110 vs, $40 for the pistion.

[Mrvsfriend]

listen around your engine and see if you can spot where the sound is coming from, you might start by replacing the belt tensioner bearing/wheel assembly as they are pretty cheap, sounds like you might have a bad bearing.http://www.theautopartsshop.co....html

[STREETFIGHTER50]

Just did a search on this. What was the final repair? Our ‘06 is doing the exact same thing. Noise while sitting at a stoplight and goes away as soon as you drive off.

[JackWade]

I have an 06 and also started to have this problem. Squeeling that goes away when you press the accelerator. Came back from vacation and it started doing this. I’ll look at the pulley…

[jolt]

I have not had this with my Vibe but here are some things to start with.

Make sure the noise is not coming from a bad belt or bad pulley. Sprinkle some baby power on the grooved side of the belt. If noise goes away, you have a issue with the belt and/or pulleys.

Remove the belt and spin each pulley by hand to check if bearing is rough or bad. If so, replace bad part. Also with the belt off, start the engine and make sure there is no noise, if the noise is still there, then it is NOT the belt or pulley bearings that is the problem. You can run the engine for about 30 seconds this way as the water pump is also not running. If the engine is ran longer then that, you risk damaging the engine from local overheating in the engine. No belt on engine = no cooling water for the engine as there is no water pump. Also check your water pump bearings too.

This applies to the newer Vibes, but check to make sure yours does not a clutched pulley on the alternator. Often over looked or not known about is the alternator pulley. It is a clutch that can go bad and start to make noise when at idle speed. The noise will go away when the motor is sped up because the clutch slips in the pulley. Could be a bad clutch and/or a bad bearing in the pulley. Note; special tools may be needed to make this pulley change. Here is a link the pulley part: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 94&pt=2448