Unknown squeal at startup - don't think its the belts.

V

Vegas4Runner

Member
OK guys, I need a little help here. Normally when I hear a car squeal at startup I assume belt slippage and check the tension of the belts, but as the title of the post implies, I think this is something else. Here is the situation. The squeal is only for about the first 30 seconds or so and does not seem to be tied to the rpms which is why I am thinking it is not the belts. It is also accompanied by a burning rubber smell. The pulleys and belts look alright and only have about 10k miles on them. It is freezing outside so I am not looking forward to a day under the hood and I can't afford taking it to a mechanic so I am hoping to borrow from your collected wisdom to minimize wasted time and money. Any thoughts?
 
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That will be my first course of action this morning - after buying a heater to make my garage warm enough that I won't stick to the floor.
 
Pfft, you're in Vegas. It's never cold in Vegas. :)

I can't think of anything under the hood that moves that isn't RPM related. I've never heard a clutch squeal, but are you sure it's burning rubber you smell and not a burning clutch?
 
Actually, my handle is no longer accurate. I moved from Vegas to a small town near the Utah/ Idaho border to go to grad school and it is freezing here. I miss Vegas for sure. I have never heard of a squeal that is not tied to the rpms either. I am hoping to get under there later today with the help of the wife and see if I can't pinpoint the source. If it were the clutch, would it still make noise when the clutch was not engaged? This is squealing right as it is first cranking over and for the first 20-30 seconds after and the clutch is usually disengaged for most of that time.
 
Vegas4Runner said:
Actually, my handle is no longer accurate. I moved from Vegas to a small town near the Utah/ Idaho border to go to grad school and it is freezing here. I miss Vegas for sure. I have never heard of a squeal that is not tied to the rpms either. I am hoping to get under there later today with the help of the wife and see if I can't pinpoint the source. If it were the clutch, would it still make noise when the clutch was not engaged? This is squealing right as it is first cranking over and for the first 20-30 seconds after and the clutch is usually disengaged for most of that time.
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Logan? Nice town, but I'm an hour south and a 1000 feet lower and it's certainly cold as hell down here, so I'll give you pass for not wanting to roll around the driveway too much. :)

I'm no mechanic, I'm just shooting in the dark here. I think getting somebody to help you pinpoint the source is a good idea.
 
Suspect my comments will reflect just how little I know about these classic treasures; having said that, is there any difference with, or without the clutch engaged. Just courious if it could be a throwout bearing that's having difficulty adapting to the cold temp.; especially if the vehicle has been setting for any length of time. Had simular issue with truck where the noise sounded more like a couple of greased pigs and after a min. or so it would go away. Anyhow, thought I would add my $.02 which is about what the advice is worth??
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OK, so my schedule and the weather finally decided to cooperate. I had the morning free and it was a whopping 25 degrees outside. The culprit turned out to be the tensioner pulley on the ac belt. It's bearings were seized solid and a new pulley and belt did the trick. Thanks for all of your suggestions.
 
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