bad noises from belt side

[tjburns]

ive got a 95 atx that is makin some real nasty noises from the belt side of the eingine. belt off, noise goes away. its like a grinding noise and the belt vibrates really bad and i can smell it burning. replaced the alternator a couple weeks ago... power steering has been not so hot lately...no clue if its the AC, the water pump or power steering, but im lookin for an opinion or two, as i need to get this thing back on the road for as cheap as possible. another thing...when its running with the belt on, its really really rough, and stalls often, especially after tapping the throttle. thanks for any help

 

[Bizzy]

Well, for starters, you really shouldn't run it for any length of time without the belt because the belt runs the waterpump which cools the engine.

With the belt off you need to spin each of the pulleys that it runs and see if you can feel any resistance or grinding or hear any rubbing or otherwise unusual noises.

 

[tjburns]

ive only ran it without the belt for a minnute or two at a time. the a/c pully spins not well at all, but when you watch the pulley and listen to the noise, they dont match up...also, should the water pump pulley spin completely free when the belt is off? would either of these cause the engine to run really rough and stall when you touch the accellerator? i need to get this guy fixed

 

[sdpatt]

The water pump should not spin freely without the belt as the rubber seals on the shaft provide some friction. The A/C, alternator, idler pulleys and power steering pump should spin freely. The PS pump is moving fluid so it won't continue rotating for long. As stated before, you should be able to grab the pulleys by hand to try to rotate them and move them laterally (up/down/fore/aft/in/out) to check for worn bearings. You didn't mention checking the idler pulleys.

 

[etc1006]

Dunno 'bout the stalling.... But it sounds like what happend to my car. See my post on Idler/tensioner noise about 1 1/2 weeks ago. And my one from today - water pump.... Bye bye(http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=63838) You'll also probably find rubber dust on the side of the battery. Here's the original story on mine. http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=63274 HTH!

 

[tjburns]

thanks guys, turns out it was the AC pulley...used a 70.5 inch belt to bypass and everything is back to normal.

 

[etc1006]

TJ, you got the part # /place/brand for that belt? Like I mentioned in my original post I'm prolly gonnna bypass it on mine for now...

 

[tjburns]

well everything isnt as back to normal as i thought...car runs fine, but drivability is at an all time low.. car really stutters at all times while driving, sounds like something is major clogged up...which i couldnt imagine would be related to the other problem, but it seems like it has to be with it workin out like this. it was like this before a little bit...but its a thousand times worse now.

etc1006, i just walked into autozone (where everyone knows me by name) and requested a 70.5 inch belt...cost me 20$

 

[ohfosho]

i would imagine you would measure for the belt you need by cutting a string/rope to more then you expect to be the length of you belt, and route it around the pulleys, and cut it at the spot it meets itself again...