Belt Dressing

[ultramens]

Hi all,

I still have not been able to resolve my problem. My belt squeals whenever it gets wet. Its a new belt and the alternator is new also....I have been reading about belt dressing... Can I use this stuff? Will it harm the car???

Thanks,

[Ross1]

Did you try tightening the belt? It might be squealing because it's slipping.

[Loren]

Nothing to tighten - the 996 uses a self-adjusting tensionor pulley.

You can try belt dressing - but I would remove the belt and make sure all of the pulleys are okay.

[ultramens]

belt dressing wont damage anything right?

[Ross1]

belt dressing wont damage anything right?

Sorry the belt tightening comment won't help! The wife's Infiniti had the same problem with a squealing belt. The dealer said that it was due to a "cheap" belt being installed instead of OEM. Belt dressing only fixed it for a day. Tightening the belt fixed the problem for that car. The belt dressing I used was similar to electrical contact cleaner. It won't hurt anything but might make your engine a little messy.

[ultramens]

Thank you...

[1schoir]

Thank you...

Ultramens:

This question about belt dressing has come up here recently (last 2 weeks?).

A couple of experienced posters recommended against using belt dressing.

I have used it on my Toyota Pickup and other older cars' fan belts with no problems, but it may be a different story on serpentine belts.

Do a search here and you should find the thread.

Regards, Maurice.

[perryinva]

Do NOT use belt dressing on a serpentine belt. It states so on the spray cans. V belts sit IN the V of the pulley, so the dressing can help them seat properly. Serps seat against both the front and back of the belt and dressing actually makes them slip more. I have unfortunately proven this fact on a different car, and could not clean the old serp belt, which was only about 2 years old, enough to make it work properly again and had to buy another belt. All quiet again. I had been using Dayco belts, which cost a bit more, but just went to a standard grooved serp and it is quieter than it was with the Dayco. If you have a "performance" belt, that has a different pattern than just the grooves that match the crank pulley, then that is probably the source of the noise.

[judgejon]

Do NOT use belt dressing on a serpentine belt. It states so on the spray cans. V belts sit IN the V of the pulley, so the dressing can help them seat properly. Serps seat against both the front and back of the belt and dressing actually makes them slip more. I have unfortunately proven this fact on a different car, and could not clean the old serp belt, which was only about 2 years old, enough to make it work properly again and had to buy another belt. All quiet again. I had been using Dayco belts, which cost a bit more, but just went to a standard grooved serp and it is quieter than it was with the Dayco. If you have a "performance" belt, that has a different pattern than just the grooves that match the crank pulley, then that is probably the source of the noise.

Do not use any belt dressing on a serpentine belt. Belt dressing is for V belts only. good luck,

[wvicary]

I never recommend belt dressing on any type. It make a huge mess and is a short term fix at best. My opinion is that if the belt is making a noise, find out why. Don't try to fix it with "backyard mechanic in a can".