Start Up Squeek

[gman]

tigetek
What is causing the squeek. I do not think a flowing fluid squeeks. It has to be something mechanical. Is it a pump or what?

[mjirving]

I'll bet if you tighten the tension on your serpentine belt it goes away. I'll bet it's "slipping" at the beginning until the impeller starts kicking over and turning.

[Domsz06]

My boat squeeks all the time. It's coming from the belt. I figured it out because if I spray some belt dressing on the belt it goes quiet, but then comes back. What things should I check?

Could the belt be loose?
Could the belt be old?

I have a 2003 21IR with 205 hours on it, it's the original belt. Any experience would be greatly appreciated. How do I tell if the belt is old or needing replaced.

Thanks in advance.

Dom

[mjirving]

I don't know what "belt dressing" is. Is that something that would make it more "grippy"?

Anyhow, from my experience, it sounds like you don't have enough tension on the serpentine belt. If you look in your engine owner's guide there should be a segment on how to tighten it. On my boat, (going off memory) it requires two tools on (I think) the upper pulley. You put two wrenches on it. I think its an open end wrench to use as a lever to pull the assemble tighter on the belt and then an Allen wrench to loosen and tighten the pulley into the new position. I made mine pretty tight and that solved the problem. When it's loose, it squeaks something awful on start up which is the pulley slipping on the belt. This eventually overheats the belt and breaks it. My guess would be that if this has been going on for awhile, the belt may be weak already. I'd certainly look for cracking. If it were me, I'd just buy a new belt and keep it on hand until the other one breaks, then you've got one on hand just in case.

That's my take on it, (which is far from a professional opinion)

Good luck and let me know what you discover.

Mike

[Domsz06]

Thanks for the info. I remember tightening it last year after I replaced the impeller, but I still haven't checked it. I always get sidetracked trying to get on the water. I'm going to try and get a belt just in case today from O'Rielys. I'm doing maintance work on the boat sat, so i'll hopefully find something out so that way I can test my work on sunday when I take it out

3 years on the orginal belt is prob time to get a new one anyway. Have about 220 hours on it.

[ghollow]

Sounds like it is coming from your serpentine belt. As they get older, they start to dry out and can slip a little until they warm up. If this is the case, it will get worse with time and eventually break. I would go ahead and replace it anyway after three years.
I replace mine every two years. Getting stuck out on the lake with a broken belt is no fun.

[Domsz06]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I just tightened it and it went away. New belt along with a back up impeller are on the way.

Dom