squealing belt help!

[Zim_Zim]

hey guys well another question....
....the belt on my car squeals like crazy when i start the car. it only stops if i give her gas or if its warms up enough. it started happening as soon as the cold weather came. starting to happen more frequently then before. i do hear faint squeaks when idling if i go outside in front of the hood to listen. so should i be trying to wd-40 it? is it a sign that my belt needs to be replaced or adjusted? how much to replace? thnx!

[perhapsadingo8yerbaby]

The belt is slipping so adjust the belt tension but not overly tight or you could damage the component the belt is attached to. Sounds like the belt tension is too loose. If the belt was not slipping until the cold weather came, it was probably just tensioned enough not to squeal when temps were warmer. Colder the temp outside, more likely a barely tensioned belt will slip and make noise. If adjustment doesn't help, your current belt may have slipped and squealed enough to develop a glazed surface which further contributes to slippage. In that case, would need to replace it. Most belts are <$20 for the replacement belt and takes about 20-30 minutes to replace.

[Zim_Zim]

cool thnx man

[G-C]

i had this exact same problem when cold weather hit here in toronto a few weeks ago. brought it to canadian tire and they just adjusted the belts. no more squeeking.

[TrickMX-3]

Yeah mine does the same thing but along with that it gets a really low idle and i cant understand why? Does anyone know about that?

[mxprecidia]

problem id common among mx-3s...it is rarely as simple as adjusting the tension..u can tighten it but it more than likely start sqeelin again..take it to a mazda dealership

[Ateana]

stop squeek spray :p

[Zim_Zim]

is that a fancy word for WD-40?

[DVH]

Please DO NOT USE that spray...OMG!! It will just ruin the belts.....as expensive as it is, Just take to Mazda dealer, its really the only way to fix the belts...50 CDN and they are fixed!

PS: this did happen before....so i know how annoying it is

[Zim_Zim]

can't i just adjust it myself?..im cheap. mazda charges way too much here.

[h8ter]

Had the same problem after replacing belts with crappy Pep-Boys items. Then I replaced them with Factory Mazda (Gates) belts and adjusted to the proper belt deflection and all was fine. However I did have to re-tension them after 300 or so miles due to stretching. Since then no problems. So first thing for you is to inspect your belts to make sure they are no in need of replacement (cracks, tears, damaged ribs, glazed sidewalls). If all is fine retension them to the specs in the manual (now available online). If their looking kind of bad then drop in some new ones and double check them after a few hundred miles. Problem should be a thing of the past once your done.

<small>[ December 17, 2004, 09:06 PM: Message edited by: h8ter ]</small>

[mazdubber]

You should be able to adjust or replace the belt on their on your own very easily. Theres so much room in the RS's engine compartment. Not like my GS where I have to pound my hand flat with a large hammer before i can get in there. :p

[Zim_Zim]

thanx so much you guys rock..i'll check it out.