Anytime I start up my car and its been sitting for a while and the motor is totally cold, I get a squeal from the engine. It sounds like it coming from one of the belts but I am not 100 percent sure. Anyone have any idea about this? Is it common on a vq30dek?

 

My car has developed a similar noise but very brief less than half a second upon start up in cold winter mornings. Mine sounds like starter gear grinding. Check the belt tension and conditions, and locates the source.

 

Check your belts for tension and wear, if loose, tighten them, if worn, replace them.

The DEK has the same belt system as the DE, so ask yourself, was it common on your A32?

 

I noticed strange on one of my drive pulleys...it looks like a portion of it has actually rusted on the surface. Very freakin strange...this happen to any of you guys? I should take a pic.

I did a breif visual on the belts initially when I bought the car and they looked good, but I guess Ill have to take a more detailed look.

This noise was not common on my DE, that motor was rock solid and never made any noise at all.

 

I've heard of weird nosises coming up during a cold start if you have an aftermarket Y-Pipe as the pre-cats are gone which aided in cold starts. Not sure if that is true or not. I get the same squel on a cool morning.

 

I have this problem with the belt the goes to my power steering. When my car is cold and i turn the wheel it squeels. How do you increase the tension of this belt.

 

it are the belts.

 

My belts are not that old and it only does it when it is cold outside. last winter it did it but this summer it was fine. Now that the temperatures have gotten to the low 50's the squeel has come back. This has been there pretty much since the belts where installed it just wasnt cold enough for me to notice. The belts have a lifetime warranty and only have about 25000 miles on them.

 

Do you have an aftermarket Y-Pipe? I'm only asking because of what I read somewhere. And mine is only know doing this after I had my Y-Pipe done.

 

Yeah I have a y-pipe but I had that way before the belts were changed. The belts only started squealing after i changed my belts.

 

loosen the 14mm nut on the tensioner a little bit. tighten the tensioner bolt in engine bay with swivel 14mm+extension. put some sillicone paste on the ribbed surface of all belts. check tension on belts (make sure you dint overtighten them) and tighten 14mm nut on tensioner. problem should go away. also you dont need to apply to the whole belt. just apply a good layer about 1-2 inches long on each belt. once your engine starts running, it'll spread out. if your belts are cracked, replace them. pm me for instructions

edit// yea...east side nukka lol

 

Thanks bud, I was going to resort to belt dressing if there wasn't some other obvious problem.

 

Belt dressing is a waste. It just causes the belt to slip without the noise.

If you notice it when you turn the wheels did you look at the power steering fluid?

 

no this squeal occurs when i initially turn the car on, turning the wheel didnt do anything.

 

^ ooops someone posted the turning wheels comment.

 

If fixing the belt tension doesnt work, try checking out the starter.

My Car used to do the same thing (or something that sounds similiar to your description)- It was a sign that the starter was going. I Put in new starter, problem was solved.

 

With the 4th gen, when the starter seemed to be on its way out, the starter actually sounded like a duck that was quacking...this doesn't sound like. Its more of a higher pitched squeal that happens actually for only a split second, as if a belt were slipping or something. Ill check the tensioners this weekend and closely inspect the condition of the belts to see if they need to be replaced. I really hope it only a belt related issue.

 

Thanks for the instructions. I will go tomorrow and try to tighten them. Is the tensioner that you speak of for the belts the one just below and to the right of the timing chain cover or is it the one that is located under the car that takes freakin forever to take off.

 

I had the same problem and went to a repair shop and after extensive searching, they found out that the maxima has an engine mount sensor for some odd reason so he said the part costs 180+ from the nissan dealer cause you have to buy the mount with the sensor if you want to replace and he said I should try disconnecting the sensor and see if the noise continues. It was gone and Ive been driving it for a few days now with no problems. He said he would cover any damage at cost of parts if anything were to go wrong. Anyone have any idea what the sensor on the mount does or if its crucially important?