Hello all
It's been a while since I've been here.

So I have an 00 SE, and recently I've developed a squealing when I start the car. I had the serpentine belt replaces within the past 6 months. So it squeals upon start, then after between 30 seconds to one minute it stops and all is good, however I've noticed that on occasion when I down shift into second, the squeal kicks in again. I've also noticed that when the car is warm, I can kill the squeal by shutting off the heat. If it was not for the fact that it squeals when I start up and the heat is OFF, I would think it was just a fan belt issue, but since it squeals when the heater is off, it's not.

Any suggestions?

 

maximas don't have fan belts.
I think it might be your compressor.

 

sounds like your belt needs a bit more tension

let me guess, you have the auto climate control... i bet your ac compressor is kicking on when you turn on the heat making the belt squeal

 

No I have manual climate control.

 

Hm might be your pulleys. Check everything well. Pop the hood and have someone start the car. Listen well and narrow down where the squealing is.

 

Bump
The squeal is getting worse. Please help! Could it be a pump bearing or something like that?

 

Before you jump to any expensive conclusions, do what's suggested above and have someone start it when it's cold while you try to isolate the sound.

I would definitely try to tighten the belt a little and see if things change. Don't overtighten and make things worse. Then look at tensioners. Hope it's not a bearing in any of the accessories.

Good Luck

 

As you've not mentioned the squeal in relation to steering inputs and that the PS pump is driven by it's own belt, it doesn't appear to be PS related anyway. You have the classic symptoms of a slightly undertensioned belt......did you have the serpentine belt tightened up as suggested a month ago? If you didn't, get it done now. Just ensure that whoever does it loosens the tensioner pulley bolt first before turning the adjustor bolt, and retightens the pulley bolt after adjusting the tension.

 

I had a similar sound about a year or so ago, would happen on startup, and then whenever I ran the a/c. I had a mobile mechanic who was at work looking at a co-workers car take a look at it, and he told me it was probably the a/c clutch. I was scared as it seemed expensive to fix. I decided to try a new serpentine belt first since its a cheap fix. When I was replacing the belt I noticed that the idler pulley was a little rough, so I replaced that + new belt and the sound went away and never came back.

 

Do you start the car with a heater "on"? The blower motor may cause this noise. Downshifting, hard braking, quick turns can make it louder.

 

Heater is off when the car is started. it never occurs as a result of steering.
I've noticed that when I decel to come to a stop, and take it out of gear, the squeal will start, quietly, throughout the stop, then scream for a bit while I take off then it quits, and all is good. Yeah I'm going to have someone check out the tension. I opened the hood and listened, and it did come from the side of the motor where the belt is, that whole pulley assembly.

 

Its for sure belt tension. When I had my alternator off to check and reassembled, I didnt tention the belt correctly. It exhibited similiar symptoms you are describing. In my case I actually had it to tight (which in turnd caused a premature failure of my alternator *bonk*). On startup it would howl bad and then quite down. Then any "sudden" RPM movement would make it sing also.