I had both belts changed at the dealer on 11/8 as per their recommendation. This morning, when I started my car I immediately noticed a noise best described as whining, not the usual squeaky belt noise. I noticed that when the wheel is turned it gets a lot louder so much stronger that you can feel it vibrating the steering wheel. It sounds REALLY unhealthy. When I tried to find where it was coming from it definitely sounded like it was coming from near the belts.. Anyway I tried to bring it to the dealer today but they already had about 10 cars ahead of me so I'll have to bring it back Monday morning. Of course, they said that it probably isn't the belts (they didnt even look at it or hear it yet).

I'm hoping its just the belts.. but if they werent installed properly wouldnt it have been obvious from the start? Why would it start this almost 2 weeks later? What else could it be? Thanks and sorry for the long post..

 

its possible that the tensioner on the belts just needs to be tighned/adjusted since u just put them in. check with ur fingers how tight the blet is. it should only move a few mm whe u press on it.

but getting louder whn the wheel is turned is very strange. post an update i guess, im curious.

 

yeah my concern is i drove the car a 3 am last night and it was fine.. but by 10 am this morning it was like this. and its not like this started immediately after the belts

 

There is a simple explanation. The belt needs to be tightened. You hear it more when you turn wheel because the power steering pump is attached to the accesory belts.

 

any explanation as to why it took 2 weeks to start though? if it wasnt tight from the start shouldnt it have done this from the start..?

 

You did check your power steering fluid right? Particularly as it gets louder as you turn the wheel

 

When you replaced uyour belt, the adjusting bolts will "settle". Most likely all you need to do is re-tighten your belts and it will be fixed, but make sure to torque them down right. I usually try to get 50-65lbs. on those, the bolts are beefy so i dont worry about them breaking.

 

how hard is it to get to? what tools would i need? remember the dealer did the work for me..

 

Im not exactly sure how hard it is on the 3.5L, but it should be a 12mm Socket. You may need a screwdriver to help pull the alternator away from the block to tighten up the belt. If not take it back to the dealership and tell those hosers to tighten it. Someone with the 3.5L should be able to tell you how hard it is, i haven't been under that hood yet, but i cant imagine it would be that hard.

 

again, did you check your power steering fluid? Getting louder as more force is needed is a sign of low power steering fluid. It could also be your belts, but Im thinking that would make more of a squeak rather than a whine. Just check both.

 

check the power steering fluid that more than likely would solve the noise since the pump is also located around the belts

 

ok i have determined that it is a power steering fluid leak..after driving it for any amount of time it will leak out a drop every few seconds for about 5-10 min.. any idea on how much this is going to cost to fix..?

 

Total guess here, but i would say the dealership inadvertently effed up your PS pump seal/hose/where it is leaking and coming from. I would look for any gouging near that could have possibly come from changing the belt (which really could have been any which way). that will help you decide if it was el dealerdiablo or just age.

 

belts squeel and the power steering pump whines, if you can differentiate the sound then you can find the problem.

 

i really dont think it could be age..could it? its a 2002 with 60k miles..

 

back from the dealership today. it was a "high pressure hose". part is 210 and labor 180.. apparently they have to rebleed the entire steering rack too...?

 

dont know what that is but that sux!