suitcasejefferson

I have a 2011 HHR 2.2 that I have owned for a couple of years with no problems. I have put 35,000 miles on it in 2 years. Now the belt has developed a loud squeal. I replaced the belt, it quieted down for a little while, but the squeal quickly came back. I replaced the tensioner. That also helped for a very short time. I sprayed belt dressing on it, that made it worse. I removed the belt and cleaned it, and cleaned all the pulleys while I had it off. It still squealed. I finally decided to take the opposite approach, and put baby powder on it with the engine running. It stopped squealing instantly, but now about 45 miles later, it's starting to chirp again. It makes no difference whether the A/C is on or off. I turned all the pulleys by hand when I had the belt off, and nothing felt wrong. Everything works fine. It's really LOUD from outside the car. Anybody have any ideas? I love this car, but I don't know how much longer I can take this noise. Thanks, Jerry.

Oldblue

Did you get the correct belt? I have had this same issue, I cured it with a correct length Goodyear Gatorback belt, ask your parts counter guy to double check the part number for your specific engine!

donbrew

The A/C clutch or the alternator bearing? My guess would be the A/C.

suitcasejefferson

I got the belt and the tensioner from O'Reilly's. Both made by Gates. They are the correct parts. Putting baby powder on it now makes it completely quiet now for over 60 miles, then I start to hear a little chirp. That rules out everything but the belt. I hate to buy another brand new belt, and find I still have the same problem. I'll keep dumping baby powder on it for awhile, and see what happens.

donbrew

How does that rule out a bad A/C clutch? Are you so careful with the powder that none gets into it?

hhr11

I think i would use a mechanics stethoscope to listen to every pulley location. I don't think its the belt unless there is a misalignment on one of the pulleys. If misaligned then it will squeal.

suitcasejefferson

As soon as the powder touches the belt, the noise stops completely, whether the A/C is on or off. As the powder wears off, the squeal comes back. This is definitely a belt squeal. I've been working on cars my whole life, and A/C clutches and compressors don't sound the same. Then there is the fact that when I first replaced the old belt with a new one, the squealing stopped for almost 500 miles, with nothing on it. When I replaced the tensioner, it stopped again for about 200 miles. When I sprayed belt dressing on it, it got worse.

I agree about the possibility of an alignment issue. I checked very carefully to make sure the ribbed side of the belt was seated on the pulleys properly. It was. I also checked the edges of the belt for wear or damage, which usually occurs when the belt is out of alignment. I didn't find anything after almost 2000 miles. Slight misalignment could still be an issue however, as could a belt that is the tiniest bit too wide. I will bite the bullet and replace the belt with another brand. The belt that came on it was a Dayco, so it was not original. I'll try an AC Delco belt

hhr11

Maybe a new belt will fix it as they can be defective. The reason I mentioned a misalignment is that I had a friend ask me to change their serpentine belt on a ford product because of squeal so I did. About a 1000 miles later they told me the belt came off the pulleys. Upon a close inspection I found that the pulley on the steering pump had moved outward on its shaft about a 1/8th of an inch. It was really was hard to detect it just looking at it but when I dug in further I found it to be a press fit pulley. A couple of taps with a hammer and all alignment was well. I told them if it does it again its time for a steering pump but it never did it again in the 5 years after they drove the car. Wishing you good luck with the new belt.

donbrew

Again; how does this rule out a bad A/C CLUTCH?

A clutch can make noise whether it is engaged or not.

But, go ahead and throw parts at the problem without investigating options. I don't care, it's your money.

Could be whoever installed the idler assembly did a bad job, could be a bad water pump drive chain, could be a bad front main seal, could be you ate chili 3 hours before you started looking at the problem.

The most obvious first place to look is the A/C clutch , then work through other things.

Snoopy

Are you absolutely, and I mean ABSOLUTELY, sure you purchased the correct belt?

Several people have purchased belts and were incorrect by maybe 1/2 inch.

Parts catalogs are known to lie sometimes.