Is belt whine a problem?

[TObject]

A shop replaced accessory belts on my mom's Lancer. Now the car whines like it has a supercharger. She took it back and they told her it was normal.

They replaced two belts, but the noise comes from the fat Gatorback one, with crosscuts.

As far as I can tell the groves are aligned in the pulleys. Are loud belts like this common; can we just leave this alone and live with the noise, or is it hurting something?

Thanks

[mrblaine]

Originally Posted by TObject

A shop replaced accessory belts on my mom's Lancer. Now the car whines like it has a supercharger. She took it back and they told her it was normal.

They replaced two belts, but the noise comes from the fat Gatorback one, with crosscuts.

As far as I can tell the groves are aligned in the pulleys. Are loud belts like this common; can we just leave this alone and live with the noise, or is it hurting something?

Thanks

Not normal, they should fix it. It may be the tensioner/pulley wearing out and not applying enough force to keep the belt tight.

[TObject]

Thank you.

You think the belt is slipping? I'll try carefully spraying a little break fluid on it, while it is spinning, and see if it stops the noise. I am not sure what kind of tensioning mechanism is there (it is hard to see), it is probably automatic. But while the engine is off, by jeep standards the belt feels too tight.

I was thinking maybe it is those cross sips on the belt that make it loud. Any experience with belts like that? The whine is louder at higher RPMs.

[mrblaine]

Originally Posted by TObject

Thank you.

You think the belt is slipping? I'll try carefully spraying a little break fluid on it, while it is spinning, and see if it stops the noise. I am not sure what kind of tensioning mechanism is there (it is hard to see), it is probably automatic. But while the engine is off, by jeep standards the belt feels too tight.

I was thinking maybe it is those cross sips on the belt that make it loud. Any experience with belts like that? The whine is louder at higher RPMs.

Slipping belts are pretty annoying, so I don't know if yours is slipping. I do know that belts that are correct for their application with the proper tension do not make noise at any time.

[TObject]

All right. Great. Thanks.