Coolant to water ratio

[rslifkin]

It's probably an idler pulley. Noise from hem isn't all that uncommon.

Also, when my water pump went and got some coolant on the belt, the rubber absorbed enough of it that I had to replace the belt. It didn't matter how I tried cleaning it, as soon as it got too damp outside, it would start squealing.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Engine or belt or whatever it is squealed all the way to work this morning. There was no noise when I first started up but about 2 blocks from my house it started chirping/squealing again. It's pretty loud and increases in speed (but not pitch) as the RPM's go up. At 2000 RPM and 70 MPH on the highway it sounds like a bird chirping under the hood.

I have the old belt that I took off last year. It's a Napa belt and I keep it in my truck for a spare. I'll put that one on before I leave work. If there is no squeal I'll drive it for a few days first to be sure before I go buy another belt.

I hope that's all it is. The tensioner seems OK, I can't move it by hand without a wrench and the belt runs OK. Idler pulley turns easily, runs smoothly and has no noise or grinding/rough feel to it. I really can't see how I could have caused a misalignment problem when all I did was take the belt off and put it back on again. Truck had no belt or pulley noise at all before last night. Ironically, I took the belt off last night only because I did not want to spill any water or antifreeze on it and cause it to slip or squeal.

Thanks.

 

[Jimmy9190]

An update here..I went out at lunch and swapped out the belts in the parking lot here at work. The old belt I had kept was not my last Napa belt, it was another CQ belt and I believe it was the one that was on my truck when I bought it 5 years ago. I had rolled it back up and kept it under my driver's seat all this time.

Truck ran perfectly fine with no noise in the parking lot. I took a 3 mile test drive down the road and back, no noise at all. Gauges all doing just fine. Engine came up to operating temperature just like it should. I am pretty sure my other belt was bad, but I don't know how it happened. In a number of places it has what looks like shiny threads exposed down in the ribs on the inside of it. Whatever they are maybe that's the reason for the squealing/chirping noise. The old belt didn't look to be stretched when I compared it to the one from under my seat.

Regardless, I will stop at Autozone on the way home and pick up a new belt. The one from under the seat seems to be OK but it is old and I don't need to take chances with it. Plus I can get an extra bonus point when I buy the belt on my rewards card with a rewards card coupon I received in the mail yesterday.

Thanks to everybody for the help here. I hope and pray my water pump/coolant/belt problems are finally all over.

 

[3311]

Glad it all worked out for you, as a fellow Minneolain I'll kept eye out for you.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Thanks. Good to see a local on here. I have been on BITOG since I lived down in Zephyrhills, I came up here about 2 years ago.

I think I have the coolant/water mix right. My truck seems to be running better now and be acting more like its old self from before this water pump fiasco.

I had bought gas right before I R&R'd the water pump, I only got 16.2 MPG out of that tank. I had filled up again last week (still with the incorrect water to coolant mix), ran that tank down and only got 15.7 MPG from it.

I track my MPG on www.fuelly.com and I usually get 17.5 to 18 MPG. The engine had to have been running too cool and causing the PCM to give it too much gas. Maybe that's why my truck didn't run very well either, while it had the wrong coolant mixture in it. I filled up again today, will see how it does now.

I bought a new belt today and put it on, I can definitely feel it is tighter. I guess it will loosen up in time. That squeal seems to be gone for good.

 

[willix]

50/50 is good for -34F and is all that is needed. That's why all pre-mixed is 50/50. That's the proper mix for Tucson AZ, or Duluth MN.

If you live north of International falls you may need it to -45