Squeaky belts after extreme cold, salt, and a wash

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We just emerged from two weeks in the deep freeze. Lots of salt on the roads.

I celebrated finally getting above freezing with a touchless car wash with an undercarriage spray.

Now... my belts squeak like heck. It started with the undercarriage wash.

I assume they got wet and were drenched with a salty blast. And now they squeak.

Do I wash them with hot water? Soapy water? What now?

The belts are only a few years old, and are GM OE replacements on a 2004 Silverado.

I suspect that it is likely the A/C belt, as it is low on the engine, just above the front axle.
 
Hose down the engine bay. Might want to spray some mild cleaner on the belts directly, dish soap will cut any oils. Hose off and run the engine till everything is nice and dry.

You probably got oily residue from the wash water or your engine compartment.
 
x2. Clean it and then run it till it drys. Shouldn't chirp for more than a few seconds after washing it. My vehicles chirp for a second or two if the belt gets real soaked during a wash.
 
sometimes rust debris etc gets wedged in the ribs of the belt causing it to slip and make noise and if you are careful and i mean CAREFUL you can use a wire brush and scrape the ribs while the engine is running by just holding the brush against the inside of the belt while the engine rotates and it'll clean out in a few moments. but obviously do at your own risk, that is if there is room to do so.
 
This may be seen as controversial, but I spray my belts with the same thing as my tires. Meguires tire shine. Start it, point, mist.. Squeaks gone in a second.
 
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
This may be seen as controversial, but I spray my belts with the same thing as my tires. Meguires tire shine. Start it, point, mist.. Squeaks gone in a second.


Not sure why you or anyone else would use tire shine on your engine belts when there are a number of excellent commercial belt dressings available. Here is one of them:

http://www.antiseize.com/BELT-DRESSING
 
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