Bad squeal in the power steering and A/C

AARON FOKUS SWITZER

MEMBER
2002 MAZDA PROTEGE
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
100,000 MILES

Okay, first off let me clarify I am trying to help a friend fix her car here. For starters, there is a bad squeal in the belt that goes around the power steering, A/C and the drive pulley, though it is just been replaced and it is nice and tight. So I am not sure why it is squealing but it is causing other issues as well. When it is squealing it is consequently not adequately turning the other belt that works the alternator and in turn causes charging issues for the battery. In addition she just called me and said that now her heater randomly blows cold for a bit, then will heat back up then later blows cold again. I was suspecting that the water pump going bad could cause all of this to happen, but given that changing the water pump on this car is a very elaborate process and beyond my skill level. I was hoping someone could either confirm my suspicion or tell me another option that could cause all of these issues to happen at once.

Thank you in advance,
Aaron

6 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

The first thing to consider is a squealing belt is caused by the belt walking sideways across a pulley as it goes around it. That is caused by a pulley that is tipped or turned, usually an idler pulley with a worn bearing. Most pulleys start life painted black. Look for one where the belt is riding off-center and some shiny silver is peaking out right beside the belt. Also, sight down on the belt from on top and look for any pulleys further down where the belt is sticking out to the side and is not in line with itself on the other pulleys.

With the second observation of the belts not running fast enough, a good suspect is the harmonic balancer. Harmonic balancers have a heavy cast ring bonded to the center hub. On yours, that outer ring is the drive pulley for the belt. With the extra stress, the bonding can break free, then the ring slips on the hub and doesno t run the belt. Look for signs of the bonding material squeezing out or appearing to be melted. If you cannot tell that way, scratch a chalk line across the front of the assembly. Check if half of the line has shifted after running the engine.