Squeaky chirp (belt area)

John,

There is a fix for this. It is being caused by a misalignment between the tensioner and the rest of the pulleys. You have two choices, it can continue to chirp and really not cause any other problems other than driving you crazy (I know mine did) or you will need to remove the power steering bracket and where the tensioner mounts to it, you will need to chamfer the hole where the tensioner is bolted.

There was a technical service bulletin on this a long time ago. Most people have forgotten about it. I attached the bulletin below for your review. It also explains in detail what needs to be done.

Let me know if this takes care of the issue or if you have other questions.

Take care,

Joe

See pics below.

Hi,

The tool used to make a chamfer is better known as a chamfer mill. It's a mill bit that is similar to a drill bit but is designed to cut an angled opening into a surface. Here is the best way I can describe it.

Picture a metal surface that has been drilled with a drill bit. Next, picture a wood or drywall screw going into it. When the screw is fully seated, it will stick out of the metal surface because it has a tapered end. When you chamfer the metal, you make a seat for that tapered end so the screw can then sit fully into the surface and is flush.

In the case of your car, that chamfer was never made, so it doesn't allow the tensioner to fully sit on its base. (I hope that makes sense) LOL

So, they fix it to chamfer the opening of the bolt hole, allowing the tensioner to fully seat; thus, it allows the tensioner to align properly.

The tool (a mill or chamfer mill) looks like what I highlighted in the pic below. According to the directions, it is very little you are cutting (.040" to.050") which means 40 to 50 thousandths of an inch. It also indicates a 90-degree mill is to be used. When you purchase the chamfering mill, simply purchase one that is that angle. Interestingly, they also say a manual deburring tool can be used. If that is the case, I really question if the 90-degree angle is so important.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions and if this has made any sense at all. LOL, I can't tell when I'm writing. Also, let me know if I can help.

Take care,

Joe

See pic below.

Hi guys. The angle of the hole is not at all critical. Where the stud comes out of the tensioner, the edge of the hole is raised up a little from the stamping process. It's that raised area that prevents the plate from sitting squarely against the aluminum mounting plate. I used a 45-degree chamfering bit made for a 1/4" drill, but I used it by hand. It only takes a half dozen turns to remove enough metal for the tensioner to sit flat.

The engine size wasn't listed. This applies to the 3.3L engine, not the 3.0L. I question though that this applies to a '93 model. I have a '93 Dynasty with the 3.3L engine, but I never performed that repair. I replaced the tensioner for a different problem when the car had 12 miles on it.

By the way, the Dynasty was also available with the 2.5L 4-cylinder engine. Those had a different cause for a squealing belt. That involved using a spacer to move the alternator sideways a little. That engine wasn't used in the Fifth Ave.

The chamfering job can be totally done from on top, under the hood. The nut on the tensioner is a 15 mm and can be reached from reaching down behind the power steering pump. It is possible to reach the nut to start it back on by hand too. One of the tricks was to use a box wrench, but you likely will need two of them from different manufacturers because one won't give enough swing to get it back on for the next bite. I had a Craftsman wrench that I borrowed to a coworker, and he borrowed me his Snap-On wrench when either of us did this repair.