Chevy Malibu 2003 3.1 belt or pully noise

[Joseph]

On my wifes car I recently replaced the serpentine belt. After running about 100 miles there is a squeeking kinda noise that I know is coming from the belt/pully’s area. I have the car’s LSF engine mount off and the serpentine belt off again and Iam checking out the pullies / bearings. Everything spins and feels fine. No real play in any of the pullies except when I come to the power steering pully. It does have some play in it. Perhaps about 1/16 of an inch (Im guessing here). I can move it back and forth a bit. Looking at it more closely it does seem to turn without any grinding feeling in it but Im suspecting this is the source of my noise. However, Iam not totally confident . Should there be any back and forth play in this pully?

Im worried that this pully doesnt have bearings but is connected directly to a shaft that goes inside the power steering. Am I looking at a power steering unit replacement if this turns out to be the problem ?

coffee

Topic

[Lorrin Barth]

I don’t thing the 1/16th of an inch play in the power steering is going to make it squeak. Bearings, when they get old, sing (make a hissing noise) when you spin them. Bad power steering pumps howl. Belts squeak when too loose, the pulleys are misaligned or there is oil or antifreeze on the pulleys.

[Joseph]

Thank you. I guess I will inspect things a bit closer and see if I can find anything else. I was curious as I dont know if this little movement in the power steering shaft is normal or not. I will assume it is and see what else I can find.

Thank you

coffee

[Ingvar]

GM sometimes has weird back forth play in their shafts. And it’s designed.
Do this. Cut a piece of a garden hose or another similar suitable length hose. Doesn’t really matter, as far as it’s reasonably sturdy.
Turn engine on and use that hose as stethoscope. You’ll be surprised how well it actually works to spot the bearing noise source.
My bet is on 2 all time known bearings:
– idler
– alternator.

Very seldom have I heard of PS pumps going bad.

[Joseph]

Great idea. Thank you.

I think I found the problem pully. I just went out and bought a idler pully for the car. I noticed a bit of play in the bearings and you can hear the bearings move (and kinda loose) when you spin it. Compared to a new one its a world of difference. Noticed that you cannot just buy the bearings and press them in though. Autozone sells the complete pully for 20 bucks.

Now I have to get it to quit raining (lol) started as soon as I was heading back home 🙁

Thanks for all the advice.

coffee

[Ingvar]

You can. Same autozone has bearings. You simply hit a quick sale clerk at the counter.
I had idler replaced twice and tensioner once on my Silverado, zo I knew which one it usually is.

[Joseph]

Well, I asked a few times at AZ and they told me they didnt sell just bearings. Must be a regional thing. I dont know. But I actually had to buy the whole arm and pully as the after market pully does not fit the old arm. So, It turned out to be 43 bucks for the tensioner. I m not complaining though. Saved money doing it myself. 🙂

The only thing that held me up was not having the experience to know a bad bearing. Its kinda hard to call it bad if you dont have any experience with it. But I made out 🙂

I m calling it fixed!

Thanks!

[Ingvar]

I can copy post autozone receipt for mazdaspeed ac clutch bearing and for idler bearing.
But it’s irrelevant. Main thing is satisfaction from DIY accomplishments.
Be careful with water pump too. It starts as screeching noise on cold startups that goes away in about a minute.
Bad bearings sound like beetles in a mass. Kinda crunchy noise. Automotive bearing should have no play whatsoever due to amount of stress and life at stake.
Be well. Good job.

[Joseph]

[quote=”ukrkoz” post=106696]I can copy post autozone receipt for mazdaspeed ac clutch bearing and for idler bearing.
But it’s irrelevant. Main thing is satisfaction from DIY accomplishments.
Be careful with water pump too. It starts as screeching noise on cold startups that goes away in about a minute.
Bad bearings sound like beetles in a mass. Kinda crunchy noise. Automotive bearing should have no play whatsoever due to amount of stress and life at stake.
Be well. Good job.[/quote]

Im not doubting you on buying just the bearings. I did see Erics video where he was installing new bearings on the pully so I know you can purchase them.

Thank you for your help. Like I said before, Unless you have experienced bad bearings before its hard to tell sometimes when they are bad. Comparing them to new ones really does point out how they should be. I had just a little play in them but you could hear what seemed alot of grease was missing and the bearings moving around in the race. 🙂

Hope your having a great weekend and thanks!

coffee

[Author]

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