Help!! Miata squeal...

Got a 2000 Miata 1.8 a/t a/c. Bought it 12/10. bad belt squeal in the a.m., at noon, and p.m. Squeals for about a hundred yards down the road then stops Specmiata racer and friend said " Put Mazda belts on it, don't fool around with aftermarket belts...and don't use any belt dressing!" So I did what he said to do.Squealing was gone for four days-then back just as loud as before So I went behind Specmiata man's back and put dressing on it. Have to do that every 2 to 3 days I'd heard Goodyear Gatorback belts would solve the problem, but I thought I'd try the Grassroots nation first! What do you folks think? Thanks!!!

Does the squeal look like this?

moar tension on the belts?

Sounds Belt related to me.

Maybe one of the pulleys?

John Brown wrote: Does the squeal look like this?

That's F'in funny.

"OH HEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyy! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

I vote worn pulley. The belt is probably bottoming in the pulley before the Vs make contact. It will happen on a micro v as well as a standard v. If it only does it with the A/C on I would start there. Otherwise look at the alternator.

The alternator runs off a separate belt from the ac/ps. So I'd start by removing the latter belt and see if the problem goes away. That'll help you isolate the problem area.

Your pullies are gummed up with rubber, and the belt dressing will just make it worse. Remove the belts, and put a naptha-soaked rag on the pulley for a while. Then use a wire brush to clean the pulley really well. This is the best fix possible.

Kramer wrote: Your pullies are gummed up with rubber, and the belt dressing will just make it worse. Remove the belts, and put a naptha-soaked rag on the pulley for a while. Then use a wire brush to clean the pulley really well. This is the best fix possible.

Actually, the best fix is to get ~someone else~ to remove the belts, and put a naptha-soaked rag on the pulley for a while. Then use a wire brush to clean the pulley really well.

The new belts might've stretched a little, and the tension needs to be reset, a.k.a. tightened a little. The same thing happened when I replaced the belts on my SE-R a few weeks ago. A little more tension after a few days, and I haven't heard a squeak since.