squealing belts

[DocMel]

If I am not mistaken, the only thing you really haven't ruled out is the PS pump itself.   Seeing how the sound went away with a captive belt, I am believing that the bearing in the PS pump is going south.  Sometimes over tightening a belt will make a squeal go away as it will slightly reposition the load bearing point on the bad bearing, hence the sound goes away, (Temporarily).  The cost of a PS pump is pretty cheap.  You might want to give it a try:  Remember, your PS pump is probably 30-40 years old by now

[jordan]

Hey Doc, The belt I put on was between the crank and water pump.  The squeal went away.  I did not make any changes to the power steering pump.  The steering pump is new as is the water pump.  Both spin fine with no drag on the bearings. 

[DocMel]

Right....So let's look at this a little closer:   The only way to isolate the prob is to do exactly what you are doing.  Let's wade thru what you have done so far:  Trying to wade thru the all the unrelated posts and info, I'm getting a little lost.   Let's do simple deduction..............

To you, what have you, for sure, eliminated as a source so far as the squeal.   Now figure out what is the only thing left

On my end, I dont believe it's a belt or a pulley.  I believe its either a old and worn, or new/faulty bearing coming under a load at a certian rpm range.   Of course the hard part is which bearing?    What makes this even harder is that "new", doesn't always mean, "no flaws"

As I am sure you have felt, this problem is most likely very easy/cheap to fix, just very hard to isolate:  And that what is REALLY aggravating 

[HP_Cuda]

I've been told by an old mopar mechanic is that you need to use the goodyear gatorback belts as the new ribbed ones just suck.

Anyone have a different experience with gatorback belts?

[Topcat]

Ribbed?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Goodyear-10451-V-Belt-Fan-Belt-/380389560218?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5890fc0f9a&vxp=mtr#ht_367wt_662

[DocMel]

Here's a thought:  When these cars were new:  440/6's. Hemis, L-88's, Boss 429s, LS-6's  etc, etc:  Squealing belts were not a problem.  So was it a matter type belts used back then, pulleys, all new bearing compents, or a combo of all?

[jhaag]

Boy this is a long post for what would seem to be a simple problem, however we all know nothing is as simple as it seems. Squealing belts typically happen when a belt slips causing heat, and ultimately glazing. Once this happens the belt as well as the pulley grooves need to be deglazed and or the belt replaced. NEVER use belt dressing. A trick used in the past was a small dab of polishing or rubbing compound, (we used to use toothpaste) on the belt and pulley contact surfaces. Run the engine and the polishing compound deglazes the surfaces, eliminating the squeal. Most new, (If not all) automotive v-belts are now ribbed to reduce heat and also makes them a little more flexible. The original poster solved his problem by using a captured belt to help drive the water pump taking most of the drive off the alt/wp belt. Remember the more contact of belt to pulley less chance of slipping. I know this is long and rambling but I had nothing better to do today, and this post is obviously getting read a lot. 

[HP_Cuda]

One last thing of note before I checkout on this topic.

The stock belts back in the day were solid belts, meaning there were no ribs and had more contact surface area. I believe this can also be a contributor to the problem of sqealing. I have had nothing but problems with belts I get from Orielly's, Pep Boys, Autozone, etc.

Can't wait to try the gatorbacks and see if that helps, but yeah you have to start at the beginning and rule out: mis-aligned pulley's, loose belts, bearing problems, etc.

[DocMel]