Honda Car Forum

When starting my 1991 Civic LX (1.5 liter, manual transmission, no air
conditioning) for the first time each day, I hear a loud screech. It lasts about
two seconds. I then drive as usual with no funny noises. Driving for 20 minutes,
then stopping (car off) for 20 minutes, and then starting again does not give me
the screech.

The screech began after I did some maintenance on the car the other day. This
maintenance was:

-- Replaced the alternator belt, setting tension correctly (I think) for a new
belt (7-9 mm).

-- Partly drained the power steering system, removed the power steering belt and
pump, and then re-installed all. The old power steering belt looked fine, so I
did not replace it. Again, I think I set the tension correctly. (I removed the
belt last week and then re-installed it and did not have this screech.) I
followed the procedure at http://timingbelt.soben.com/ to purge (I hope) air
from the power steering system.

-- Removed the timing belt, installed a new front crank seal and a new camshaft
seal, then re-installed the old timing belt.

My first guess was that I have somehow messed up either the power steering
belt's tension or the alternator belt's tension. I have checked both, and they
seem fine, albeit I'm not using a belt gage. Just pushing in the middle of the
belt with a finger to the tune of I hope 22 lbs. and then measuring the
deflection.

Except for this screech at cold startup, the car drives great (so far, after
some 35 miles).

Any suggestions to diagnose this?

Open the hood.
Have someone start the car when it's cold.
Listen for the belt that screech. Most likely the new belt screech due to stretching
after usage.
Add a little more tension.
Repeat until noise stop.

Caroline wrote:

> When starting my 1991 Civic LX (1.5 liter, manual transmission, no air
> conditioning) for the first time each day, I hear a loud screech. It lasts about
> two seconds. I then drive as usual with no funny noises. Driving for 20 minutes,
> then stopping (car off) for 20 minutes, and then starting again does not give me
> the screech.
>
> The screech began after I did some maintenance on the car the other day. This
> maintenance was:
>
> -- Replaced the alternator belt, setting tension correctly (I think) for a new
> belt (7-9 mm).
>
> -- Partly drained the power steering system, removed the power steering belt and
> pump, and then re-installed all. The old power steering belt looked fine, so I
> did not replace it. Again, I think I set the tension correctly. (I removed the
> belt last week and then re-installed it and did not have this screech.) I
> followed the procedure at http://timingbelt.soben.com/ to purge (I hope) air
> from the power steering system.
>
> -- Removed the timing belt, installed a new front crank seal and a new camshaft
> seal, then re-installed the old timing belt.
>
> My first guess was that I have somehow messed up either the power steering
> belt's tension or the alternator belt's tension. I have checked both, and they
> seem fine, albeit I'm not using a belt gage. Just pushing in the middle of the
> belt with a finger to the tune of I hope 22 lbs. and then measuring the
> deflection.
>
> Except for this screech at cold startup, the car drives great (so far, after
> some 35 miles).
>
> Any suggestions to diagnose this?

Sean Dinh wrote:
> Open the hood.
> Have someone start the car when it's cold.
> Listen for the belt that screech. Most likely the new belt screech due to stretching
> after usage.
> Add a little more tension.
> Repeat until noise stop.

im betting power steering belt.

"SoCalMike" <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> wrote
> Sean Dinh wrote:
> > Open the hood.
> > Have someone start the car when it's cold.
> > Listen for the belt that screech. Most likely the new belt screech due to
stretching
> > after usage.
> > Add a little more tension.
> > Repeat until noise stop.
>
> im betting power steering belt.

Thanks Sean and Mike for sharing your experiences. It was the new alternator
belt.

For the archives: I had "Sharpie ink" marked the alternator adjusting bolt slide
before removing the old alternator belt, indicating where on the slide the bolt
lined up. I did not adjust the new alternator belt to the same point. My
"guesstimate" of the belt deflection seemed to support this. Wrong.

This morning I increased the tension to just a tad shy of the old belt's mark.
No more morning squeal.