Practically Classics Forum

I'll try to explain the following fault as best I can.

My sister has a year 2000 Toyota Corolla 1.4 VVTi which has just developed a kinda low audible chirping sound coming from under the bonnet. The noise appears every time the driver pulls away from a standing start and on the move, although it isn't present all of the time whilst on the move. There is also a second sound (similar to the chirping sound) when the steering wheel is turned to the left or the right.

The Corolla has power steering and the pump fluid reservoir is at the correct level. There is a small amount of flexing movement in the round pulley that is attached to the tensioner and with the engine running you can actually see the serpentine belt moving slightly from side to side. All the other four pulleys seem fine with no abnormal movement in them.

In the picture below (which is similar to the set up on the corolla), is the slight flexible movement in the round pulley normal or does the slight flexible movement indicate the source of the sound?



Thanks for any help

Steve

The serpentine belt in my Range Rover started doing that a while ago. I found a weep from one of the coolant hoses on to the belt that i thought would fix it. nope. I remembered a previous incident which was failing idler pulley bearings so i replaced them only for the noise to remain exactly the same.
I bunged on a spare belt and the noise is gone.
Worth trying the cheapest easiest thing first and replacing the belt? The "side to side" movememt you are seeing could be wear to the sides of the belt.

As above, I've always found that replacing the belt for a good OEM quality one has cured belt whine noise, but the side-to-side movement in the pulley might well be the reason it wore the belt in the first place. You don't say how many miles the car has done, and if the belt has been changed before, but for a 12-year old car doing average mileage that'd be ablout time for a change now.

Do use a good quality one though - the cheaper ones are known for causing squeaks and whines, which isn't going to help you!

Cheers

Thanks for the replies

The car has done nearly 90,000 miles and the belt was renewed around 18 months ago with a toyota replacement belt. The belt still looks very good and has done about 20,000 miles since.

Steve

My belt had done less than 3000 miles when it started squealing.

I've sucessfully used a product called "Belt Grip" to treat noises like this.

It comes in an aerosol and is simply applied. It usually lasts a few months.

I don't know if it's available in the UK, but Halfrauds or similar should have the same sort of product.

Cheers,
Brett.