Disco 2 Squealing fan belt?

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sjr202

Active Member
Posts
106
Location
Fleet
Hi all
On cold starts our TD5 D2 (with ace and air con) has a loud high pitch squeal for several seconds. Driving off it continues and gets louder with revs then it’ll stop for the rest of the day.

Is it likely the fan belt needs tightening? If so can someone point me in the direction of some instructions, lots about replacing it but less about just trying to tighten?

Could it be the fan clutch alternatively?

Thanks
Simon
 
Sadly a thing that sounds very like it is in fact the exhaust manifold having warped.
It could also be the tensioner or another pulley wheel squealing.
 
Thanks, I’ll head out and fire it up soon and check if anything changes with the air con. Can’t do it too early the whole street will hate me 😂
 
sjr202 said:
Hi @Stanleysteamer thanks as always you're a constant help on here :) Forgive my ignorance but how does the exhaust manifold create the noise? thanks
Click to expand...
The exhaust manifold warps and where there is the gap between the various parts of the manifold and the head the exhaust passing through the gap makes a squealing sound.
When it happened to me I too was convinced it was an auxiliary belt noise until others on here told me where to look.
If you remove the engine cover and look, if you have it you should see blackened soot marks where it has happened, normally at one end or the other, in my case it was most noticeable at the front.
Also there will be a noticeable gap you can get feeler gauges into,and worst of all you may find nuts and/or studs may be missing or snapped off in the head.
I had all of that. It took the machine shop two passes or more to get the manifold faces back to flush and I had to drill out and replace at least two studs.
Don't panic about it it is all fixable, I did it on my drive.
But before we go mad on that, again, the advice on here is all good. And what helps is that it eventually goes away. That dosen't happen with a warped manifold!
Yes, the A/C clutch can stick I believe so the belt has to simply slide over a locked pulley.
 
MJI said:
reminds me I need a new belt as mine is now squealing, time to order another genuine.
Click to expand...
I happened to be doing work around there, changing the coolant pump, so I put my spare, new, one on and kept the old one as a spare. Preventative maintenance. Tis a bit of a bugre to get on though. tight as a crab's backside hole!
 
Now where is the spanner?

Will see if MM4x4 can get a genuine, I have a spare aftermarket one in the right rear pocket.
 
Stanleysteamer said:
image.jpg
Please tell us if it changes when you switch the air con on and off.
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After deafening myself looking at it with the bonnet open, the screeching seems mostly concentrated around the air con compressor though it’s so loud it’s hard to tell. Waited for the noise to stop, switched the air con on and the squeal came back for a few seconds but guess the speed of the belt increases slightly when you do that? Then it stopped again.

Would oiling the inner area of the compressor etc be worth trying keeping it away from the belt?
 
Narrowed it down. When the central inner section of the compressor isn’t spinning it’s silent. When it’s turning with the outer wheel and belt it squeals
 
Further update. Still squeals with air con off but then stops. Air con back on and squeals for longer but again eventually stops 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
sjr202 said:
Hi all
On cold starts our TD5 D2 (with ace and air con) has a loud high pitch squeal for several seconds. Driving off it continues and gets louder with revs then it’ll stop for the rest of the day.

Is it likely the fan belt needs tightening? If so can someone point me in the direction of some instructions, lots about replacing it but less about just trying to tighten?

Could it be the fan clutch alternatively?

Thanks
Simon
Click to expand...
Hi, the auxiliary belt has an automatic tensioner so you can't tighten it. As @Stanleysteamer says Gates (or Contitech/Dayco I used Dayco belt & tensioner on mine, 3 years old now, no squeals etc).
 
Looks a lot more likely now that you have a problem with the air con pump.
sjr202 said:
Narrowed it down. When the central inner section of the compressor isn’t spinning it’s silent. When it’s turning with the outer wheel and belt it squeals
Click to expand...
sjr202 said:
Further update. Still squeals with air con off but then stops. Air con back on and squeals for longer but again eventually stops 🤷🏻‍♂️
Click to expand...
I don't know enough about the internals of an air con pump or its clutch, but I daresay it'll be bearings.
Others more "up" in this bit of kit will tell us, but it looks as if short term driving with the AC off will keep things quieter.
But this search brings up lots of threads you can look at.
 
Stanleysteamer said:
Looks a lot more likely now that you have a problem with the air con pump.


I don't know enough about the internals of an air con pump or its clutch, but I daresay it'll be bearings.
Others more "up" in this bit of kit will tell us, but it looks as if short term driving with the AC off will keep things quieter.
But this search brings up lots of threads you can look at.
Click to expand...
Yes that seems to be the issue unfortunately, the AC works and it doesnt make the noise for ever but does get the neighbours and passers by looking! Will live with it for now, we only got it regassed last year :rolleyes:
 
sjr202 said:
Yes that seems to be the issue unfortunately, the AC works and it doesnt make the noise for ever but does get the neighbours and passers by looking! Will live with it for now, we only got it regassed last year :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I changed the aircon pump on mine and preserved the gas by clamping both hoses to and from it. I had to make a special clamps, (bits of wood and ordinary clamps), and be careful not to damage the hoses but it worked.
 
Stanleysteamer said:
I changed the aircon pump on mine and preserved the gas by clamping both hoses to and from it. I had to make a special clamps, (bits of wood and ordinary clamps), and be careful not to damage the hoses but it worked.
Click to expand...
Thats positive that it can be preserved and dont need to fork out again for the regas. I've decided to hand the car to my local specialist as we have an amber ACE light come on, sunroof motor (I assume) has stopped and this morning the driver side rear airbag was deflated... Oh well its hit 20 years old now and been well behaved until this month!
 
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