Vauxhall Corsa - Squeaking engine

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Tue 14 Aug 2012 20:25
Vauxhall Corsa - Squeaking engine - CorsaSS

Hello,

My Corsa's engine (2006 diesel 1.3) has been squeaking for the past couple of years (the noise is coming from the fan belt area). A couple of garages have had trouble diagnosing the problem, so have tried changing the fan belt (no change), the water pump bearing (no change) and the pulley to try and fix the squeak - all this just made it worse. It is there for every journey, long or short, yet one day the squeak is caused on compression of the clutch, another day it will be there only when the accelerator is pressed, another day the squeak will only be there when the engine is idle.

It is loud and embarrassing and I have no idea what to do - if I take it to another garage to try things out on, this may incur further expense with no solution again.

Any suggestions as to what the problem could be/how to go about resolving it would be absolutely fantastic.

Thanks a lot :)

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Wed 15 Aug 2012 00:40
Vauxhall Corsa - Squeaking engine - Peter.N.

To check that its not the belt itself making the noise, squirt some water on it with the engine running, from an empty detergent bottle or similar, that is if you can get it to do it stationary. Do you notice if it is at all weather dependent?

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Wed 15 Aug 2012 18:38
Vauxhall Corsa - Squeaking engine - CorsaSS

Hi Peter.N,

Thanks for replying :)

I would assume that as the garage changed the belt to make absolutely sure that this wasn't what was causing the problem (yet the squeak remained), that it isn't the belt that is causing the problem?

The squeak is not weather dependent.

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Fri 17 Aug 2012 01:51
Vauxhall Corsa - Squeaking engine - 1litregolfeater

Too late I know, but it's never a good idea throwing fixes at it and hoping for the best, you really have to know exactly what the problem is, before you set out to fix it.

My guess is the peripheral belt tensioner. If the noise is external. Get a can of oily substance and spray it around, obviously avoiding rubber bits, and when the noise goes away you've diagnosed it. Could be the tensioner itself which wants a good greasing or bearings in the alternator, power steering but not on a corsa, air con or whatever you've got attached.

The water pump would have been my first choice as well, are you sure this garage isn't messing you about, if the noise is as loud as you say, they should have fixed it in a couple of hours.

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Fri 17 Aug 2012 09:58
Vauxhall Corsa - Squeaking engine - Oli rag

Could you not remove the belt and start the engine, I'm assuming the belt drives the water pump on your engine (most petrol vauxhalls have the water pump drive via the cambelt) - a quick run would maybe help your diagnosis.

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Fri 17 Aug 2012 18:53
Vauxhall Corsa - Squeaking engine - CorsaSS

Thanks both for the tips - really appreciate it - I will try all that this weekend, and will be trying a different garage...

Thanks again, have a good weekend :)

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Fri 21 Dec 2012 23:07
Vauxhall Corsa - Squeaking engine - sharry68

hi there

my 2006 1.3 diesel corsa has just started with the same problem, overnight with no warning ! My local garage straight away thought fanbelt and i agreed to have a new one fitted but I'm still squeaking and £35 poorer :( They've suggested a strip down and may be a new alternator but I feel they're clutching at straws. Did you get yours fixed ? if so what turned out to be the problem

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Fri 26 Apr 2013 01:32
Vauxhall Corsa - Squeaking engine - Massao

Here are some symptoms if you need to change your auxiliary belt/serpentine belt/ fan belt/dynamo belt (all the same for corsa B):

-Squealing sound seems to be louder/present when you change the gear down while driving (eg. when you change to gear 2 from 3, or from 4 to 3), or

-When you start in the cold weather.

-Usually the sound may disappears when you press the clutch while driving, or when you have driven for some time.

-Your car may stop working (turns off) when standing idle. You may think it is the plugs, or something with the fuel system, but it can also be the belt!

This is one of the cheapest fix on corsa b. Remember to check the tensioner pulley at the same time (usually two tree times expensive then the belt).

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