My 2002 TDDI Focus seems to have a constantly recurring problem with a noisy fanbelt. The squeal is like a normal slipping fanbelt sound.
Problem is, when I replace the fanbelt the problem goes away, but only for 6-8 months when it starts to gradually come back, getting worse unless I give the belt and pulleys a tiny squirt of WD40 which quietens it down for a day or so.
Is this a flaw with the TDDI or is there something else amiss? I get varying opinions from garages, from 'They all do that','Need the tensioner changed (£180)' to 'Put a new belt on every 12 months'
Belts are cheap enough to replace but its frustrating to have this extra bill every few months.
My old petrol Focus had no such problems and I'm beginning to wish I'd kept that one instead!
Edited by Webmaster on 07/06/2009 at 13:16
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It could be the tensioner that is weak or it could be the pulleys that are very slightly out of line, causing premature wear on the belt.
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Is it possible to re-align the pulleys, or is that more likely caused by wear in the bearings etc?
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Careful with the WD40. It is not curing the problem, only stopping the noise!.. The belt is probably still slipping, and after a couple of days the friction is drying out the WD40.
I dont thinlk that you can realign the pulleys, but you can take the belt off and check that all the pulleys (not just the tensioner) are free to rotate. Suspect any that do not run freely for the complete 360 degree spin. Any hestiancy or resistance is likey to be worse when under load and getting hot. Replace any component suspected to avoid a major expense on the motorway !!
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The last time the belt was changed the garage checked the pulleys were OK, so the tensioner looks like the culprit.
From what I've seen, its a common fault and around £200 to change! I might have to apply the WD40 for a little while longer....the belt seems to be under good tension so hopefully it won't fail suddenly.
Daft thing is, it can squeal like a banshee one day for a whole 30 mile trip, then be quiet the next day when its freezing/raining - the opposite of what I would expect.
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You can check the pulley alignment pretty accurately just by squinting along the flanges. Could it be nothing more than a washer misplaced on the alternator mounting? Sometimes there is a thin packing washer, and it is easy to reassemble at the wrong end of the bush/bracket mounting.
Much better than WD40 is Halfords nylon and rubber lubricant - the stuff for freeing seat belt reels.
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I have a 1.6 CDTi Focus 57 plate. It has developed a squeaky aux belt. I have had the auto tensioner replaced together with a new belt. The noise still remains.
After a difficult phone call trying to get through to ford techs, my mechanic finally spoke to a 'supertech'
He said that a modification to this engine to stop this is to place 2mm spacers between the air-con pump and it's mounting, therefore moving it away enough to put extra tension on the belt.
I find it difficult to understand that 2mm movement will solve this as the auto tensioner just moves less.
Any thoughts on this? I haven't gone thorough with this mod .. yet. I'm out of warrenty now and wondered if it was covered.
SQ
Edited by Webmaster on 07/06/2009 at 13:16
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