(Home) Belt squeal

hiya folks. can anybody healp me ive got a 1991 super extra that i love more than the mother inlaw, last week some bandit, in a granada,wanted to play bumper cars, and i need some new bits ie center fog light houseing x 2 headlights and orange reflectors below. the granada came off much worse, very impressed on how tough the townace is, the bumper just sprang back into shape, covered in the granadas paintwork.ps at 65mph i get a musical sound from the dashboard any suggestions on how to silence. many thanks ps i live in portsmouth.

- (#5393) ALAN BROADWAY, 3 Sep 02

musical sound is the "dinger", check the archives for disconnection instructions (it's screwed onto the back of the instruments)
there's plenty of breakers with townies now. try bbc spares, bullivants, or one of the others listed on the links page.

hth

- (#5394) david miller, 3 Sep 02

alan theres a townace with the lights still on at my local scrap yard ? want me to check it out for u
jim

adg06@aol.com

- (#5395) j ADGO, 3 Sep 02

I have a royal lounge townace 1974cc turbo diesel auto 1992.The rear cig. lighter has fused,how do I remove the rear heater control panel?I previously requested the part no. for the alternator belt.I was given 90916 02169 which appears to be right,it fits and works but squeels first thing in the mornings for a short while.It has been on for over a 1000 miles and I am trying a spray on belt dressing and it has reduced the noise.Any comments.

- (#5396) PAUL CAVANAGH, 4 Sep 02

Firstly Paul it would help your cause if you started a new thread rather than bury your question within another topic.

To answer your questions:
the fuses for all ancilliaries are to the right of the passenger footwell just behind the coolbox (if you have one). If you want to strip the rear panel then there are details on the AceAnswers site with pics. As for the timing belt you've done right by the belt. Is it belt squeal or could it be the idler pulleys? If it goes away in time then it may well be the belt.

- (#5397) Ian Dunse, 4 Sep 02

Ian, Paul was refering to alternator belt in his description, if it is indeed te alternator belt you have changed, then it i obviously slipping, hence the screeching noise, no amount of belt dresser will get rid of the underlying problem, that is it's too loose, remoove the belt, clean all three pulleys, makke sue that both the alternator & fan pulleys turn freely then refit tensioning correctly. Try running with the belts off & if it still makes the noise, then it's something else. The reason it's worse after starting up is that is the time when the alternator will be working hardest to replenish the power into the battery that starting has taken out. Incidentally, did you only put one belt on, there should be two for alternator (including vacuum pump on rear), fan & crank pulley. HTH Rob.

- (#5398) Rob Drinkwater, 4 Sep 02

The squealing is caused by the belt slipping due to the dampness in the air. Whether the alternator is throwing out a larger charge or not, it still turns at the same rate. Once the dampness has gone, after the engine has warmed up and dryed the area the squealing should lessen but as mentioned by Rob, the tension needs adjusting.

- (#5399) Mark, 4 Sep 02

Nothing to do with what speed the alternator is being turned at, this will always be relative to engine speed, what does vary Mark is the load on the alternator, the more charge it has to chuck into the battery, the greater the resistance to turning it has the more likely it is to try to stop turning, hence the belt slips, once it has put a little of the charge taken out by the starter back into the battery, it stops squealing. HTH Rob.

- (#5400) Rob Drinkwater, 4 Sep 02

Thanks for picking me up on the belt Rob. I really must get my eyes tested. One thing I would add is that when changing belts, do aim to get the tension right. Too loose you can get squeal, too tight and you can damage bearings as I did to my aircon pump. Also each of the three belts requires a different tension. They are given in the 2CT manual but I can reproduce here if required.

- (#5424) Ian Dunse, 5 Sep 02

thanks guys for the healp on parts if j adgo could check, the breakrs for me i would be very gratefull.regards alan.

- (#5448) alan, 6 Sep 02

anybody out there who can tell me where i can get some front end glass from. new or old for my 91 townie i would be very gratefull. parts needed are foglight houseing and two front indercators regards alen

- (#5717) alen, 3 Oct 02