How to Quiet a Noisy Fan Belt
Ensure your vehicle is equipped with a neoprene belt., Open the hood., Locate the fan belt., Start the vehicle., Spray the belt dressing directly onto the belt.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Ensure your vehicle is equipped with a neoprene belt.
Most modern vehicles have a serpentine belt instead of a fan belt, though the names may be used interchangeably.
Older model vehicles and some high performance applications still utilize fan belts instead of electric fans.
Older belts were made of neoprene and would benefit from the application of belt dressing, but newer EPDM-made belts may dry out as a result of using belt dressing.If your fan belt was installed after the year 2000, it is likely an EPDM-made belt.
The two belts are difficult to tell apart visually until they are worn out and need to be replaced. -
Step 2: Open the hood.
You will need to apply the belt dressing directly onto the belt.
In order to do so, you will need to open the hood of the vehicle and remove any cowl cover that may be in place over the fan belt itself.
This may require the use of some basic hand tools like a socket or hand wrench.Some vehicles have engine covers that will need to be removed.
You will need direct line of sight and access to the belt while the engine is running. , The fan belt will likely be located at the front of the engine, attached to a pulley that rotates the cooling fan or fans for the radiator.
It will often be black or grey.
You may be able to locate it faster by starting at the radiator fan and working backward.In many older American vehicles, the fan belt is connected to shaft with a large metal fan at the end and is easy to identify.
Serpentine or accessory belts that serve the same function as a fan belt may be on the side of a horizontally mounted engine. , Ensure the vehicle is in park with the parking brake engaged, then start the engine.
You will need the engine to be running in order to apply the belt dressing evenly over the entire length of the belt.Leave the hood open and engine covers removed when starting the engine. , With the engine running, spray the belt dressing directly onto the back of the fan belt.
As the engine runs, the fan belt will be moving quickly, so you can leave the can in one place and spray onto the belt as it spins.Spray the belt dressing onto the belt until the entire belt is wet.
The squeaking from the fan belt should stop almost immediately. -
Step 3: Locate the fan belt.
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Step 4: Start the vehicle.
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Step 5: Spray the belt dressing directly onto the belt.
Detailed Guide
Most modern vehicles have a serpentine belt instead of a fan belt, though the names may be used interchangeably.
Older model vehicles and some high performance applications still utilize fan belts instead of electric fans.
Older belts were made of neoprene and would benefit from the application of belt dressing, but newer EPDM-made belts may dry out as a result of using belt dressing.If your fan belt was installed after the year 2000, it is likely an EPDM-made belt.
The two belts are difficult to tell apart visually until they are worn out and need to be replaced.
You will need to apply the belt dressing directly onto the belt.
In order to do so, you will need to open the hood of the vehicle and remove any cowl cover that may be in place over the fan belt itself.
This may require the use of some basic hand tools like a socket or hand wrench.Some vehicles have engine covers that will need to be removed.
You will need direct line of sight and access to the belt while the engine is running. , The fan belt will likely be located at the front of the engine, attached to a pulley that rotates the cooling fan or fans for the radiator.
It will often be black or grey.
You may be able to locate it faster by starting at the radiator fan and working backward.In many older American vehicles, the fan belt is connected to shaft with a large metal fan at the end and is easy to identify.
Serpentine or accessory belts that serve the same function as a fan belt may be on the side of a horizontally mounted engine. , Ensure the vehicle is in park with the parking brake engaged, then start the engine.
You will need the engine to be running in order to apply the belt dressing evenly over the entire length of the belt.Leave the hood open and engine covers removed when starting the engine. , With the engine running, spray the belt dressing directly onto the back of the fan belt.
As the engine runs, the fan belt will be moving quickly, so you can leave the can in one place and spray onto the belt as it spins.Spray the belt dressing onto the belt until the entire belt is wet.
The squeaking from the fan belt should stop almost immediately.
About the Author
Jerry Reynolds
Committed to making lifestyle accessible and understandable for everyone.
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