street ka aux drive belt squeak cure

Hi  all

Though i would share my method of quieting down the infamous ka belt squeak/groan

 as you probably know these belts are quite long and run over a lot of pulleys IE- alternator,power steering pump, water pump, air con compresser,, and crankshaft plus the idle and tension wheels!

old belts are bad but even new ones can squeak, some use wd 40 or a special belt lube but to my mind i dont want to be putting a agent/lubricant/solvent onto the belt as it could either make it slip and/or break down the rubber causing premature wear.

my solution is to buy yourself a graphite stick form an arts supplier on e-bay

you need to strip out the headlight (drivers side) to get access to the belt 

  I MUST  AT THIS POINT REMIND YOU TO BE CAREFUL AS YOU ARE WORKING NEAR TO THE SPINNING BELT WHILST THE ENGINE IS RUNNING!

Wearing thick gloves & eye protection , you need to coat  both sides of the belt (ribbed &plain with graphite) again BE CAREFUL!

when doing the ribbed side OF THE BELT  position the stick in a place where the belt is running OFF of  a pulley.

NOT where it is running onto a pulley, where it will have a tendency to SNATCH it out of your hand and COULD pull your fingers onto the pulley!

Can i just state that if you are not confident DONT DO IT

get some one who is to do it for you   !- the self protection is really just common sense  BUT YOU KNOW WHAT PEOPLE ARE LIKE!

to coat the flat side run the stick on the plain side (i used the point where it runs over the tension wheel)

Again above warnings apply !   

I take no responsibility for your carelessness !

try to use as much of the stick as you can.

O K  so what is this doing then?  well you may or may not know graphite is what is known as a DRY LUBRICANT it provides friction reduction and lubing  propertys without a sticky mess attracting dirt etc plus no solvents to attack your belt, mine has been running for six weeks and as yet no return of the squeak!.

try it for yourself if your confident enough! and see what you think.

final word SAFETY FIRST AT ALL TIMES.