Hi,

When I turn the engine off occasionally I get a high pitched screech coming from the right hand side (sitting in the car as opposed to looking under the bonnet) of the engine on my1.6 tdci. It is only occasional and has also happened on start up but is more frequent when i turn it off. It lasts a couple of seconds at most then goes away. Any ideas?

Sounds like a slack alternator drive belt.

If the diesel engine is like the petrol, it uses a stretchy drive belt, which means no tensioner there isn't a lot that you can do apart from get a new belt if this is the case, have a look on the belt side of the engine (with it switched off) and look down at the pulleys to see if they are fouled with oil or water, also check the tension of the belt with your finger, the belt should have no more than half an inch of movement, if its more than that then its definitely time for a change, if it doesn't move look feel worn then check for a coolant leak to rule out the water pump and watch for the battery light when the noise occurs for alternator issues, mine on my petrol has a little squeak in the morning even though its brand new its getting better though as the belt wears in, and there's a point if its only been doing it since its been cold then that may be the problem as the cold makes the belt go hard. If nothing else is affected then i wouldn't worry about it.

You learn something every day. Thanks Nathan_M. I had no idea that things had moved on from the old adjustable belt arrangement. So they are using rubber bands nowadays !

not sure about your set up but years ago if a fan belt made the kind of noise your talking about, a drop of French Chalk dusted over the belt (just a dusting mind not much ) cured the noise go to your local tyre depot they will have some you can try ;)