Belt squealing on rebuilt engine!?!

[pdxpfeifer]

Hi everyone. I sent in my membership! Yea!

So clipper dodge 440 engine. We had a rebuilt put in- twice the shop that did it stunk! Current problem. I have belt squealing. We have only put about 120 miles on new engine. Belt is squealing as I type this, hubby is annoyed! Heck I'm annoyed.

I have done belt dressing three times.  But while the engine was hot - I pulled over on roadside to do it. I put belt dressing on the first trip out, and it still squeezed. Then we took it to the shop to have belts tightened. It was fine on the way home on city streets, but as soon as we got to highway speeds it started to squeal again.

That's this trip now. I stopped twice in 30 minutes to apply more belt dressing. Still squealing.

Any ideas if perhaps these yahoo yokel mechanics who put the engine in didn't align the pulleys right?

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

Robyn.

[pdxpfeifer]

Squealing seemed to quit after we drove another 40 miles? Perhaps the belt dressing finally took? 

We were hearing a lot of clattering. Sounds like passenger right hand side. Kid of muffler/engine? But we did confirm the y pipe isn't separated.

Sigh- the old girl always seems to need something 

[Sfine]

Oh yes, these old rigs require constant love.  And you will never know the simple little fixes that help dial it in until you've addressed them all.We had an odd right front rattle, thought it was a shock..turned out to be the side step. Simple fix this time.  The stove rattle is my pet noise, usually I'll lay a pillow across the stovetop and put a towel in the oven to dampen the shelves rattling..almost have the rattles quieted now.
Welcome to ACOC..I'm sure you'll enjoy all the reads and info here.  Which floor plan do you have.?
Steve

[pdxpfeifer]

Hi Steve.
I have a 440 1977 rear kitchen. The clacking noise under the van loudest under passenger -it's gets louder with more load on the engine.  Makes driving rally noisy. Especially since the a/c doesn't work.

The crank on the bed overhead large emergency vent snapped, causing that vent to flap around so I stopped to duck tape it but the whole ceiling over cab is just flexing like crazy.

Our step  is in the rear. And it ripped off due to rot under stairs. I didn't realize step was hanging low and it caught just right on a rock on a dirt road 😞 so I know my forward clacking isn't the stairs lol.

We have had new shocks, new tires, rebuilt engine and carb. New radiator, belts and hoses. New custom bracket made for alternator. New battery holder - previous peoe had it balancing on a piece of wood. Just installed new propane hose and regulator on my way out of town to fix propane leak.

We do not have the generator - could rattle be from plastic boxes stacked just right in outside generator storage compartment? But rattle sounds metal. Like a Y pipe, but supposedly we have no exhaust leaks?

[Toedtoes]

You might want to find a new shop to take a look.  If the original shop screwed up the rebuilt engine and had to redo it, they might have failed to connect something simple.

With the flexing of the cabover ceiling, I would look carefully for signs of leaking around that vent (look under the mattress and in the lower corners.  Could be the vent was leaking and the prior owner(s) didn't stop it before it caused dry rot inside the actual structure.

[kenmel]

Any updates?

[bulldog 1995]

the belt sgueal could be the AD pump is seized (you sated it wasn't working) try routing the belt away from the ac

[Shaun4BigBlocks]

A shim got left out of the v-belt bracket system somewhere.  It could be as simple as a negative cable from the battery that should touch the block behind the alternator bracket that was put directly under the bolt head.

There should NEVER be a need for belt dressing, as that is a band aid for a problem that will come back to haunt you in the middle of know where late on a Sunday night.  I just got my clipper running the other day, it had sat for 15 years at the previous owners house.  Still has the 15+ year old dry rotted belts- not so much as a hint of a squeal.

Bulldog 1995 is correct that the AC pump could be an issue- if the clutch is binding (rare, but possible if it sat for a while).  This is easy to spot as the clutch would also be moving in the center of the A/C compressor with the air turned off.  Mine will squeal with my A/C on, but because my compressor bearings are shot.  My clutch pops on and off as it should.  They used pretty stout clutch coils back in the day (lead based solder), not like the POS you get on imports where the clutch goes out every 100k.  You can use a 2? piece of heater hose to listen at the pump like a stethoscope.

Next time I get under my rig I will trace out if there are any bracket shims so as to aid you if you are still stumped or any other member using this thread as a reference.  There is nothing worse than reading countless threads on any forum with constant dead end info.  Solutions need to be posted.

[Autoarcheologist]

We also have a typical power steering belt squeal when you turn the wheel.  I'm hoping new belts with the proper tension solves it.  If not, I'll be looking for those diagrams as well.

[pdxpfeifer]

Hi Everyone -
I was going over old thread posts. The belts are still squeeling, but not as bad. I ended up having a broken alternator bolt and the prvevious shop had said they built a custom bracket - they didn't, but I quit dealing with that shop when they had gotten the second rebuilt motor put back into the Clipper.

I had to have another guy drill out the broken alternator bolt when we had to replace the alternator. The guy said the alternator was dead, that was why we were dying on steep hills and such. We never "died in-flight" which is what I contribute to an alternator. But since being replaced, the RV is now only having random start issues, like when you stop for gas, fill up and then start again. Seems to help to turn off the radio and unplug the phone charger in the cigarette lighter.

So belts were removed and are still squealing, but not 100% of the time, mostly up to speed around 45-55 mph and especially with load, like up hill. I will check on some of the other suggestions. But it's frustrating, when you have had 2 shops take the belts off and put them back on. Also, belts are in great condition, replaced about a year and a half ago.

and it squeels while going straight down the road, no turns.

Thanks
Robyn - pdxpfeifer

[Toedtoes]

Hi Everyone -
I was going over old thread posts. The belts are still squeeling, but not as bad. I ended up having a broken alternator bolt and the prvevious shop had said they built a custom bracket - they didn't, but I quit dealing with that shop when they had gotten the second rebuilt motor put back into the Clipper.

I had to have another guy drill out the broken alternator bolt when we had to replace the alternator. The guy said the alternator was dead, that was why we were dying on steep hills and such. We never "died in-flight" which is what I contribute to an alternator. But since being replaced, the RV is now only having random start issues, like when you stop for gas, fill up and then start again. Seems to help to turn off the radio and unplug the phone charger in the cigarette lighter.

So belts were removed and are still squealing, but not 100% of the time, mostly up to speed around 45-55 mph and especially with load, like up hill. I will check on some of the other suggestions. But it's frustrating, when you have had 2 shops take the belts off and put them back on. Also, belts are in great condition, replaced about a year and a half ago.

and it squeels while going straight down the road, no turns.

Thanks
Robyn - pdxpfeifer

My clipper would randomly not start - often when I filled up with gas.  It got to the point that I kept the engine running when I filled the tank for fear of being stranded.  At first, it would start up within about 20 minutes, but I had one instance where it didn't start for several hours.

What solved that issue for me was to re-wire the ignition.  I've posted a mod for it in the tech section for engine work.  Apparently these old Mopar ignition systems use a weakened spark for the starter and it isn't strong enough a lot of the time.  The mod bypasses the Mopar part that weakens the spark - so you get a full spark every time.  And an added benefit is that the spark is usually strong enough to get through a flooded engine and start the engine.  When I re-wired the ignition, we also re-wired the house battery to the alternator.  That mod should be posted also.  The old wiring was very small (only 12 gauge) and we changed it out to 4 or 6 gauge.  Also added a delay so that the house battery doesn't start pulling from the alternator until the engine has started (so the alternator can put all its power to the engine battery), and added a switch so that if the engine battery dies, I can jumpstart the engine with the house battery.