Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance 2002 Celica GTS Squealing Problem...Maybe Not Alternator Belt

hey guys I'm baffled by this squealing sound that is coming from my motor somewhere. It sounds like the same sound as the squeaking alternator belt sound, but it's coming from either the motor itself or between the intake and motor. It's weird because at idle it squeaks sometimes, but when I drive form 1k-3.5k it squeaks pretty loud that I can hear it. And when I let go of the gas it squeaks. The only time it stops is when I step down the clutch and hold it there, the sound goes away. So basically it's squeaking only when I'm in gear.

Another weird thing is now if I'm driving and I pop my car into neutral the idle will drop to where neutral would be, but right before it settles the idle jumps up 400rpm and goes down.

The car seems to be running fine but just these two things baffle me. Any help would greatly be appreciated.

i think that is the same problem i'm facing with... but my is my alternate belt.. .you should check the belt.. if it is loose then it's the belt because that is the only belt that run the ac, power steering and water pump..

i would check that but the sound is coming from the other side of the motor at idle. Idk about driving because i can't hear exactly where inside. Hopefully it's just the belt but i have a feeling it's something else becaues if it was the belt it would squeak all the time and not just during idle and in gear? When I depress the clutch and hold it there it doesn't sqeak

could be ur motor mount going bad..my squeak because it's broken and i put polyurethane insert in it place..so i just spay it with white lithium grease and it'll go away for sometime..have ur motor mount check out...ur squeaking could also be cause from a bad serpentine belt..as did with mine, i replace it with the Gatorback belt cost $50 from autozone, install it myself w/my bro help..squeak no more...how old is ur car??

mines is 2002 gts with around 12,500 miles on it. It was pouring rain this weekend so idk if that + racing 2 times messed it up. I drove the car last friday and then today. I'm baffled. A ghetto solution would be to turn my music on, but that's not really fixing anything. I can only hear it if I turn my music off.

My alternator belt squeals too...WTF is up with that?

ok 1 problem down. My friend's mechanic said maybe because of the heavy rain this past weekend and me not driving after the downpour until now caused the belts to be soaking wet. Today was a hot day so he said for me to run the car and hopefully it's just water that needs evap. Well drove it after work and now the squeaking is fine.

Does anyone have a clue as to my rpm's jumping after I put the car into neutral?

how do you fix the alternator belt squeal?

^^ yea i wanna know too because i think i found the bolt to tighten it, but it's in such an odd place

^^ yea i wanna know too because i think i found the bolt to tighten it, but it's in such an odd place

too fix the belt, you need a new one..if it squeak when it's cold out, then you know ur belt's getting bad..

as for the rpm thingy, made does it too..it's normal i think..dunno how to explain it but it don't bother me, because it's not harming anything..when i put it in Neutral i don't stare at my gauge, most of the time..

I have a 2000 toyota celica gts. Early last year the belt 'squealing' noise got worse and worse to where it was constant at lower rpm. I checked my belt, and it was in good shape. I got a tip that it was the belt tensioner.

The belt tensioner sits towards the back of the engine on the back right hand side. There is a triangular shape piece of medal that is bolted to the right side of the engine block. This piece pivots and the tension is controlled by something that looks like a mini shock absorber. This shock absorber goes bad. My belt is starting to squeak at startup again.

I tried and replaced just the shock absorber. It was a pain. Of course the part is a toyota only part. I asked one of the mechanics for a piece of advice. He indicated you needed a long box 17 mm wrench to relieve the tension on the belt. He warned not to strip or break the bolt, since the bolt goes in to the engine block.

I got the part, and was able to unscrew a little at a time the bolts that held the tensioner. I was able to accomplish the job with the tools i had, but it turned to be a lot harder. (i strongly recommend finding a big 17 mm wrench). It will make the job so much easier, removing the belt, replacing the part, and putting the belt back on.

I hope this helps. I got tired of the squealing noise, and didn't want to be thinking i was driving a thirty year old car. If anyone finds a place with reasonably extra-long 17mm box wrenches, please let me know.

3315

^^ how did you change it without removing the engine?
do you have

and welcome

I had the same problem when I first bought my celica . It was a defective belt covered by warranty.

When it was still under warranty, they replaced the belt first. It continued to do the same problem, and they replaced the tensioner. So, actually I'm on my second tensioner. Personally, i think it is a bad design. There is a t.s.b. out on it.

If you can find a big enough box wrench, you can remove the pivoting triangle on the side of the engine. The toyota mechanic said they have a special extra long wrench. So far I haven't found anything that looks long and strong enough.. The area is to tight to use a socket/breaker bar.

It took a day of patience and swearing. I actually was able to work the bolts out on the actually tensioner itself. This was very time consuming, and especially difficult on reinstall.


https://celicahobby.com/tech/tsb2/TSB_Belt_Tensioner.pdf (the tsb indicates 2000 & 2001, but this sound to be the same problem. I think II'm starting to have the same problem again at start up.

I will try to find the diagram I used as my guide for the repair, and post it.

Good Luck..

Stay safe

yes a diagram of how you repaired it would help the rest of us.. because i'm having that problem rite now and can drive my car... i really want to drive my car.. highly appreciate all help possible from you guys

Here is the link that kind of gives a guide that I used.

http://www.radphys.com/TSB_Belt_Tensioner.pdf

If there is anything else I can do to help/pass on the information let me know. I think the trick though is the extended length box wrench to remove the pivoting stamp triangle piece to allow you to actually get a wratchet on the tensioner itself.

GOOD LUCK!!

I ditto the belt tensioner

I bought my '00 GTS 6-speed used at a dealership I worked at. It was squeaking like you mentioned, and where you mentioned, on the other side of the motor. As it turned out, it was the throw'out bearing on the clutch. The symptom that you described sounds like this to me. Unless of course it is an automatic... Just thought I'd give my 2 cents worth...

i've had the belt tightened, replaced, and put a new water pump and it squeaks when i first turn it on

Throw out Bearing. classic