weird high pitched noise and wobbly belt

i have been driving for about a month or two with this. its been on and off, but mostly on. lately, i jus checked the belts to see if theyre ok, because i have a higher idle than im used to (usually around 800. now about 1k - 1.1k) no vacuum leaks (inspected all the lines to and from the carb) but i went to see if i one of the belts had play and the one that goes to the alternator has a butt load of play compared to the one to power steering.

i talked to a guy at a local shop and he said it is most likely a pulley going bad.
is that true?
if so, which one?


im ready to get schooled

Well if the belt has say a adjusted push down test 1/4-3/8 is what I go buy.Not too tight but,not sloppy.As for noise the alternator has a internal bearing and it can whine,and so can the ps which has a stand alone tensioner.You can unhook the ps belt and roll your ps idler for dragging or catching etc.You could leave the belt off temp and drive and isolate the noise.The ps bearing is under 30 and pressed out with a socket and tapped back in the same if found bad.As for the alter I would remove it,clean it with some electrical degreaser(CRC makes this) sold walmart,auto stores.Clean the alter and blow out if you can.Reinstall and see where that goes.I may be leaving something off but,I have been sick the last 3 days.That is what I would do b4 tossing money.

imrjbitch, First you shouldn't let things go that long before addressing your issue, it could cost you more letting things go...

Second I'd follow 87's advice. You need to diagnose the issue so you don't waste tine and money guessing.

If you determine it's the Alternator it's possible to fix it, unless you have a lifetime warranty unit. A thread on MT shows you how with a video.

If it's the power steering pulley you can replace the bearing for about $30.

Details are here on MT. Look at post 336.

Hope that helps... Dan

thanks for your replies!! and sorry for my extremely late one!


so the other day i took off the belts and spun the pulleys individually and i didnt notice anything abnormal. they spun jus fine. buuut today, i noticed the noise was getting louder and stays on til i press the clutch to shift. and a couple seconds into the gear and the noise starts up again and doesnt stop til i shift again.
any thoughts??

If the pulley bearings don't make noise under load (with the engine running) and the noise is only when you shift I'll assume it's something to do with the clutch - slave cylinder or clutch it's self.

so if they make noise when the car is running and driving, and not when the clutch is engaged, then it is a pulley bearing?

Are the belts tight?

yea. theres no play with them when i try to pull them

Do you get the squeal if you rev it up quickly in neutral?

i think. its not really a squeal tho. its more of a constant squeaking. it jus gets louder and faster