Re: {Chrysler 300} Frustrating Squeal...

The 440 belt system for A/C on my Hurst started to give me problems a few years ago. There were no strange noises, but under high revs (while hammering the loud pedal out on the highway), there was a tendency for the small belt that goes around the idler/tensioner for the water pump to get tossed, which is obviously not good for engine cooling at such high revs on warm days. The 'fix' came from swapping out the original bracket with an old one I had in my parts stash. The original bracket had developed a slight tweak and was no longer keeping the belt in proper alignment with the water pump and crank pulley. I believe the bearing/pully itself is still available at auto parts stores, but not the bracket itself. Might be a good idea to scavenge a couple from A/C cars in junkyards if you can still find some.

Also, I used to have a few Jensen Interceptor cars back in the day, which were equipped with 440 engines and A/C. There was an interesting bracket as part of that system that held a 'wheel/idler' that rode on top of the A/C belts between the compressor and alternator that stopped the flopping of the belts. It was not a tensioner, as the belt tension was still controlled by alternator position, but was just an added item to reduce the flopping of the belts when the compressor was engaged. Maybe it was something Chrysler added to the engine around 73/74, or maybe it was something Jensen did? Never saw the bracket on any Chrysler from 1970 or earlier, but it was present on both my 73 and 74 Jensens.

On Fri, Apr 7, 2023 at 6:45 PM 'James Douglas' via Chrysler 300 Club International <chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I have been trying to ruin down that belt or pulley noise for weeks. I do not want something to fail and go through my new radiator.

At first I thought it was the AC clutch bearing. New bearing. Then perhaps the idle pulley bearing. I got an NOS one and it sounds worse!

I studied the pulley bracket very intently and it is perhaps a hair bent. So I pulled it off again and ran a straight edge on the bracket and the pulley face it appears a little out. So I give it a whack and put it back on and the noise goes down a lot.

As I am revving it HARD I also notice that the alternator-AC belts look like they want to “climb” a little on a hard rev. That bracket is forged so I do not know how that can be adjusted if it is out a little.

In the AM I am going to pull the idle pulley out one more time and give it a little more in the same direction and see what I get.

I wonder if these new cog style belts bite better and if things are even a little bit out of alignment can cause the belts to squeal under a load more than the old smooth belts?

I did spray them with belt dressing.

What a PITA.

James

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