85 chevy celebrity. replaced alternator. that one squealed 2. got another. still hear a squeel. does not squeel when belt is off.

Change the belt and check for bad bearings in the Alternator pulley and all the other pulleys that the belt rides on sounds like it could be dragging causing your belt squeal or your belt is worn too good luck.

It's your alternator belt...they run on the same pulley. Tighten the alternator belt some, and the squeeling will stop.

Does your car have air conditioning.? Most cars use the A/C compressor to dry the air for the defrost. It will also come on for a short time when you first start the car. With the engine running after the squeel has stopped , try turning the A/C on , If the squeel starts again , then I would think your A/C compressor is seized. Also . are you sure the 2 new belts are tight enough?

put belt dressing on belt it will stop squeeling.

The squeal is coming from the alternator belt, When the temp is low, the belt is hard and glazed and lost its ability to create friction.

If you have a 4cyl then the belts for PS and alternator are separate. Taking a peek under the hood when the engine is running should give you a better idea if a belt is slipping, broken, etc. A common source of squealing is an alternator belt that is too loose and slips under heavy load charging the battery after startup. It's possible that some sort of problem happened due to replacing alternator belt but that belt slipping should be pretty easy to see. (again ... speaking of the 4cyl / 22RE enging)

the squeel is most likely the pulleys are contaminated with old rubber from the old belts or that you have a dry alternator bearing,if you try running the engine without the belt you will locate the problem easier.
the timing belt should be changed every 60k or 5 years whichever soonest...

it could squeel due to it being a new belt or dust/dirty from the road. the pulley could also be warn and squeaks due to metal rubbing against metal

You shouldn't have to... There is a large bolt on the front of the main pully. When you put the wrench on it, it will move that pully allowing you to put the belt on.

Hi ncharron,

The first thing I'd check would be the belt(s) (tension, fraying, damage).
Second and most likely source of the problem is the alternator.

If you have someone to recruit as a helper, have them start the engine while you listen for the source of the squeel.
If you have a meter available, check the output voltage. From the Alternator.

The dropping voltage on the gauge is the key pointer here. It should maintain above +13.5VDC with the engine running.

The Squeeling is not a happy noise. Luckily an Alternator is easily checked and if necessary, replaced.

Let me know what you find out. That will tell us how to proceed.
Mike