I have had this squealing noise when I first start the car in the morning but used to go away in seconds, then in a few minutes and now it takes a good drive before it quiets down - sounds like a bearing-going-bad noise in the belt tensioner pulleys, the supercharger pulley (possibly) or any of the other belt driven accessories....

The question is for folks that had this noise and resolved it - what was the culprit? What is the most likely element that would cause this noise? I have not had the chance to properly ascertain where exactly this squeal is emanating from.

Thank you!

 

Mine was either the water pump failing but based on advice I also changed the supercharger and serp belts while I swapped out the water pump.

I believe it was the serp belt as it was original and worn at 97K miles. The replacement was a bit tighter when installing. Same for supercharger belt.

Sound now gone. Never got beyond 5 - 10 seconds after starting.

 

I di have the supercharger belt squeal sometimes but it put itself right after a while. Maybe the hot weather has caused it.

 

"What is the most likely element that would cause this noise?"

Jockey (tensioner) pulley is usual. Easy repair if it is that.

If you think it is a belt, spray some water on it and the noise will disappear for a short time.

 

If that serpentine belt hasn't been replaced in a while, that would be a good place to start. While you have the belt off, do check the AC compressor clutch to see that it turns freely, and the rest of the belt driven accessories as well.

 

Thanks gents. Serpentine belts, tensioners etc have not been replaced since I bought the car 5 years ago (about 30K miles ago). 147K on the odometer now and I suspect it has never been replaced.

I have not had to buy anything for this car since I timeshare my XJR now with my '87 Mercedes 560 SEL for my daily driver. I looked up Gaudin Jaguar, which used to be my premier source for Jag parts, but all the links I have bounce and do not see a profile of them on the net. Anyone has any info on that? In lieu of Gaudin, what is a decent, similarly priced, online, preferred vendor?

 

I take that back - I did replace the engine belt soon after I got the car. The supercharger belt has not been replaced. If I recall correctly, the S/C belt is no longer available and I had to upgrade pulleys and such to a double sided set-up at a not-so-trivial cost and decided to punt on it. I may have to revisit this, it appears.

 

Here is what I am finding out to upgrade my S/C belt to the newer version:

SUPERCHARGER BELT: C2C37055
BRACKET FOR IDLER PULLEY: C2C37056
TENSIONER W/ PULLEY: C2C37057
IDLER PULLEY: C2S46862

I can get all these parts on eBay for about $350 and change. Worth it??

 

Hi Lagonia,

Check Rock Auto too. I just replaced most of those parts on an S-Type R and got them at Rock Auto for less than that. I think the total was just under $250 for a water pump (OEM Airtex), both drive belts, the main belt tensioner, a new idler pulley, a new pulley for the supercharger tensioner (same as the lower idler), and a thermostat. If you swap the supercharger tensioner for the main belt tensioner you should come out about the same or just a little more.

On this S-Type R, the main drive belt was running on 4 of its original 5 ribs - it had lost the entire rib on its edge closest to the engine. I found bits of shredded belt on each inner fender.

Before you order those parts you might search for any reports of crankshaft damper (harmonic balancer) failure on X350s or V8 S-Types. Your symptoms are consistent with damper failure, at least the way the dampers on earlier Jaguars behave, squealing at startup but quieting down quickly, then taking longer and longer to quiet down. I don't know if the traditional test will work on an X350 damper, but you can try it: paint a line across the edge or width of the damper, from the rim at the timing cover, across the belts, to the rim closest to the radiator. Allow the paint to dry, then run the engine for a few minutes, shut if off, and check to see that the line segments on the pulley still all line up.

A little more info to factor into your noise diagnosis: on a friend's '06 XJR I recently replaced the alternator because its bearings were whining and it's output was too low to charge the battery. The lower idler pulley was also noisy. But these noises were constant and never went away, so from your description I would be less inclined to suspect the alternator, idler or tensioner pulleys. I'm more inclined to suspect the belts, tensioner tension, or crankshaft damper.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks Don, you are right, rockauto's prices are much more reasonable - however, I do not see the cross-reference to the OEM part numbers and since this is an upgrade it would not be clear if I am getting the right parts...

 

The TSB only mentions replacing the belt with the new style:

Drive Belt Noise After Cold Start - Supercharger - Revised Drive Belt Available

The idler pulley part number you list shows up as fitting cars from VIN H17573 onwards. Off the top of my head, I don't know what model year that represents, but if you can find out, you can just order parts from Rock Auto for that model. Just be sure the belt you order is ribbed on both sides. Rock Auto sent me one for a 2006 XJR that was not, so I had to carefully review the photos to be sure I got one that was when I ordered the replacement.

FYI, the supercharger belt idler pulley on the '06 was ribbed with flanges on the edges. The earlier pulleys may have been smooth.

Cheers,

Don

 

You can get belts to fit the original pulleys if you wish. They are Goodyear 4060910 and 4080521.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...n-help-151144/

 

The problem seems to be the S/C idler pulley. It had some lateral movement indicating a failing bearing. I was able to get the correct replacement belt from Rock Auto (Contitech 8K1235) but the pulley I ordered was too small. I did not notice the fine detail. They all seem to have a diameter of 76mm but the original pulley is about 90mm.

Any thoughts on where I can get a replacement pulley that matches the original in form, function and size?

 

Some additional pictures of the old and new but incorrect pulley.




S/C ilder pulley



S/C belt removed



S/C idler pulley removed



90mm original pulley vs. 76mm purportedly replacement pulley. The new belt does NOT fit between the edges



Contitech replacement S/C belt

 

This may be a little late but if you cannot find the exact replacement Can you not just replace the bad bearing? I do this a lot on my 45+ year old vehicles. Although the usual pulley is the idler for a v-belt. I did replace the bearing on the serpentine tensioner on my son's 01 Taurus. I happened to have an exact match in my miscellaneous bearing stash. They usually only cost $4.00 - $10.00 and are easy to do.

 

Looks as though the part number of the original pulley is XR831039 but I couldn't find many on a web search. Options?
Upgrade to ribbed kit. $$$
Wrecker. $ to $$
Take it into a bearing place and have a new bearing put in. $

 

So....

My web search did find a few dubious web sites that claimed that their pulley was a replacement for the XR831039 that is the pulley in question. They neither had pictures nor measurements to compare to the pulley at hand so it was, at best, a shot in the dark.





I was about to give up when I decided to change my search criteria by mentioning the pulley size - "idler pulley 90mm". Long and behold, the following link popped up:

Dayco Pulley Dimensional and Identification Guide

Oh?? Well, I started looking at it and kept scrolling down the document until I found a pulley that had *IDENTICAL* dimensions to the one I pulled off the car




Dayco 89157. Yay!

A quick search for that pulley and Advance Auto Parts had them in stock in several locations - evidently these pulleys are used in quite a few Ford vehicles.

Not the cheapest but then again not major dollars to have to replace sh*t that does not need to be replaced. A little over $30.

Got to my neighborhood Advance Auto Parts and asked for a Dayco 89157 idler pulley. Jackpot hit!!!! Enjoy.

 

I had this problem and was positive it was a pulley since the SC belt was relatively new.

I ended up replacing all pulleys one by one with no luck until I sprayed water on the SC belt which caused the squeal to disappear.

When I replaced that belt I noticed a slight bit of damage on the inside edge of the old belt. That was causing the squeal.

At least I have all new pulleys now and do not have to worry about them.

One of the pulleys that I purchased was the wrong size. Found the correct size with a little bit of research I believe it was advertised for a Lincoln.

 

Well done! I spent about 1/2 an hour googling and got nothing that gave me any confidence it would fit.

 

The problem is that just because the advertisement says it will fit that is no guarantee whatsoever.