Hi all does anyone know the bearing number for the cambelt tensiner pulley, uno1litre ie start? or how much is a new pulley from fiat? it makes a load shreiking noise for a few minutes then alls fine, dosent do it all the time though.
We are quite pleased with our ono bought for daughter, just past her test, only paid few hundred for it, m reg,just flew through the mot!and the economy is great, just right for first car, the room inside, i think if you folded the rear seat flat you could about sleep in it, loads more room than a modern hatchback.
Any way any help with the pulley, much apreciated cheers guys.

StevieY, it sounds more like a belt problem than a bearing. Have you checked the cambelt and alternator belts? Or it could even be the the cambelt tensioner.

In my experience, once a bearing starts to go it makes a constant noise. If it's intermittant it sounds more like a belt problem, especially as you say it 'shrieks'. Bearings tend to make grinding noises when they fail.

Could simply be a loose alternator belt!

I think i read a post on here about the idlerpulley bearing, it did it the other day and it sounded like it was coming from the cambelt cover. although, i will check alternatorbelt,usually though if the alternator belts slipping, if you put the headlights etc on it should squeel more it dosent, if it is the bearing what usually happens is when the pulley spins the grease inside melts thinner and lubes the bearing, when you start up the grease is cold, and eventually,the grease settles around the outside of the rollers so the bearing runs dry, as it warms up, the grease melts and lubes it and the noise goes away again, we have noticed if the car is used every day it hardley does it i will have to check further thanks for reply. cheers.

Stevie Y, Yes, that's a very probable explanation for the noise (tensioner bearing going), so it's definitely one area to check.

I would definitely check the alternator belt though, especially if it is an old one. Sometimes the rubber goes hard, so even though the tension is right it can slip and make a shrieking noise. However, if the engine is allowed to warm up then so does the belt, making it more pliable (softer) and therefore doesn't slip so much. That might explain why it doesn't make a noise if the car is used regularly or it only occurs on start up.

Funnily enough, I had the same problem on my Uno this week after I changed the cam belt. It would make a terrible squealing noise, then it would suddenly disappear. I also swapped over the alternator belt as it was at the end of it's tension, so substituted it for an old one I had lying around. As the problem has since disappeared I'm not sure what the cause was! The new cam belt or the old alternator belt? I don't know, but as it's running quietly now I'll leave it be!

Still, you have a few things to check. Let us know how you progress and what the problem was.

Thanks for help, i will try all these things when i get time, planning on servicing it soon, so will look then.
Nice rocker cover by the way, nice to see people keeping the engine bays clean, like to see that on a motor. cheers.stevie y.

Stevie Y,

No problem. Am only too glad to offer some help if I can.

By the way, I had a similar problem with a Citroen AX GT after changing the cambelt. After changing the belt I had this horrible squealing noise, though it was fine before I changed it. I used the 'bend 90 degrees' rule for adjusting the cambelt tension as I didn't have the contraption used by the dealers. I fiddled around with the tensioner until it ran quiet! I was selling the damn thing anyway, so wasn't too concerned at finding the problem.

My Uno which was making a noise too after changing the belt has since settled down and made no noise since! I actually wonder if I may have got some grease on the alternator pulley or something that caused it to slip. I ran it after changing the cambelt and before refitting the alternator belt and it ran silent, so I'm assuming it was the alternator belt. Who knows, but as it's running fine now I'm leaving well alone.

As for my engine bay, I always try and keep my cars engine compartments clean. It makes it a much nice place to work in. Nothing worse than putting my hand down the side of an engine and getting covered in muck. I also like the look on peoples faces when I open the bonnet and they see how clean and shiny my 18 year Uno's engine bay is! I'm sure it helps at MOT time too, as the tester can see it is a car that is looked after. Might make them a little more lenient!

Anyway, good luck with sorting out your problem. If you need any other advice please feel free to ask.

Forgot to mention regarding clean engine bays. There's a guy on this forum (NickyB) who has a white turbo that has one of the cleanest engine bays I've ever seen. He had some picture under the topic 'Pics of my car', but they don't seem to download now.

Shame, as it is one impressive looking engine bay and worth a look. And the rest of the car is very, very clean too.

I have this problem as well!

Horrible squealing noise which goes after the engine's been running for 10 minutes or so. I thought of changing the cambelt which I have not got round to doing yet but after reading this it might be an idea to change the alternator belt as well. Where exactly is this located and how easy is it to change? Just a case of sliding the old one off and the new one on?

TIA.

Trublue,

The alternator belt runs from the crank pulley to the alternator which is at the back of the engine on the FIRE engines. I think it is pretty much the same for the other Uno engines too. You'd have to take the alternator belt off to change the cambelt, so if you're going to do this you might as well change the alternator belt while you're at it.

It's fairly easy to do. You need to loosen two bolts, one which is the alternator bottom swivel and the other which is the tensioner bolt. It's a little fiddly because there's not much room, but you should be able to get a socket and rachet drive in there.

To change the belt, just loosen above bolts and pull alternator towards the engine. You should then be able to pull the old one off and slip a new one on. Bear in mind the new one might be a little tight, but with a bit of pressure it should slip over the pulleys.

Then you need to pull the alternator away from the engine and hold it under tension. You can get a small bar between the two and use that for leverage. Hold it like this and tighten the tensioner bolt.

Check the tension at this point. Hold the belt at its midpoint and see if you can twist it more than 90 degrees. If it goes 90 degrees and no further then tension is right. If is less or more, retension the belt as above and try again until you get it right.

Once you've done that make sure the tensioner bolt is fully tightened and also that you tighten the swivel bolt.

That's it - job done!

Hi Guys


I have the same problem with my seicento sporting 1108, I have just acquired the car this week & I think maybe the guy I bought it from new the noise, I am going to have a look at it in the morning.
I was wondering if some of the problems you have been discussing may also apply to my car? Like stevie y says "it makes a load shrieking noise for a few minutes then alls fine" all the time the engine is warm I have no problem with it.
If it is the bearing on the cam belt tensioner, is this easily replaced or can it be re lubricated?

Joe.

I would always suspect the alternator belt first, if the noise stops after a few minutes. Especially since the electrical load on the alternator is highest immediately after starting, and you will remember from physics that sliding friction is less than static friction, which means that once the belt starts slipping, it will continue to slip for quite a while even if the load is reducing.

Also the alternator belt is cheap to replace and may well save you the cost of a new battery (or the embarrassment of a flat battery) in the future.

The cambelt tensioner is fairly easy to replace, but can be a little tricky to find in the shops. I would expect that a FIAT agent can supply it, but the price is probably highest. I would start at a bearing shop (e.g. look up 'SKF' in the yellow pages, perhaps they have a shop on an industrial estate somewhere?) since many of these firms do cambelt kits at a good price (at least, over here in NZ they do).

-Alex

I would check the cambelt tensioner, when i bought my current Uno, it had exactly the same noises and when i replaced the cam belt and tensioner the tensioner fell apart when removing it !!!!

As for clean engine bays / cars, bet i win the dirtest car / engine bay award
Nothing like putting your hand down and it returning covered in grease / mud/ sh*t !!!!

For new people check out http://www.chelmsfordmc.co.uk/gallery2/v/Public/PublicRoadRally/MattsRoadRally/aaj.jpg.html for some dirty pics !

stevie y said:

Thanks for help, i will try all these things when i get time, planning on servicing it soon, so will look then.
Nice rocker cover by the way, nice to see people keeping the engine bays clean, like to see that on a motor. cheers.stevie y.

Click to expand...

you mean like my engine bay?

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