Elise 1.6 Auxillary belt squeak

[Richard-G]

Hello PH, after getting my 2012 club racer at the end of June and keeping the roof off for most of the good weather i must admit its been a fantastic (and dry) start to lotus ownership!



however after a full clean on Sunday (picture attached ) on start up i got that horrible 1980's English car alternator belt squeal/squeak which went away after 10 seconds, but is prevalent if you rev it a bit during the first 1-2 minutes of use. I noticed this last week after a bit of heavy rain as well.

looking at the design the axillary belt is on the drivers side of the engine and when water goes thru the mesh engine vents and onto the plastic engine cover some water will find its way onto the belt and cause the squeal/squeak/high pitched whine.

two questions:

1. can i do anything to stop this? either preventative or a spray of silicone etc?
2. will this cause damage if left untouched? the car is under warranty but to be honest its a bit embarrassing :s

thanks all

Edited by Richard-G on Monday 19th August 16:54

[bencollins]

sounds like the dampness like u said.
if not fixed under warranty butchering a potato salad tupperware to make a shield can work.

[Arun_D]

Happens to my S2 Exige every now and then after heavy rain. Persisted after having the aux belt tension checked and very rarely now I've had the belt change at a service. I don't think it's anything to worry about as a few people have reported the noise on here, and it's never been more than an annoyance for a second or two, thought the symptoms you report sound a bit more than others (and myself) have mentioned, how it persists if you rev it early on.

Edited by Arun_D on Thursday 22 August 14:32

[blundey]

Nice CR! This wasnt the one from Extreme was it??

The belt seems to be a common issue...as my 2011 car prior to me buying it had the belt squeel. They tensioned it for me on the service and touch wood...all ok.

[Richard-G]

thanks for all the input everyone, seems like it could do with a bit of a tweek come service time. might take it in for a check before that under warranty just to make sure.

It was indeed the CR from Xtreme blunder, i was kind of wowed by this picture



flanked by some brit auto porn!

do you know much about this car?

[blundey]

I dont know the car personally, but I was going to buy this car and just as I got the funds, it sold! Now i know who bought it! Damn you! I now purchased the ardent red from lotus silverstone which im really happy with. So i guess it was meant to be!

I too fell in love with that car from those pictures! Such a clean example!

Warranty should cover the belt squeal...as mine too had it for the first few minutes of starting. Mine was tightened and touch wood has been ok since.

Where abouts are you located?

[Captain Muppet]

Richard-G said:

1. can i do anything to stop this?

You can tighten the belt. You'll need a spanner. Look for the alternator adjustment bolt and turn it the right way to make the belt a smidge tighter.

If you can find a manual for the 1ZR engine it'll tell you how to check belt tension.

[Richard-G]

just to wrap this up for when its a commonly asked/googled question in a few years time.

I took captain muppets advice and had a google, found the 1ZR engine service guide online, had a look, had a drink, had a look again, had a look at the car, sat down, got scared and then followed Blundeys advice and called a lotus dealer in the east midlands who advised me "THEY ALL DO THAT SIR/THAT'LL COST YA"

slightly annoyed i then called Aimee at Lotus silverstone who booked it in swiftly on a Saturday and it was fixed under warranty in less then 30 mins by the wonderful Richard in the service dept.


for Lotus Silverstone!

[blundey]

Glad you got it sorted! Leave them a review on lotusforums.com dealer section..