Squealing Fiat Ducato 2.3 litre

VWann

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Is there a mechanic out there that may be able to identify what is making the squealing noise coming from our van when we start up and it continues for a short period of time. If you stop and start again the squealing noise will start again. The van is still under warranty. The van has been in a Fiat Professional garage three times now to no avail. It has had the timing belt tightened and a new alternator fitted - none of which stopped the squealing. The garage even recorded the noise and sent the recording to Fiat but Fiat couldn't help.

The Fiat is our sole vehicle and professional Fiat garages are a fair distance away, which causes a great deal of inconvenience and expense so any thoughts would be much appreciated. We only have six months of warranty left. Some of you may have heard us leaving The Green Frog!
 
It’s so difficult to diagnose squeaks from afar, however, if it were my MH I’d grab a can of WD40 and spray the serpentine belt to see if that helped it. If it doesn’t, it won’t harm the belt.

I can’t remember, but the power steering pump would be belt driven , squirt that too.
 
VWann said:
The van is still under warranty. The van has been in a Fiat Professional garage three times now to no avail. It has had the timing belt tightened and a new alternator fitted - none of which stopped the squealing. The garage even recorded the noise and sent the recording to Fiat but Fiat couldn't help.
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It's time for you to dust off the boxing gloves and start rattling the Fiat cage!

Over the years I have had innumerable battles with various motor manufacturers both as a private customer as well as a business owning fleet operator and I am afraid to say that some garages need to be lined up in front of a firing squad. Even more worrying is the attitude exhibited by many of the manufacturers regional engineers who almost always appear to take sides with their dealership engineers when investigating a problem.

Very unfortunately @VWann so many garages are sexist and think that almost all members of the fairer sex are to be brushed over and generally cast aside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very obviously your location is a major problem for you as garages, let alone Fiat garages, are not exactly common place, as such I suggest you phone your local Trading Standards and speak to someone about your problem. Ideally they might be able to arrange for an accredited engineer to visit you to listen to your problem and prepare a report for you.

The facts are: -
1. Your van is still under warranty.
2. Your garage patently admits their is a fault because they have recorded it and sent a recording of it to Fiat (if they actually have).
3. Your engine shouldn't be making a squeaky squealing noise on start up, as such there is a problem.

Good luck and be very prepared to be nasty.

Phil
 
Sounds like one of the belts squealing - well that would be my immediate unqualified guess. I would do as SimonM suggests but also check to see if any of the belts are obviously slack. I'm lucky as I have a number of garage owning friends who would give me a quick diagnosis so that I would know whether a journey to a dealer was worthwhile or I would let them sort it.
 
Mine does the same and it has since day one , only when it has been stood a few days and it only last a couple of seconds ,also a Fiat ducato 2.3 . 2013 , all belts checked and they are all ok , I just turn the radio up for the first minute now
 
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I am sure others are more knowledgeable than me but I would think it is likely to be the alternator belt especially if it stops after a short run .
 
Its the fan belt,my iveco does it first thing in morning or when lights are turned on putting a load on the alt,iveco later fitted wider ribbed belts to later models to stop it.
Spray belt when running with silicon spray and make sure the belt is tight.
 
Rest assured everyone who has answered this post after my earlier comment, if it was something as easy and simple as what you are suggesting that even the thickest Fiat mechanic would have answered and cured the problem!!
 
Hi, assuming that a belt is the first to check obviously, How about trying a probe to your ear whilst checking the water pump, fan, turbo, belt adjusters. alternator. Its not unknown to find a bush or bearing that's not being lubricated enough from new. Could an adjuster bracket have a break that allows belts to slip whilst being revved ? What a great puzzle, we could have a competition at a meet for a prize to the finder. Rgd's Graham.

P.S. As this is a one off, what about checking the vee'd belts and pulleys, with a thread gauge to see if either is slightly out of pitch centres.
 
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Is it intermittent ?

Perhaps its worse or only occurs when its damp ?

And stops when engine warm enough to dry condensation off belts ?
 
Millie Master said:
Rest assured everyone who has answered this post after my earlier comment, if it was something as easy and simple as what you are suggesting that even the thickest Fiat mechanic would have answered and cured the problem!!
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I wouldn`t be too sure about that :mad:

They completely forgot they`d dropped the oil, taken the filter and filler cap off a Marea i put into them for service many years back.

Whenever i pick a vehicle up from a dealer i always have a good look round and lift the bonnet to check fluids etc.etc.

That`s when i immediately saw the filler cap was missing, further checks revealed oil filter, dipstick ad sump plug missing :eek:

They`d also completed a 5 mile test drive ( in that condition ) if you believe the paperwork as well o_O
 
Contrary to earlier suggestions I'd advise against spraying WD40 or anything else for that matter on auxiliary drive belts, it may temporarily stop squealing but will also contribute to slippage, which will simply not be heard but will still be taking place, if on an alternator drive, then often with the consequence that the battery does not receive sufficient charge.
Most modern vehicles have multi v belts, far less prone to slippage than simple v belts, more often than not with automatic tension devices.
 
When you left the green frog I said someone has a problem with alternator belt, check it’s the correct one fitted some v belts have a different pitch, look for an old timer garage mechani, where you from we are near Dumfries if you in that area I could advise, Andy
 
The OP said the vehicle still has 6 months warranty, so being relatively new will not be fitted with conventional "v" belt, it will have a modern style flat multi v belt, they do come in various width and number of grooves but not so far as I'm aware different pitches.
 
eurajohn said:
The OP said the vehicle still has 6 months warranty, so being relatively new will not be fitted with conventional "v" belt, it will have a modern style flat multi v belt, they do come in various width and number of grooves but not so far as I'm aware different pitches.
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Ha ha good point, must reread posts before answering
 
I had a squeak develop on ours last year at start-up, on the return home from Druridge Bay.
We were puzzled for a while and it turned out to be the joint between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipe.
The gap had expanded when it was cold and as it warmed up it closed and went away thankfully.
A local garage did ours in less than half an hour.
 
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andyjanet said:
When you left the green frog I said someone has a problem with alternator belt, check it’s the correct one fitted some v belts have a different pitch, look for an old timer garage mechani, where you from we are near Dumfries if you in that area I could advise, Andy
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I wish we could use an old timer mechanic, we have a great one here in Dunoon. Unfortunately the van is still under warranty and Fiat insist that it is a Fiat Professional garage sort it , otherwise it invalidates the warranty.
 
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