Brian Nystrom

I recently changed the timing belt and the three accessory belts in my
'04 Elantra GT (60K miles). I used an OEM timing belt, but I used Dayco
belts with cross grooves for the other three. I'm noticing a fair amount
of "belt whine" (not slippage) when I blip the throttle with the car at
rest. The tensions on the belts are fine and I can't pinpoint where it's
coming from. At this point, I'm assuming that it's probably normal and
will subside as the belts break-in (I've only got ~60 miles on the car
since the replacement). Any thoughts on this?

hyundaitech

It certainly doesn't sound like a problem. If it persists, you might want
to doublecheck the alternator belt. In most cases, even experienced
technicians, if they're unfamiliar with Hyundai, leave the alternator belt
a little too loose. There should be nearly no deflection in the alternator
belt with light pressure. The A/C and power steering belts don't need to
be quite as tight.

Brian Nystrom

hyundaitech wrote:
> It certainly doesn't sound like a problem. If it persists, you might want
> to doublecheck the alternator belt. In most cases, even experienced
> technicians, if they're unfamiliar with Hyundai, leave the alternator belt
> a little too loose. There should be nearly no deflection in the alternator
> belt with light pressure. The A/C and power steering belts don't need to
> be quite as tight.

The sound seemed like it might be coming from the alternator (it's
really hard to tell) and since it's the only small diameter pulley in
the system, it seemed logical that it would be more prone to make noise
with the cross-grooved Dayco belt. The tension seemed OK, but I
tightened it more just in case. It now deflects ~1/8" with
light-moderate pressure.

One more question. During reassembly, I managed to leave out the lower
timing cover bolt that's behind and below the water pump pulley flange
(the hole wasn't visible and I missed it). The cover seems secure and
there's no way I can get the bolt in there without some significant
disassembly. Is there any compelling reason to go through the hassle of
replacing it other than pride of workmanship? It bugs me to have made a
mistake, but I can live with it as long as it's not going to cause a
problem.

hyundaitech

It's possible the cover could bow out over time and contact the water pump
pulley. Then again, maybe not. You've basically got the four corners
tacked down. Worst case scenario is probably that you need to replace the
lower cover the next time you do the belt.