Squealing Altinator belt '89 200TQ

[Brett Dikeman]

At 12:12 PM -0500 2/20/04, Sonar465 at aol.com wrote:
>Hey guys, I have been having a heck of a time with the altinator belt on my
>'89 200TQ.  No matter what I do it persists to squeal.  I have replaced it a
>number of times but after 4-6 months it starts squealing again.  Do 
>I need a new
>altinator? what is going on here. My idle is set at 600RPM which is a little
>low, it seems if I keep the RPM's at about 800-850 the altinator stays
>"on-line"  I lent my manual to a buddy and I am not sure how to bump 
>up the idle
>speed.

600 rpms is -way- too low.  Should be 900 +/- 100 I believe.

Is your idle stabilization valve working properly?  On the CIS cars, 
the ISV hums loudly with the ignition on.  Place your hand on it and 
you should clearly feel the vibration.  If not, check fuses, then the 
resistance of the valve itself.

   If it vibrates, remove and clean with throttle body cleaner(NOT 
brake cleaner) as they tend to get very gummed up; fill, slosh, 
drain, repeat until the stuff comes out clear; let it dry and 
reinstall.  It never hurts to also clean the throttle(spray combined 
with a paper towel to wipe works best; be sure to open the throttle 
and clean all the edges).

As for the alternator, what brand/size belt are you using?  The Audi 
belts are NOT standard US-size belts.  Conti belts are a perfect fit, 
though if you've been running the wrong size for a long time, the 
pulley might be worn in a such a way that it won't work right.

Lastly- there was a TSB for the pulley size on the 200's as the 
alternator did not spin fast enough at idle to meet electrical 
demands.  There are two pulley sizes; the smaller is better(runs the 
alternator faster per given engine RPM).  Unfortunately I don't 
remember the sizes- an archives search might turn up something.

Brett
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