We love our engines
It was a Tuesday afternoon in late November—rain tapping on the shop roof like a nervous drumbeat—and a 2014 Ford F-150 rolled in with the driver clutching his ear like it was ringing from artillery fire. “Sounds like a diesel with a coffee can full of bolts under the hood,” he said. I popped the … Read more
Opening: The Day the Belt Tensioner Gave Up It was a sweltering July afternoon in the shop, the kind of heat that makes the air shimmer over the hoods of parked cars. I was elbow-deep in a 2014 Honda Accord when the service writer walked in with a customer who looked like he’d just seen … Read more
Quick Answer: Most serpentine belt noise—whether a squeal on cold start or a chirp at idle—is caused by belt slip, improper tension, or a misaligned or failing pulley. The belt itself is often the messenger, not the culprit. Fixing the noise means identifying why the belt is slipping, not just replacing it. That Morning Squeal … Read more