Belt squeal

    I tried something that might help some that have a squealing belt. I try to keep mine as clean as possible and have taken it off numerous times and scrubbed it in the sink and washed and scrubbed the teeth on both gears making sure they are as clean as I could get them. Doesn't last long and the belt seems to start squealing again. Anyways I was looking for something in the shop and I came across a bottle of graphite powder that we use to use as a dry lubricant when assembling heavy equipment and such and I thought hey I wonder what this would do to the belt. I cleaned everything real good and dusted the teeth on the gears and the belt and put it back together. Took it out for a few hr ride and it was really quite. This is a dry powder so it won't attract dirt. Even the wife commented on how much quieter it was. I guess time will tell but so far I am happy and very optimistic on this.

    Quote from gooseman

    I tried something that might help some that have a squealing belt. I try to keep mine as clean as possible and have taken it off numerous times and scrubbed it in the sink and washed and scrubbed the teeth on both gears making sure they are as clean as I could get them. Doesn't last long and the belt seems to start squealing again. Anyways I was looking for something in the shop and I came across a bottle of graphite powder that we use to use as a dry lubricant when assembling heavy equipment and such and I thought hey I wonder what this would do to the belt. I cleaned everything real good and dusted the teeth on the gears and the belt and put it back together. Took it out for a few hr ride and it was really quite. This is a dry powder so it won't attract dirt. Even the wife commented on how much quieter it was. I guess time will tell but so far I am happy and very optimistic on this.

    Tom can that material be purchased at a hardware or automotive store.

    Say "Hello" to the lovely Mary.

    Quote from gooseman

    I tried something that might help some that have a squealing belt. I try to keep mine as clean as possible and have taken it off numerous times and scrubbed it in the sink and washed and scrubbed the teeth on both gears making sure they are as clean as I could get them. Doesn't last long and the belt seems to start squealing again. Anyways I was looking for something in the shop and I came across a bottle of graphite powder that we use to use as a dry lubricant when assembling heavy equipment and such and I thought hey I wonder what this would do to the belt. I cleaned everything real good and dusted the teeth on the gears and the belt and put it back together. Took it out for a few hr ride and it was really quite. This is a dry powder so it won't attract dirt. Even the wife commented on how much quieter it was. I guess time will tell but so far I am happy and very optimistic on this.


    Quote from bigdew

    What I use for my belt squeal. I use a can of Drylube with graphite. Same concept and have been doing it for 10,000 miles with no I'll effects.


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    Thanks for the information. Will definitely look into this. Please keep us updated.

    Can the ones that have a squeal elaborate on when they hear the noise. I have never had a belt squeal. I am.30,000 miles of severely tortured belt ownership.


    I may be an oddity... I recieved my Slingshot on October 31 2014. HALLOWEEN....I have almost 30,000 miles on it. I am still on the original swingarm and have not changed the bearings or changed the belt. And its as quiet as a library ......


    Saturday I took a sales lady for a test ride at Sloan's Powersports. She wanted to see how well the automatic and turbo performed together. We had to go down the road first to check for the police officers that could be in the area...So I pulled out on the highway and just mashed the gas normally and got up to 65mph and the FIRST thing she noticed was the complete lack of final drive gear noise.


    The next thing she noticed was the complete saturation of the air she was breathing with white thick tire smoke...... :thumbup::thumbsup::thumbup:

    @rabtech, sounds like you have a good one for sure. The sound from my belt has always been there. It is a different pitch than the gear humm. It changes in tone when you let off the gas pedal and also changes in pitch with variations of speed. The sound is a squealing high pitch. Our roads up here where I live have a lot of dust on them due to farming operations so it doesn't take long to get dirty. This is just something that I thought of when I seen the bottle sitting in the back of my toolbox and thought what the hell it can't hurt as it's just a dry powder but very slick when applied to a surface. So far so good but time will tell how long it lasts.

    I keep wondering how silicone slide lube would work. I use it to lube the seals on my RV slides. Hoes on as a liquid and dries clear in a few moments.



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    John
    '15 Nuc 'em 'til they glow orange
    '15 Ram 2500
    '16 Denali 289 RK
    '17 Mazda 3 HB


    :ORANGESS:


    SOG supporter

    Only time I have squealing is after a wash or after riding in the rain. I know that @bigdew recommended a dry lube with graphite...I need to pick some up for those few times. It does get a little annoying. Right now, I just turn up the tunes.

    Actively looking for another sling...It is time...

    What do you rub on a zipper to make it slide easier?


    If you answered graphite you win....it polishes the metal to make is slippery.....


    So using logic ...maybe the graphite will polish the metal gears and make the belt slip out of the teeth.

    Quote from Bigdog

    What do you rub on a zipper to make it slide easier?


    If you answered graphite you win....it polishes the metal to make is slippery.....


    So using logic ...maybe the graphite will polish the metal gears and make the belt slip out of the teeth.

    you and I deal with zippers differently


    Bigdew posted above that he's been using a "can of Drylube with graphite. Same concept and have been doing it for 10,000 miles with no I'll effects"


    Gooseman reported that he has used it in the past for a different purpose but had just used it on their Slingshot and he "Took it out for a few hr ride and it was really quite. This is a dry powder so it won't attract dirt. Even the wife commented on how much quieter it was. I guess time will tell but so far I am happy and very optimistic on this."


    PS. You zipper isn't polished to make it slippery .... "Graphite is a mineral made of loosely bonded sheets of carbon atoms, giving it a slippery texture that makes it a very effective lubricant. This slippery quality also makes graphite a good material for pencil lead because it easily sloughs off onto paper."


    "Graphite is another giant covalent structure made of carbon atoms. In graphite, each carbon atom is joined to three others, forming layers: The bonds between the layers are much weaker than covalent bonds. This enables the layers to slide across each other, making graphite soft."

    Quote from Bigdog

    Would the graphite act like a polish and shine the metal gears....which could cause the belt to slip?

    I would think the dirt and dust would do this much quicker than the graphite. The grime is way more hurtful to the gears than anything but we can't control that unless you spend all day asking stupid questions on the forum instead of riding and enjoying the ride.

    First day we had it, we rode into White Sands National Monument in the morning then 300 miles thru a sand storm. That night the belt sounded like the whole drive system was about to fall out of the machine.


    Washed the belt in the morning and rode quiet for the next 500 miles.





    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    John
    '15 Nuc 'em 'til they glow orange
    '15 Ram 2500
    '16 Denali 289 RK
    '17 Mazda 3 HB


    :ORANGESS:


    SOG supporter