Screeching sound.....Before I take her to the dealer

Should be covered under warranty, if not maybe your going to the wrong dealer.

I get belt screeching noise when the belt is dirty and this is more of an issue when it is also cold. If I drive on a dirt road or even park in an dusty unpaved parking lot the belt will screech like mad until I clean it. If I clean it and wipe it down with Lucas Slick mist interior dressing it will stay quiet until it gets dirty again. I drive my Sling every day and on normal driving on paved roads the screeching will usually stay away for several weeks or more

I think this is a dust/dirt issue were the dirty belt rubs the side lip of the rear pulley and I suspect there isnt much a dealer can do about this

I had the same problem last summer going to Sundre Slingfest. The screeching was horrendous. The guys helped me clean the belt then sprayed it with graphite. The noise hasn't been back yet.

Yes, it most definitely can be a dirty belt....................

otherwise.......................

When you say you adjusted the belt to the farthest left as you could, did you leave at least a little gap so it was not rubbing on the edge? Also, what tension have you adjusted your belt, if too loose it can run up against the right side of the pulley causing a screech? If the temps are getting colder then that too can be the cause of screeching?

Is it screeching only within a kinda narrow RPM range, then it might be the angle drive itself, in which will improve with miles driven, or some have had some success with changing to a different gear oil...........................

Could you record the noise possibly?

Bill

Quote from frehleycomet

What exactly is this Lucas Slick and where can I get it to try it for myself?

Lucas Oil company makes a series of products called "Slick Mist" they have a speed wax for the car finish, an interior detailer for the interior and a tire dressing for the tires - they are all good products and are very affordable - I get them at walmart and they run about $8 or less each - here is a link - Lucas Slick mist at Walmart

Quote from edwardaneal

I get belt screeching noise when the belt is dirty and this is more of an issue when it is also cold. If I drive on a dirt road or even park in an dusty unpaved parking lot the belt will screech like mad until I clean it. If I clean it and wipe it down with Lucas Slick mist interior dressing it will stay quiet until it gets dirty again. I drive my Sling every day and on normal driving on paved roads the screeching will usually stay away for several weeks or more

I think this is a dust/dirt issue were the dirty belt rubs the side lip of the rear pulley and I suspect there isnt much a dealer can do about this

Other than to make sure that the belt is tracking correctly

Quote from frehleycomet

Is it this?????????????????????????

That is the car wax - they also make a tire dressing and an interior dressing - same type of bottle, but different color

Quote from frehleycomet

What exactly is graphite and where can I get it?

Graphite is a lubricant the won't hurt your belt. It's stocked in most autoparts stores and comes in a dry spray. Here's just one example:

https://www.amazon.com/d/Power…=graphite+spray+lubricant

Quote from BryanL

Graphite is a lubricant the won't hurt your belt. It's stocked in most autoparts stores and comes in a dry spray. Here's just one example:

https://www.amazon.com/d/Power…=graphite+spray+lubricant

Also from the beginning, the belt should be set up looser than the spec's call for, according to the people that keep up with that stuff.

OK, I'll share my experience and whats working for our 2016 SS SL

After ~2+ years/~15K miles of quiet riding, we also started hearing the horrendous shrieking/whistle noise from the drive belt. But only during acceleration/loading the belt.

(1) I did a very thorough belt cleaning with a wire brush and a strong de-greaser. Noise stopped initially, but started coming back within ~5 miles of riding (ordinary street driving, not in "dirty" conditions)

(2) I had the belt tension and alignment re-set by my Polaris service dept. but this did not solve the problem (had the proper gap on the left side of the belt, and tension was set towards the loose side of the spec, ~.75") The dealer was unsure what to do next, basically said to "... just live with it. Slingshots make all kinds of funny noises". I also saw in a related post someone mentioned their right angle drive was "adjusted" by the their dealer and that fixed the noise. My dealer confirmed their is no adjustment to be made to "re-align" the right angle drive, it can only be adjusted for the belt tension, and the pivot shaft adjusted for belt alignment.

(3) During a recent 500+ mile drive-day, I experienced temperatures ranging from Low 40's (Tioga pass/Yosemite) and up to 98 degrees (Death Valley), and the noise was just the same whatever the temperature.

So short of buying a new belt just to see what that might sound like, I started thinking of trying an application of some "substance" to the belt to see if that would help (Like the ideas above of the "lubricant" or graphite).

Then a thought occurred to me that some of the older "shade tree" mechanics might recognize. Back in the day, what was a temporary quick-fix for a noisy-squealing fan belt? ..... Holding a bar of soap against the contact surface of the fan belt while the engine was idling.

So... I jacked up the back end of the SS so the wheel could turn freely, and I liberally rubbed a bar of soap (Ivory) against the 3 sides of the belt while turning the wheel by hand ( on the two side edges and the belt's teeth).

Son of a gun if the belt didn't quiet right up! And several hundred miles later it still was running quiet. I know this is not a permanent fix, but when the noise starts up again I'll just repeat the soap rub. (Although I do wonder if I'm caught in the rain if I'll be leaving a trail of soap bubbles behind me ? )

P.S. I used a white bar of soap at first because it was handy, and just to try out the idea. It does leave some unsightly white residue on the black belt, but I was willing to accept the residue just to kill the noise. My better solution: my wife found a Black colored bar of soap that seems to work just as well, but doesn't show up against the belt so much.

Good luck if you try it out on your ride. This works for me, but as the saying goes, "your mileage may vary ..."

It's annoying, but it's not the end of the damn world. Don't take it to the dealer. If it squeals as you apply power, and then backs down, it's most likely a dirty belt. Might be tension, but clean the bwlt first, it's easier. If it's more of a whine under power, check the swingarm bearing or angle drive. If it whines more than just under power, check the wheel bearing. If it squeals more than just under power, it *may* be a misaligned belt, or it may just be really dirty.

So, let's go with: It's the belt, and more specifically, where the belt makes contact with the teeth of the gears, when there is dust and larger particulate in between the gear tooth and the belt. Just cleaning the belt doesn't necessarily take care of the noise....the "valley" of the belt gets clean, which makes contact with the peak of the gear. However, the "valley" in the gear wheel is not clean, and depending on how dirty it is, you may still get a squeal. Bottom line: you cannot clean *just* the belt.

The fix:

1 person: Put the back of the Sling up on a jackstand, start 'er up, and get it rolling in 1st gear with the wheel off the ground. Now use a garden hose with as high a pressure as you can get, and spray right into both the front and rear gear for a few seconds, to get a few revolutions of the gear.

2 people: One person roll the Sling forward and backward under power a few times, and the other one do the same with the hose.

3. If desired, scrub the belt itself with a brush as it rotates slowly.

Afterwards: the soap works well, because it repels water and dirt, and generally won't get gummy. Try plain old ivory, the hard bar. As BryanL said, the powdered graphite worked well too, for a while, but towards the end of our trip home from Sundre, I personally found it collecting the dust as it got wet and sticky from road grime, and the squeal came back.

Just my $.02, but that's what worked for me in preparation for, during, and after the 6400-mile road trip last summer. Good luck.

The post above about the soap reminded me a thread I saw some time back about the same type of screeching noise some people were getting from the belt drive on their Harley's and the one suggestions there that seemed to work for them was to apply beeswax to the belt. I did some looking around and beeswax bars seem to be readily available at craft stores and places like amazon

Being pure and natural this might be a better solution than using a bar of soap

and one other thing I will add. I removed the belt guard from my slingshot to clean the belt and I ended up keeping it off permanently not only does it make keeping the belt clean a quick and easy process, but I like the way it looks better -

I would add that if you decide to do this find some bolts to put back in the holes - the holes go all the way through into the inside of the swing arm and it could be bad for the speed sensor and other things in there if dirt or water were allowed to get in

Graphite comes in spray or powder

Good for lubricating locks.