The belt should be washed with soap and water..
then
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And Making sure all these bolts are tightened properly
Belt screeching
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The screeching does happen more in very low temperatures, but I believe the problem is dirt. The cold just makes the belt stiffer and makes the problem greater
For anyone who is interested this is what I did to eliminate belt screech - I live in a very dusty area and very fine dust kicks up every time the wind blows and is a fine layer on many of our roads that gets kicked up . When I first got my slingshot I never had any issues with the dust causing screeching, but over time it became an issue. I have no proof except my experience, but I believe that over time the fine dust gets imbedded in the belt between the teeth pressed in by the pressure of the metal cogs pushing it into the belt. You can get rid of the screeching by giving the belt a quick wash off with soap and water, but this will not last very long. If you want to really get rid of the screeching you need to really scrub the belt between the teeth with a brush to remove the imbedded dust that has been pressed in, and then you need to keep it clean by giving it a regular brushing whenever you are cleaning up your Slingshot. Ever since I started doing this the screeching has stopped and it has stayed away. I also like to wipe down the belt with either Lucas Slick mist interior detail or the Lucas tire shine when I do this. which one I use depends on what else I am cleaning at the time - If I am wiping down the back of the body tub I use the interior detail and if I am cleaning the wheels and tires I use the tire shine.
since I started doing this as a part of my regular cleaning and really scrubbing the teeth my belt has been screech free - -as such I am going to keep as a part of my regular cleaning and especially after long rides or riding on dirt roads or parking areas.
As a side note I have removed the belt guard from my slingshot - having it off makes regular belt cleaning a thousand times easier by giving really good access to be able to scrub the belt. I also believe that when the belt guard was on it acted like a sound board and made noises from the belt area much louder - - I also like the look of my slingshot better without the guard - I think it is cleaner looking
one thing though - if you do decide to remove your belt guard like I did, fing some bolts to put back into the holes on the swing arm - the holes go all the way through into the inside of the swing arm and if you leave these holes open water and dirt could get inside and cause problems with the speed sensor or other things
now I just need to cover my nuts
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Maybe there's an owl stick in the belt
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Just drive the HELL out of it and when it breaks, "FIX IT"
Instead of WHEN switch IF and you are golden.
To frehleycomet
I am yet to see a slingshot with a quiet belt, both my belt and angle drive are loud as heck for my taste yet other people say mine are quieter compared with their own.
TLDR: the slingshot is not a quiet ride so either get used to some noises or might want to switch it out for a Miata.
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Display More
The screeching does happen more in very low temperatures, but I believe the problem is dirt. The cold just makes the belt stiffer and makes the problem greater
For anyone who is interested this is what I did to eliminate belt screech - I live in a very dusty area and very fine dust kicks up every time the wind blows and is a fine layer on many of our roads that gets kicked up . When I first got my slingshot I never had any issues with the dust causing screeching, but over time it became an issue. I have no proof except my experience, but I believe that over time the fine dust gets imbedded in the belt between the teeth pressed in by the pressure of the metal cogs pushing it into the belt. You can get rid of the screeching by giving the belt a quick wash off with soap and water, but this will not last very long. If you want to really get rid of the screeching you need to really scrub the belt between the teeth with a brush to remove the imbedded dust that has been pressed in, and then you need to keep it clean by giving it a regular brushing whenever you are cleaning up your Slingshot. Ever since I started doing this the screeching has stopped and it has stayed away. I also like to wipe down the belt with either Lucas Slick mist interior detail or the Lucas tire shine when I do this. which one I use depends on what else I am cleaning at the time - If I am wiping down the back of the body tub I use the interior detail and if I am cleaning the wheels and tires I use the tire shine.
since I started doing this as a part of my regular cleaning and really scrubbing the teeth my belt has been screech free - -as such I am going to keep as a part of my regular cleaning and especially after long rides or riding on dirt roads or parking areas.
As a side note I have removed the belt guard from my slingshot - having it off makes regular belt cleaning a thousand times easier by giving really good access to be able to scrub the belt. I also believe that when the belt guard was on it acted like a sound board and made noises from the belt area much louder - - I also like the look of my slingshot better without the guard - I think it is cleaner looking
one thing though - if you do decide to remove your belt guard like I did, fing some bolts to put back into the holes on the swing arm - the holes go all the way through into the inside of the swing arm and if you leave these holes open water and dirt could get inside and cause problems with the speed sensor or other things
now I just need to cover my nuts
after reading about the fine dirt story.... looking at my back wheel (rim) covered with fine gray road dirt after every ride I’m inclined to believe all of our belt noise problems are coming from fine road dirt gunking up the belt teeth. My back wheel is like a dirt magnet. Very dirty after riding.
I don’t know if the wheel and belt turning is creating a static charge that attracts the dirt to it or what.... my entire back end is always dusty.
You could very well have discovered the squeal culprit.
I would still like to know how much rear end noise from the belt and angle drive is considered normal.
I actually have a small decibel meter I could probably attach back there to see if I can get a reading.
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My back wheel is like a dirt magnet. Very dirty after riding.
I don’t know if the wheel and belt turning is creating a static charge that attracts the dirt to it or what.... my entire back end is always dusty.
I'll leave it to others to comment on the "my entire back end is always dusty."
Otherwise................
As the SlingShot is traveling down the road a vacuum is being created that naturally draws in dirt and dust. I installed a rear fender hoping to keep the rear area cleaner, but that vacuum defeats that purpose. I have seen where some folks have invented their own small deflectors that route air into the area and they say it does help to keep the rear area, (including the wheel), cleaner.
Remember these that used to be mounted on older station wagons:
Bill
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Display MoreI'll leave it to others to comment on the "my entire back end is always dusty."
Otherwise................
As the SlingShot is traveling down the road a vacuum is being created that naturally draws in dirt and dust. I installed a rear fender hoping to keep the rear area cleaner, but that vacuum defeats that purpose. I have seen where some folks have invented their own small deflectors that route air into the area and they say it does help to keep the rear area, (including the wheel), cleaner.
Bill
Yea Right. Just use F-11 and the dust does not stick like with regular wax and just wipes off. I just did this.
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I ride all through the winter......And my S/S after the salt used on the road for snow/ice removal is crushed to a fine white powder by cars driving over it looks like i sprayed the S/S with talcum power....And then i get the belt squealing.....If i spray the belt with Dawn mixed water the squealing stops ....A few times while driving the squealing came back....And then i purposely ran through a puddle so the back wheel would hit it.....And within a few feet the squealing stopped .....I'm convinced its dirt/fine dust that is the cause...
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I ride all through the winter......And my S/S after the salt used on the road for snow/ice removal is crushed to a fine white powder by cars driving over it looks like i sprayed the S/S with talcum power....And then i get the belt squealing.....If i spray the belt with Dawn mixed water the squealing stops ....A few times while driving the squealing came back....And then i purposely ran through a puddle so the back wheel would hit it.....And within a few feet the squealing stopped .....I'm convinced its dirt/fine dust that is the cause...
Watch out for the frame with the salt. Even without the salt it starts to rust.
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Watch out for the frame with the salt. Even without the salt it starts to rust.
I don't worry about rust, Rust is our friend it leaves a protective patina on metal....
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.....I'm convinced its dirt/fine dust that is the cause...
Yes, a dirty belt can squeal, but by saying that only dirt causes a belt to squeal is like saying that only a fallen tree on power lines will cause an outage..................
(I chose this anomaly because that is what happened here this afternoon)
Bill
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Yes, a dirty belt can squeal, but by saying that only dirt causes a belt to squeal is like saying that only a fallen tree on power lines will cause an outage..................
(I chose this anomaly because that is what happened here this afternoon)
Bill
I remove the dirt/dust....And the squeal stops; IE' Cause and Effect....
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Yes, a dirty belt can squeal, but by saying that only dirt causes a belt to squeal is like saying that only a fallen tree on power lines will cause an outage..................
(I chose this anomaly because that is what happened here this afternoon)
Bill
As I posted the screen grabs from the service manual about the belt.... they also tell you to make sure the angel drive and connected parts have the bolts tightened correctly. Someone mentioned about their angle drive being in cockeyed. dirt should be the only thing causing the belts to make noise.... not broken or loose parts.
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Re-posting of my previous reply:
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 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 ? )
Update: 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 ..."
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Display MoreRe-posting of my previous reply:
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 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 ? )
Update: 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 ..."
Just a thought, what if everyone soaped their final drive during an organized event and it rained. Then while riding through a town people lined the streets and waved American Flags. Hundreds of high output bubble makers in a parade.
That would be fun!
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ITZQUIK When the noise starts again would you mind doing an experiment? Try rubbing the soap on one surface then ride a bit. If the noise stops you'll know which surface is rubbing. If it doesn't, try another surface. I'm curious which one is causing the squeal.
I don't think it matters which side [flange] is rubbing, My experience with belts [Spyder' Victory 'Harleys [4] ] and now the S/S....Belts don't run true they ride side to side, And especially when backing up...
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ITZQUIK When the noise starts again would you mind doing an experiment? Try rubbing the soap on one surface then ride a bit. If the noise stops you'll know which surface is rubbing. If it doesn't, try another surface. I'm curious which one is causing the squeal.
Funny but you read my mind. I was planning to try this when the noise starts again (been quiet so far). I would have tried this initially, but I was too lazy to put the jack under the rear end potentially 3 times ...
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I have heard of people using beeswax as a belt dressing and if I run across some at some point I might give it a try
Sent from my iPhone using Polaris Slingshot Info
