Talking Cars: Squeals, stumbles and stalls

Question: I own a 2003 Ford Taurus with 78,000 miles. Every time I get in and start it there is a squealing sound. I have had the car to the garage and they could not locate the source of the noise. I had the fan belt and pulley replaced twice. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer: I would suggest leaving the car at the garage overnight. Let the technician start the engine cold and see if there is an engine squeal noise. If there is, shut the engine off, have the fan belt removed and again start the engine and see if the noise is gone. I have seen faulty belt tensioners, wrong belts installed (too long). Make a check of the battery and alternator as well. There is also an engine synchronizer that we see often that goes bad and will also sound just like a slipping fan belt. This is often overlooked.

 

Question: My daughter owns a 1994 Saturn Ion that is hard to start when the temperature goes below 30 degrees. The garage adjusted the clutch and that seem to help for a short while. Some people say it’s a cluster switch, whatever that is. Can you help?

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