Oil leak cleanup in engine bay question

[Rawcpoppa]

Had an oil leak due to faulty oil filter installation. Oil fell from the oil filter onto the alternator directly below and a belt also located vertically below the oil filter. I am not sure what the belt does but it is making a "screeching" sound in tune with the engine rpm (it increases in pitch as engine rpm increases).

What are my options to stop this? I used a degreaser in the engine bay which cleaned up most of the oil residue and also put some on the belt then washed it off but the noise remains albeit reduced. Should I keep using the degreaser or is there nothing else I can do?

Suggestions welcomed.

[Snail Style]

Put vaseline on the belt and see if it goes away. Otherwise you may be needing a new belt.

[Lucas_R]

The belt is more than likely slipping on the pulley due to the oil. Get some more degreaser and spray the inside of the belt and pulley as well as you can and hose off thoroughly.

[Rawcpoppa]

Should I spray the degreaser while the belt is turning to get all of the inside of it degreased or should I just do it in stages?

[Lucas_R]

Should I spray the degreaser while the belt is turning to get all of the inside of it degreased or should I just do it in stages?

Might be a good idea.

[Rawcpoppa]

Ok will try that.
Out of curiosity: this thread has been moved to general when I originally posted that it was for a 118 tsi engine bay in the mk6 golf section so that persons would know what setup I was talking about. Was the thread title edited and thread moved because it doesn't matter what the belt is/does?

[Diesel_vert]

Timing and accessory belts, due to their rubber content (amongst other reasons), should be discarded and replaced with new if they've had direct contact with hydrocarbons (such as engine oil, solvents, cleaners, etc) or other chemicals.

[Rawcpoppa]

Ok I see the logic now.

[AdamD]

Out of curiosity: this thread has been moved to general when I originally posted that it was for a 118 tsi engine bay in the mk6 golf section so that persons would know what setup I was talking about. Was the thread title edited and thread moved because it doesn't matter what the belt is/does?

I shifted it to General so you'd get a wider audience for your question. Broadly speaking, I'd be surprised if there's anything unique about a greasy squeaky belt in a 118TSI versus in any other model. If your car had a squeaky supercharger or other 118-specific component, it would have remained in the Mk6 section.

[Rawcpoppa]

Ok thanks.

I was just worried the belt was a super important one cuz I wasn't sure what it did.

[AdamD]

I was just worried the belt was a super important one cuz I wasn't sure what it did.

As a non-mechanic, I'd expect that any belt that must not slip would be toothed (or a chain would be used). Having said that, I'd try the degreasing initially and if it doesn't fix up the problem ASAP, I'd be buying a new belt just for peace of mind.

[Diesel_vert]

As a non-mechanic, I'd expect that any belt that must not slip would be toothed (or a chain would be used).

Accessory belts are generally of the multiple V-ribbed type.

[Sunny43.5]

We used to rub soap onto a noisy belt on our Mazda years ago worked a treat .

[Guest001]

We used to rub soap onto a noisy belt on our Mazda years ago worked a treat .

Times have changed, you can now buy a spray for slippery drive belts. Cant remember the name though

[Rawcpoppa]

Just saw this video and they mentioned not trying to clean belts with anything but rather changing them as previously suggested in this thread.