I have a mild oil-leak on my '95 Saturn’s serpentine belt. The screeching noise this causes is not so mild but it rarely lasts longer that a few minutes. The belt was replaced about 20,000 miles ago and appears to be in pretty good condition. Yet I can’t help but wonder if I’m playing Russian-roulette driving it around and not taking it to a mechanic. So my question: should I take it to the shop and have it figured out how to rid the engine of the leak or can I get away with driving it as is? Thanks!
You should get it checked out of course, because a slipping belt is what you are hearing. Oil lubricates, and helps to make things slippery. It may also cause the belt material to degrade. If you can get the leak stopped, you can wash the belt with alcohol to cut the oil off it, and then apply belt dressing to keep if from slipping again due to glazing. I dont know if the belt will soak up oil, and then release it when warm, what about it guys?
could it be a valve cover leak? or front/rear camshaft leak that’s going on your belt? needs to be fixed.