problems with ye olde car!

[asto5]

no major problems, but anooying! on cold, damps more there is a high pitch squealing sound coming from the engine. i thought and other people agree with me that it could be the fan belt, can anyone second that! and what can be done to fix it?

also, quite often the ignition doesnt catch, is there anything that can be done to fix that?!

cheers in advance

[Toureman]

To get informative answers it would be a good idea to give some details about ye old car.

The squealing noise is most probably a loose or worn fanbelt but there could be several other reasons.

By saying "the ignition does'nt catch" mean the car engine won't start? this is probably from lack of servicing. Plugs, points etc.

[erimus1]

Easy way to check if the Fan belt is slipping - throw some talc over it. This should sort the problem, but only temporarily - it should be tightened or changed.

If it not this, it could be the water pump bearings, and so will require a new water pump.

Igntition wise - if it does catch sometime, sounds to me like a sticking 'bendix' spring - the way a starter motor works is that when you turn the ignition, it send a shaft out and then turns - sometimes, the shaft does not come out but it will still turn - you usually hear a whirring sound when this happens. Try giving the starter a few taps with a hammer.
Regards,
Steve

[madein1978]

What do you mean about the Ignition doesn't catch, do you mean it nearly fires but won't run, or do you mean the starter motor turns without engaging? For the record, most cars had abandoned points ignition by the mid 80's and moved onto hall effect amplifiers! Even if you have an older car that has points ignition, you can get Electronic Ignition kits that dispense with the points replacing it with either a magnetic or optical trigger, much more reliable!

[Dagman]

poor starts can be caused by your fan/alternator belt being loose, if it is then it won't charge your battery very well. If the belt is old, it may be past it's best and not grip the pulleys so well.