I have a 96 sl1 I was getting a screaming sound when I would first start it and as I drove it would go away, so I replaced the serpentine belt which stopped it temporaily but now about every other morning it does it again but for a couple of miles now. I occasioally get a ses light maybe once or twice a month for a couple of days or untill I fill up on gas and then it goes away I haven't had a ses light in about a month everytime I try to go have it checked again it goes off but I have lost gas mileage and power, also if I'm going down a hill and use my brakes I feel like a thumping, and i just noticed or heard a rattle last night when I would accelerate a little it would rattle or if I would lay off it would rattle for a sec I'm trying to get all of these fixed since the all just started very recently thanks in advance most of these things I have to do myself my husband is not very mechanically inclined

sure sounds like a timing issue to me with the loss of power and mileage. the screaming belt might have been the first problem.

hey kelly...if you go to advance auto or autozone you can borrow their code readr and check your codes.the codes will still pop up on their code reader if you havent unhooked your battery... just call ask them if they have one they loan, go sit in the lot, plug it in under the dash, take it in, have them print off a list of codes, and they might even be able to tell you what you need to get....good luck!!

how hard is it to replace the belt tensioner we replaced the serpentine belt but unfortunately it's still screaming but for much longer and louder now though smileys/smiley19.gif

smileys/smiley5.gif The first thing I get when I buy a car is the shop manual. The one they give you with the car, of course, is useless. The shop manual is available at autozone or other parts store or you can usually even get them at the library. It will show you details on how to do all those things, pictures included, step-by-step. Usually 15-bucks or so for the manuals and they include a lot of years, models, engines. good luck...the tensioner should not be too hard a job.

To replace the tensioner pulley, the right front tire is removed to gain access to the splash guard removal and later, the removal of the tensioner pulley. A hydraulic floor jack can be used for that part of the process. Another floor jack is placed under the oil pan with a block of wood used as a cushion. After you remove the top motor mount, the jack can be used to raise or lower the motor to gain access to the two bolts that hold the tensioner pulley to the front of the motor. It is not a difficult job, just a little time consuming. Tensioner pulleys aren't cheap. Good luck