Wheel turns while neutral

[Jdace]

Hi there, I have a 95 gt starlet, and the other day i had one wheel jacked up while i was doing my radiator and oil change, and while i had the engine on i noticed that wheel was spinning, i didnt think much of it at first- i thought i may have bumped it or something. When i checked later it was still spinning. It's a manual, and i couldnt see any logic why that'll happen. My clutch is pretty worn. But it's not normal is it?

And also, two weeks ago i replaced the alternator, which works fine now, but i must not have the belt tensioned correctly. At first there was no belt squeal, but a week later there has been a squeal in the morning/night at start up when its cold, it would also do a short squeal when I down shift at high revs. Do I need to tighten it or loosen it? After replacement it seemed it was on the tight side, now its not so tight, just want to make sure I am correct to tighten it before i go ahead with it. Belts are brand new. Thanks

 

[dac69er]

i wouldnt worry about the wheel spinning. just something random i wouldnt worry about, or a ghost.

as for the belt. sounds like it needs tensioning properly. maybe you didnt do the bolts up tight enough that hold the alternator in place so its moved a bit and loosened. a rule of thumb for tightening a belt is to make sure you can twist the centre of the belt between the pulleys 90 degrees without going too mad.

 

[Guye]

I've seen that before also even on car with good clutches. A wheel starts spinning while the engine is running but there is no "drive" or power behind it. You can stop it with a gloved hand, let go, and it will start up again. I don't know what causes this. Perhaps someone will shed some light on this.

 

[Jdace]

Alright thanks guys. I thought i should find out about the wheel thing now incase it might have turn into a big deal in the long run. Will check bolts now, cheers

 

[weeJohn]

Normal, dont worry about it.

 

[dark_knight]

the wheel spins because so long as the engine is running and the trans in neutral, the flywheel/clutch is still transmitting power to the transmissions' input shaft. a bit of this power 'leaks' out to the output shaft and to the wheels if the vehicle is jacked up and there is no resistive load (on the wheel). this is a normal occurrence and you shouldn't fuss or worry about it..

as for the belt squeal, go at it again and re-check tension. it is normal for new belts that may have sat on the shelf for a while to be installed with the right tension then slacken up a bit after some use. a fairly good and quick method i use for checking belt tension is to try and turn the belt (sideways along the length of the belt) in-between two pulleys. if you are able to 'flip' the belt to just about 90 degrees or less then it's tense enough. if you can go way past 90 then it's too slack.

hope you get it resolved..