98 chevy issue. I'm going to set it on fire if someone can't help me.
 

Hey guys. I've been dealing with this issue on my truck since I bought it about a year and a half ago. It is a 1998 chevy 1500, 4.3 vortech v6 with 135,000 miles.

Ever since I purchased the truck I have had to replace the belt on it about once a month,otherwise it squeals like crazy. It seems like no matter what parts I replace,it ends up making noise again,and it is embarassing when I pull up to a potentially new customers house making all of that racket.

Here are the parts that have been replaced on the advice of mechanics at a local shop. NEW ALTERNATOR,NEW TENSIONER,IDLER PULLEY,AND BELTS OUT THE YING YANG.

After replacing the belt 3 or 4 times I got advice from "mechanics" at a local shop. After listening to the motor they suggested that I replace the alternator ($165),so I did. That didn't fix the problem,but I kept the new alternator on anyway. Then they told me to replace the tensioner (approx. $40) After several high dollar Napa belts,and dayco belts,the problem still kept coming back every 3-4 weeks. Now another mechanic requested that I replace the idler pulley,and put a new belt on it. So I did the other day. Guess what??? It now squeels like hell. Usually I have to wait a few weeks to hear it squeal but it did it immediately this time. If I rev the motor up to about 4,000 rpms while in park it will go away for a couple of minutes,and sometimes when I hit 3rd gear it will stop briefly. But it keeps coming back. I have also pulled the fuse for the a/c to prevent the ac clutch from kicking on,that doesn't fix it either. I'm wondering if there is some notorious problem with belts squealing on this engine. Any help will be appreciated. I've been dealing with this for over a year and a half,and I've just about reached the end of my ropes with this truck. Thanks in advance.

P.S. When I replaced the belts with new ones,the old belts looked fine. No messed up grooves or anything. The only thing I saw different was that the belt (top side,not the grooved side) seemed slick and shiny. I thought the idler pulley might be to blame because it touches the top of the pulley,and there were also grooves in the idler pulley that shouldn't be there. BUT THE NEW IDLER PULLEY DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM. All of the pulleys look nice and tight with no play in them.

I would remove the belt and make sure everything spins like it should. The only thing that rides off the shiney side besides the idler is the water pump. Pull the belt and make sure the water pump pulley spins freely and doesn't have any side to side movement (bad bearing) in it. Let me know what you find.

We had a problem like this on a cadillac. We kept replacing the belts and pulleys. We finally figured it out it was the new pulleys they were giving us were not spaced right away from where it bolts up too. The new parts were defective and so I had to go to the dealer to get the right one. So like shamrock said take the belt off an spin all of your pulleys by hand to see if their is any resisitance in any of them.

I am sure this is a given, but you are replacing the belt according to the vehicle not according to the old belt right. If you get one that is too loose/too tight you will get a squeak as well. I am betting on my previous reply though. To have a shiney spot on the flat side of the belt it has to be slipping on something.
Like Ruffneck said also check when it is running to make sure the belt is riding in the middle of each pulley and not hanging off.

I'm glad that you brought up the water pump. The water pump has also been replaced. It was replaced about a year ago. It was bad and coolant was pouring out through the seep hole. Originally I thought that the waterpump was allowing fluid onto the pulleys,thus creating the problem. I was wrong. Everything seems to spin as it should. I was thinking that maybe there was a "common" problem with the belt making noise. I figured it would be something common in these engines that is easily over looked. I'm really fed up with the belt issue. It's really sad that I'm so upset about the issue considering that I bought the truck for $1500 when it only had 123,000 miles on it. What I don't understand is why the new belt usually makes it sound normal for a month before it acts up, considering that when it does act up,the belt looks good as far as the grooves go. I have saved every used belt that I have taken off of the truck,and not a single groove is worn down,cracked, or out of the ordinary. I know that belt dressing just covers up the real problem with a loud belt,but it has worked on every vehicle that I have tried it on, except for this one. If I put belt dressing on my truck, it gets god awfull loud. Heck, it even worked on my 464 horsepower camaro z28 at the drag strip. But not on this truck. I will say however that when I am using my ac, the clutch kicks on and off a good bit and it is a very distinctive sound. The a/c cools as it should,but makes a loud noise when kicking on. But like I said, I have even pulled the fuse for the a/c to try to narrow down the problem,and it didn't help.

When the belt is making the noise and you are looking at the engine you don't see anything out of the ordinary??? It could be the A/C clutch. Buy a cheap belt for a non-A/C truck and totally bypass the compressor. The A/C clutch should have a gap about the thickness of a business card when not engaged.

Disreguard the last post I just read where the new belt cures it for a short time.


The fact that a new belt cures it for a short time either means A: The belt is the wrong one and slightly stretches to the point where it makes noise or B: There is some type of fluid that slowly gets the belt slippery enough to start slipping on one of the pulley's. That would also explain the shiney part of the belt. Does your truck use any fluids?

Nothing seems out of the ordinary when watching the belt move on the running engine. Other than the grooves on the idler pulley that shouldn't have been there, I did notice that it had a little bit of play in it when I tugged on it (obviously with the motor not running). The new idler does have a little play in it,just like the old one did. Is this normal? An older man (60+) noticed yesterday that he could move the tensioner by hand a little bit, although it is less than 3 months old. It is a more expensive tensioner from napa,as opposed to a cheap one at advance auto parts. I'm thinking of maybe putting a metal wire on the tensioner and pulling it back to see if maybe the "new" tensioner is still at fault.

That is very possible - also I just thought of this - triple check the belt routing. I had a 93 truck that came in squeeking and although the belt looked to be on properly it was not and was given just enough slack to make noise.
Grooves on the idler pulley mean that the wrong side of the belt is touching it. I bet the belt is routed wrong.

Remember every pulley with grooves needs to touch the grooved part of the belt - every smooth pulley needs to touch the smooth side of the belt.

Check here...
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...1t:429,r:5,s:0

I do have to add oil to the truck occasionally. There is a little bit of build up on the rear of the oil pan,but I'm still not convinced that it is leaking. My guess based on other observations is that a piston ring is bad, and is causing the engine to burn a little oil. If it is burning oil it appears strange considering the fact that it has so few miles on it to be an 11 year old truck, but then again I bought it from a man, who was selling it for his son that went into the military. Maybe he dogged the truck out, and now there is a ring issue. I know that its hard to diagnose a problem on the internet,but I am willing to take any of the advice that you have to offer considering that more than one "mechanic" has looked at the truck, told me what to buy, and in the end it only cost me money to see the problem still occur. What is really strange is that a new belt usually fixes the noise for a month,but this go round I replaced not only the belt,but a tensioner too, and after 5 minutes of driving the truck it started making noise. Like I said,the NEW "idler" pulley has a little play in it. I can move it back and forth a bit.... However with the engine running I can't see in the pulley. My guess is the pulley should be as tight as can be. I can pull an engine,rebuild it,and put it back in,but this issue here has me stumped.

and your positive on the routing?

I know that I sound ignorant by asking for help on such a small mechanical issue,but believe it or not I'm pretty good with a combustion engine. I can change the belt on my truck in less than 2 minutes because I have done it so much. Hell there is a routing diagram under the hood of the truck,and the belt is on properly. I've even "re-adjusted it" left to right to try things out. What is really getting under my skin is the fact that a "new" belt fixes the issue for a while to go. I just counted 7 belts that I have intalled on the truck since I've owned it (there are more that i have thrown away). Anyhow,out of the 7+ belts that I have replaced, this is the FIRST that has made noise the day that I installed it. The day that I replaced the belt it squeled like a pig,until I put the new belt and pulley on. That ended the noise at idle,and for a good 5 minutes of driving it down the road. And then all of a sudden it started acting up and hasn't gone away since. I DO FIND IT INTERESTING THAT THE NEW IDLER PULLEY HAS PLAY IN IT AND I CAN MOVE IT BACK AND FORTH WITH THE TRUCK OFF. THE PULLEY THAT I REMOVED DID THE SAME THING,AND I ASSUMED THAT THE BEARING WAS BAD. NEW PULLEY,SAME PLAY IN IT. What are the odds that a "new" pulley is bad?

I am 110% sure about the belt being routed properly. The belt is a tight fit. I have to relieve every bit of pressure off of the belt tensioner to install a new belt. The diagram under the hood shows how to route the belt for AND without a/c. You and I have talked about this issue a bit now,and I'm starting recall more and more things about the year and a half of owning a truck. When I purchased the truck it had a belt in the bed of the truck, up against the cab. So naturally I assumed that the belt had recently been replaced. And after I just thought about it, I remember that they belt looked brand new (just like the noisy belts that I keep replacing) So obviously the previous owner was aware that there was some sort of a belt issue.

Yeah then I guess the idler would be suspect if you can move it. Also the fact that the tensioner is able to be moved when you say that the belt is as tight as can be. Do you know anyone else with the same motor that you could compare the front of the motor with. I am wondering about a possible wrong pulley being installed somewhere down the line which is throwing you off. From what you say it would not be possible to get the next size smaller belt huh? Is there anyway for you to take and post a few pictures of the front of the motor? I hate things like this and now you got me on the mission too!

Is the idler pulley and tensioner pulley that you have replaced the same size as stock pulleys? And if the belt is that tight mabe you coould try a size just slightly larger... like half an inch. I have seen belts that are too tight cause squeling. The only other thing I have heard of a situation like this was a freind of mine had a 5.3 that had a slightly tweeked crank. He took it to the dealership numerous times. He didn't even make out of the parking lot because as soon as he drove away it started squeling. Finally a tech was looking at it form a side view and notivced that the crank pulley did not line up correctly. So the motor was pulley apart and sure enough the crank was tweeked just enough. Just a thought though.... Hopefully it is not a bad crank.

The link to the belt diagram that was posted is identical to the one under the hood of my truck. That is how it is routed. The belt does have a little room to play with,so I don't think that the belt is too tight. When I say a little play,I mean a little. It doesn't appear to be enough to make it squel.

I've compared every new part installed to the one that was removed. Everything has appeared to be an identical match.

Out of this entire ordeal,here is what makes the least amount of sense to me after replacing the idler pulley,and the belt.

1) It started squeling within 5 minutes of driving the truck,as opposed to the usual month that it takes to start acting up.

2) If I rev the motor up to 4,000 rmps while parked,the squel goes a way for a while, and at higher speeds when I hit 2nd or 3rd gear it will go away for a while. Why wouldn't it squeel nonstop,regardless of how many rpm's I'm running??

The only thing I can do about the belt is get the one for the truck. I've tried catching the auto parts store employees giving me the wrong belt. I've told them what I have,and they look it up, and give me the belt. And then on my own, I compare the numbers from the old belt against the new belt,and the numbers match up. Also,if you stretch both of them out they are the same length. Even if I could find a belt that was a little bit smaller,it would be impossible for me to get it on. With all of the pressure of the tensioner off, I can BARELY get the belt on the alternator pulley. It is a snug fit.

My 97 is the same way. I can barely get the belt on the alternator pulley with the tensioner all the way back.....It looks like this is "normal" for the most part........the only issue I can see affecting it is a tensioner that is not going back all the way.

The tensioner comes back all the way as it should. When I say that it can be moved by hand, I mean that it can be moved in the direction to loosen it by hand. But ofcourse you can't get all of the pressure off of it by hand. It moves just a little.

Ok there are only so many things on the front of the motor that can cause a belt to squeak. You have replaced - belt, tensioner, idler, and water pump with no success. That only leaves the alternator, power steering pump, and A/C (we can assume your crank pulley is not locking up). If the crank pulley was wobbling than you would get signs of side wear on the belt that was causing the noise. It seems to me the next logical step is to - with the truck running and squeaking look and listen to the 3 possible culprits that are left. If you have a bad bearing in one it will definitely be very evident by simply putting a long screw driver against them and putting your ear against the handle.
Also have you removed the belt and started the truck to make sure it isn't something else?
This should not be that hard to figure out - I am not doubting your mechanical ability I just think it is something so obvious you are overlooking it. I, for one, am guilty of that sometimes. We want to assume it is something we have come across in the past and therefore we have our blinders on to everything else. Do you have access to video - if so, post a video of it squeaking maybe one of us will see something out of the ordinary.

M80's seem to work best :)

The alternator HAS been replaced. There is no wear on the side of the belt. I can't post videos. I have a camera that takes videos,but for some reason I can't ever get them to load on my computer. Being the fact that the tensioner can be moved a little by hand, I am thinking of taking a wire of some sort and using it to put pressure on the tensioner by connecting it to the chassis of the truck. I figured that would be a good way to figure out if the new tensioner is malfunctioning.

After reading all the things you have tried, I can only come up with the idea that a pulley is out of alignment. Do you see more wear on one side of the grooves vs. the other? Maybe a mounting bracket is tweaked just a little bit causing excessive wear on one side or the the other? I'm not sure if you have room to run a straight edge across the belt routing using the crank as a baseline and measure back to the 1st groove. Just an idea. Do you know if the truck was ever involved in a front end collision?

After reading through all the responses, I came to the same theroy as Mr_Shamrock. recheck your belt routing.

I came across a similar question on another site I frequent and a few responses were about a very very slight coolant leak that was just getting the belt slippery enough to squeak. That would answer why a new belt fixes it temporarily. It doesn't have to be coolant, but look really good for something seeping.

I'm going to answer two questions with one post here. I havn't seen any coolant or fluids leaking anywhere. The new water pump is on properly,and the lower radiator hoses were replaced when I replaced the pump. I got a good look at things yesterday as I was under the truck changing the oil. As far as the coolant leak would go, that does make sense as to why a new belt fixes it temporarily,but this wasn't the case this time. However the belt hasn't been squeeling much. It seems like first thing in the morning it squeels, and after idling in the driveway for about 30 seconds -1 minute,it goes away. It seems to stay gone until you start the truck up again,but it lasts for a split second and then it's gone. I know that the problem isn't fixed,I'm just saying that it isn't driving me up the wall right now.

As far as a front end collision goes, I'm going to guess and say that it has been in one. When I bought the truck,one of the headlight lenses was missing off of the headlight unit on the drivers side, and neither of the headlights are in properly. It appears that the mounting brackets for them were broken.

Its got to be a bearing issue if it takes a little warm up and then goes away. At the parts store they sell some mechanics stethoscopes to use for situations like these in case it gets worse again.

Insteading of working a little bit and then going fishing for my birthday yesterday like I wanted to, I ended up doing something else. I woke up to the smell of anti freeze in my driveway. Long story short,I spent part of the day replacing the radiator in the truck. That took up most of the day because napa had to get the new radiator from their "warehouse". Anyway,there shouldn't be any coolant leaking now,but after driving the truck 10 miles yesterday, it still squeeled when I started it up. Who knows. I've about given up on it. I don't hear any bearings going bad. I got a good look at things yesterday after I removed the radiator and fan shroud.

I admit that I haven't been around this forum for very long and may not be in a position to give advice. Also those who are trying to help you get this sorted out are obviously very knowledgeable and competent,IMO. In reading through your post, I just wanted to say that I feel your pain and fustration. Have you considered replacing the tensioner and idler with original GM parts? Maybe the after market parts are just not going to cut it in this instance. Just a thought. Good luck and hope you get it sorted out.:)

Well I have had 4 days to drive the truck now since replacing the alternator. It squeels briefly on start up, and then goes away. I give up. Anyone want to buy a chevy truck?

I put a few pictures of my jeep on here. They are under the offroad section. They are titled " My redneck jeep"

I have done a little more research on this topic and the only other thing I have found is a similar situation from another forum that was finally resolved by using a goodyear gatorback belt and another thread that said the user simply marked the direction his belt was going and removed it and ran it the opposite way. Not sure what that would do, but simple enough to give it a try.

Like I said its only for a brief time after I start the truck. I'm sure that eventually it will start to do the same bs all the time. I'll try running the belt the opposite direction and see what it does. I'm honestly just fed up with it,and I'm wanting another truck. I'll go with a ford this time. I've had nothing but problems out of chevrolets starting with the first one that I ever purchased.Thanks for all of the help.

A buddy of mine is in town and I mentioned your issue to him and he mentioned the balancer - there is a rubber section in the balancer that can strip out and cause slipping. He said you can take a sharpie and draw a line across it, take it out and drive it and then see if the line is still lined up across it. That is one thing I never thought about.

I don't understand what you mean by draw a line across it.

On the face of the crank pulley put a straight edge on it and draw a line from one side to the other. Then drive the truck and recheck - if the line is no longer connected all the way across then you know the outer surface is slipping from the mounting area. Apparantly there is a rubber ring that is in between the 2 that he has seen get brittle and start slipping. I have never seen it, but my friend is a full time mechanic and has seen a lot more than I have. He is always my go to guy when I can't figure something out. He also mentioned the gatorback belts.

Had the same exact problem on an S10/v6 . Tried belt dressing made it worse. Ended up taking the belt off and cleaning all of the pully`s with carb cleaner .Have to do a real thorogh job but it will work if the pully`s are cleaned off .

I tried that a long time ago,and belt dressing also made mine alot worse. Every other vehicle that I have used belt dressing on ended up quieting down,except for this one. I've cleaned all of the pulleys more than once. I even used q-tips to get in real deep. Right now the belt squeels very briefly on start up,and thats it. Earlier this morning it squeeled when I first started it,and squeeled when I started it again to leave the gas station. But when I was ready to leave my next distination,it didn't squeel a bit on start up.